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| United in war, some things never change |
The HQ seems to hide a Narnia’s worth of industry |
While other titles of the genre historically (no pun intended) give a player limited resources to free or consolidate Europe, Deep Silver breaks that ideal and livens things up in an almost Command & Conquer style. They have focused intently on what makes great gameplay and not become obsessed with the realism factor.
Detail on vehicles is impressive and left me feeling full of pride as I blazed across many a street and field. Smoke bellows from tank barrels and explode violently in a bid to keep the pressure mounting. It works, and the sight of an armoured opponent soon has you clambering to get your men out of harms way. The environments are great with trees swaying as troops brush past, huge craters from artillery or bombing runs and buildings looking less than homely.
The troops themselves look like clones or come from a very extended family, which is a shame as it counters the variety elsewhere. Given the camera views you’ll be mostly using though this will hardly cross your mind. For the hectic situations that arise of the battlefield I’m surprised my machine didn’t show the strain, the engine gives out great visuals and effects without demanding a war machine of its own. As long as you’re close to the recommended system requirements you shouldn’t have any problems.
Having played the preview release with no tutorial I was more than happy to see and play it. Though I pretty much picked up everything by myself, it does offer great help and doesn’t confuse or drown the player in a sea of need-to-know mechanics.
The reason for fast paced gameplay is the objectives your present with. All important are the buildings under your command which can be destroyed or worse …captured by the enemy. Each building also offers a unique ability such as a supply depot can help your mechanized units with the headquarters bunker pouring out more troops and tanks. These then serve as strategic points and can be used to lure an enemy in.
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| Aerial assaults can be a decisive swoop | Beware of Nazi lodgers |
Resource management is very simple as time is your choice of currency with an ever looming urgency to find and destroy your enemy quickly. Decoys can play an important role and if used wisely could save a lot of that pressure time. Recon planes could spot your tanks with an enemy armoured division moving up to engage them, only to find that those “tanks” of yours are in fact wooden replicas from one of your captured factories.
Officers play the roles as heroes in Rush For Berlin with each offering a set of unique abilities. The SAS Officer for instance can call in paratroopers who could be vital to securing a building or offering up a buffer of resistance while you concentrate on another manoeuvre. The use of deception and Officers both are a crucial staple to any tactic as they can dictate the result of a skirmish or the entire battle.
Buildings can give your men an excellent garrisoned fighting position but are also prone to destruction. Don’t over rely on them as otherwise enemy strikes will soon remind you of the error. Please take care where you fire, there are many priceless architectures in Europe you know, though we don’t mind what “accidentally occurs” in France …as much.
You’re treated to a great menu in this game, one of the best as even that gives a rushing sensation. Sound is a compliment here with the music, explosions, gun fire and even the voiceovers all sound decent, there’s certainly no complaint to be made.
For those looking for multiplayer action then you’ve five modes to choose from the buffet. Two of them are recent additions with the first being R.U.S.H. (Relentlessly Utilized Score Hunt) and R.I.S.K. (Race-Intensive Strategic Kombat). All sides are playable with the array of Officers abilities at your command just as in the campaigns.
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| Clear and concise briefings | Let the rush begin |
Rush For Berlin is a fantastic WWII real-time strategy title, with it’s unique offerings it breaks away from the historical pack. However it will take some time before we see if this has what it takes to become a landmark title, I believe it has good chances.
Top Game Moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
Calling in a strategic bombing run through a German infested apartment block …in the game only of course.
