War Times Review

These are times of fear. These are times of chaos. These are War Times. Follow the tumultuous era of the Second World War through the actions of Germany, Great Britain, the USA or the USSR; each nation is totally different and uses unique strategies in their attack and defense and all the campaigns are based on real historical events, bringing an unparalleled realism to the fight.

War Times has more than 80 different units and 70 structures to build, a 32 mission campaign replaying real acts of the Second World War and a powerful multiplayer game with cooperative game play and the possibility to share allied units of different nations on more than 35 multiplayer maps.

I will start this off by saying I am not an expert at RTS games, nor am I a regular RTS gamer. When I first saw War Times I was intrigued by what seemed like a crossover of strategy and RTS, fitting somewhere in between. From that standpoint I jump into the game, not really being familiar with common RTS functions or format.

The initial game screens and intro video are one of the best I have seen in years. Rather than go for the "just like real video" look, they have gone for a more animated style. I must admit I did watch it twice, which is unusual, so A+ on the intro. The after scenario screens are equally impressive. With a faded map showing what the next conflict area will be. So I started my journey by going through the tutorial. A very well crafted one I might add. It walks you through all the basic functions and the building phases and keys you in on the important aspects of movement. I made it through without having to restart (although I did lose a few good men). Had I not ran the tutorial I would have been lost in the game.

On to the heart of the game, the single player campaign. The opening options allow you to select Axis or Allies and place you in the first scenario in Poland 1939 with the Axis choice, Dunkirk 1940 with the Allies. An on the map briefing points out the objectives and special mission orders. Then it's move the troops out and fight away.

The basic game mechanics involve searching for the enemies, building bases, sending workers out to mine minerals, building oil production rigs, develop new tech and weaponry and first and foremost killing lots of the enemy. Units are varied as are strengths of each type of unit. Most units from WWII are decently represented including tanks and aircraft. I almost had a feel of the classic Panzer general 3D when I saw the aircraft doing those odd circles in the air. Units are moved through a series of commands through clicking, lots and lots of clicking, and are given some choices in regards to movement formation. At times I seemed to lose control of my units as they went the wrong way or went slower than their mates. Perhaps this is just a common problem with RTS games dealing with many units. At some points I had so many units I lost track of what they were all doing. I will say even when I had multiple battles going on and many units the game never slowed even with my now dated ATI Radeon 9200 video card.

The view is from the traditional three-quarter, overhead perspective. The view can be zoomed in and rotated for the best view of the battlefield. I noticed I needed a lower perspective sometimes going through canyons. I also had a hard time differentiating units with the standard view setting. I guess in the real war there wasn't much difference between a flame-thrower unit and regular soldier except for the weapons, so it was unavoidable. Weather is another great addition to the game, the snow was great with tanks rolling across it. The graphics are a real mix; they are wonderfully rendered, almost like miniature scale models. I found the aircraft and tanks to be very well detailed, but the soldiers were hard on my tired gaming eyes as they were so small. Clicking on units gives the info about them, but having to click during a battle just to tell which unit is which, is a bit of an annoyance. The explosions and general damage from combat are excellent and made me want to kill more tanks just for the effects. The basic game interface was simple and effective. The map was the main part of the screen to the left side, overview map and construction menu were on the right. A small bar across the top gave the resource info and other basic things. I had no trouble getting used to all the info and where to find it on screen.

The sound in the game was above par, with war noises almost movie quality. The ever present quotes make for some laughter to any Russian speaker or German language knowledge players. Combat sounds were enhanced when I switched on my surround set up, but lacked a bit after I heard them over and over. The music score was standard wargame fare, and of course all sounds are easily switched off or lowered in the options settings.

Overall I found the game quite enjoyable. As I played more I found the game becoming easier, but the manual functions of movement and the never-ending clicking a bit tedious. Each new scenario presented a different challenge and with the ability to play as different nations the replay factor was pretty high. I was quite impressed by the way the game dragged me in for just one more scenario. Seldom have I played a game where I died so much, yet still wanted to play more. I give the game an absolute thumbs up and highly recommend it for the WWII era gamer.What it lacks in overall strategy appeal it makes up for in fast playability. It is perhaps a bit lacking for the hardcore RTS player, but it has potential to be a great game with use of the map editor and some online players. The learning curve is a bit higher than many games if you're new to the RTS world, but patience is rewarded with an outstanding game.