Men of war assault squad 2 review. Men of War: Origins – first look at the first Soviet mission
- Five factions, each of which has a storyline: USSR, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Japan. Of course, each of them has unique models of equipment, originally equipped infantrymen of various classes. Every tank, plane and gun has a real historical prototype;
- Storyline each country has eight exciting missions, covering the period from 1943 to 1944. Some missions take place on redesigned maps of the previous game, while others are completely new. Fight for the country whose position during WWII you consider to be the most correct, and try to lead it to victory;
- Maximum historical accuracy. Each of the forty missions is based on actual battles that took place. Fight near Leningrad, in the Philippines, Khalkhin Gol, in Gazma and many other places marked by terrible, bloody battles.
Game review
One of the main advantages of Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is the availability of single-player, multiplayer and cooperative game. This will allow gamers to compete not only with artificial intelligence, but also with your friends and acquaintances. Prove to everyone that you are the best tactician and strategist! The multiplayer game offers a choice of five modes. There is room to expand here.
Compared to previous parts, there are excellent tank battles, as well as sniper sabotage. Carefully penetrate enemy territory, fire a few shots, killing officers or gunners, and immediately return to a safe area.
By capturing control points and repelling all attacks of the enemy who is trying to return the point under your control with a counterattack, you can gain experience points. By spending them, you get the opportunity to call for reinforcements - certain vehicles or infantry. Choose exactly what is most needed for a successful maneuver.
Game results
"Behind Enemy Lines: Assault 2" will definitely not disappoint even the most picky strategy lover. Every object now, be it an infantryman, a tank, a gun, trees or the ground, is much better designed. In addition, certain updates have been made to the interface, making the game even more exciting and easier to control. If you like real-time strategy games set during World War II, this is the game for you.
The last battle is the most difficult... The fighters, left without any support, make ends meet near the enemy trenches. Their only hope is old Comrade Lenin, trailing somewhere behind. But this hope faded when the tank fell into a deep ditch and tore the track. The commissar's last cry did its job: the remaining soldiers, having come to terms with their death, stood up and killed the enemy with bayonets and shoulder blades. A few hours of battle and that's all - victory.
Men of War: Assault Squad 2- tactical strategy in real time. Despite poor optimization and minimal new content, it's still enjoyable to play. After all, these are, of course, good memories and new experiences.
Certainly, new part"Behind Enemy Lines" is somehow better. But what? Perhaps good artificial intelligence or decent graphics. Maybe they give a difference large number small parts. It’s difficult to answer this question now, but it’s worth a try.
What developers first ask you to pay attention to is the interface. To be honest, I didn’t understand what to pay attention to; they didn’t add anything new. Well, except for the score and time icon. But despite this, understanding the commands has become a little easier. Compare for yourself:
Almost everyone knows that in Men of War: Assault Squad 2 The main focus is on multiplayer. Although the single-player game lasts more than 20 hours, boredom takes over. And you have to go to the multiplayer part, where players with high ranks dominate.
Yes, there is a leveling system in multiplayer. But she is not welcoming to newcomers. Why? Yes, because all powerful units and abilities appear over time. Just imagine: a newcomer with low-ranking fighters, without powerful equipment, goes up against a seasoned player who has more tanks than infantry. So what should I do? Be patient and gain experience, that’s all.
The graphics are mesmerizing at times.
What can impress? Sabotage and easy inventory system. From the very beginning of development, the creators told everyone that the game would feature both large tank battles and sabotage. The enemy is defeated with intelligence, not with numbers. And if the enemy surpasses you in progress and the mass of troops, recruit several demolitionists and snipers, go to his rear and destroy him from the inside.
But what to do when the weapon breaks or runs out of ammunition? Of course, cut the enemy and take his blood. This element reminds us that we are not playing a casual strategy game, but a real tactical action game. Each fighter must be closely monitored and maintained in battle formation. For example, I, a big fan, always won with numbers. This will not work in Assault: one small enemy grenade in the midst of a large army decides the entire battle in advance.
You can also note that a player who skillfully uses the blind spots of his opponents wins in advance. If you don't know how to watch the rear, play a single-player game, there is an unlimited viewing angle.
As I said earlier, you need to look behind the scenes. If you are moving in a convoy, place infantry on all flanks, placing “armor” in the center and manpower on the sides. If you don't do this, enemy saboteurs will be happy to tear your convoy apart into nuts and bolts.
I touched upon the gameplay very remotely; many points were not described. You can find details in the guides or detailed reviews.
Very little has been said about multiplayer, but the principle is clear. Below - brief description each multiplayer mode:
The battle formats on the maps are standard: 1vs1, 2vs2, 4vs4. Locations will be supplemented with additions and works from Workshop .
If you haven’t understood yet, then I’ll say it straight: Men of War: Assault Squad 2 tactics prevail. You need to play tactically and cooperatively, and maybe you will win. But if you don’t know how to take tactical actions, forget about multiplayer and conquer your adversaries in single player.
Behind Enemy Lines: Assault 2 very similar to . Many people liked this game; others began to be indignant, proving that Sturm 2 only disgraced wonderful game. Everyone has their own opinion, but I personally advise you to buy and evaluate. Especially when the price is very low.
Review on Assault Squad 2: Men of War Origins(you cannot write reviews on the addon page)
Quickie with capital letters The “X” that the developers of this product should follow. What Digitalmindsoft did looks like an amateur mod at most, not a re-release. Do you think they completely updated the models and textures from Desert Fox? But no! For missions they used only those models that were already in the assault. Remember in the fox, on the mission about the defense of Sevastopol, there were quadruple maxims? Forget, there aren’t any of them in an assault, so instead of them they installed ordinary machine guns, instead of high-explosive PZ IVs, the Germans have high-explosive PZ IIIs from an assault, instead of short-barreled triples with 30 mm of armor, they have much more powerful long-barreled triples with 50 mm of armor, and at the same time the means anti-tank defense was left unchanged, forty-fives, T-26s, one Zis-3, and apparently, in order to somehow correct the injustice, they gave a grenade launcher with a bazooka... Well, you know, those famous bazookas that helped defend Sevastopol!
Do you think the criticism that DMS changed units on missions is too weak? How about this: on the same mission about Sevastopol, some scripts do not work or are missing altogether - no one mines the field while you are defending the first line of defense, there are already mines, the order not to retreat does not work, no one will stop the soldiers from visiting the second line of defense, why -no air support, no voice acting for the main character. These are serious shortcomings even for a mod and they want 419 rubles for it? DMS what are you doing? What are you doing!?
P.S. I was banned from the community for a month for writing this:
Digitalmindsoft -> DMS -> SMD -> Suck My D*ck
Perhaps I will also be banned from the game for this review, but I don’t regret anything.
3 foxes out of 10, verdict - shoot!
By the way, compare the textures and model from Starfbat and the new, cool textures and model from Origin:
Review of[b] Assault Squad 2: Men of War Origins (you can't write reviews on the addon page) It's a hack job with a capital "X" that the developers of this product should commit to. What Digitalmindsoft did looks like an amateur mod at most, not a re-release. Do you think they completely updated the models and textures from Desert Fox? But no! For missions they used only those models that were already in the assault. Remember in the fox, on the mission about the defense of Sevastopol, there were quadruple maxims? Forget, there aren’t any of them in an assault, so instead of them they installed ordinary machine guns, instead of high-explosive PZ IVs, the Germans have high-explosive PZ IIIs from an assault, instead of short-barreled triples with 30 mm of armor, they have much more powerful long-barreled triples with 50 mm of armor, and at the same time the means anti-tank defense was left unchanged, forty-fives, T-26s, one Zis-3, and apparently, in order to somehow correct the injustice, they gave a grenade launcher with a bazooka... Well, you know, those famous bazookas that helped defend Sevastopol! Do you think the criticism that DMS changed units on missions is too weak? How about this: on the same mission about Sevastopol, some scripts do not work or are missing altogether - no one mines the field while you are defending the first line of defense, there are already mines, the order not to retreat does not work, no one will stop the soldiers from visiting the second line of defense, why -no air support, no voice acting for the main character. These are serious shortcomings even for a mod and they want 419 rubles for it? DMS what are you doing? What are you doing!? P.S. I was banned from the community for a month for writing this: Digitalmindsoft -> DMS -> SMD -> Suck My D*ck Perhaps I will also be banned from the game for this review, but I don’t regret anything. 3 fox out of 10, verdict - shoot!?id=773615301&fileuploadsuccess=1
Ordinary soldiers, left without fire cover and any support, have difficulty holding on to the enemy trenches, and their only hope and stronghold is the old “Comrade Lenin”, which is lagging somewhere behind. But even this ember of hope went out before it could flare up; the old tank fell into a deep ditch, damaging its track. The furious and despairing cry of the senior officer was able to do its job, gathering his will into a fist and coming to terms with death, the rest of the soldiers, mad with despair, stood up from the trenches, sweeping away the enemies with bayonets and shovels, putting them to flight. And now, although at the cost of colossal losses, here it is - victory!
The tactical real-time strategy Men of War: Assault Squad 2 pleasantly pleases with its gameplay, providing the player with new combat experience and good, warm memories. The game has quite decent artificial intelligence and playable, and in some places, quite good graphics. First of all, you should pay attention to the game interface of Men of War: Assault Squad 2, thanks to changes in which it has become much easier for players to understand teams. As everyone knows, the main emphasis in the game is on multiplayer, because a single playthrough, although designed for more than twenty hours of game time, is not as interesting as playing with real players. Thanks to this, the player again and again has to enter a multiplayer game, where the bulk of players are players with very high ratings.
The multiplayer mode has a decent leveling and upgrading system, although many might call it quite inhospitable to newcomers. And all this is because more powerful units appear only under the influence of time spent in battles. And you just have to be patient and advance for newcomers without powerful equipment, against an experienced player in whose ranks the number of tanks prevails over the number of infantry.
Sabotage missions and an accessible inventory system are able to impress. So, along with massive tank battles, there are sabotage passages, where the player will have to defeat the enemy not with the size of the army, but with his own mind. By recruiting several experienced demolitions and snipers and sending them behind enemy lines, you can destroy the enemy from the inside, while avoiding a head-on skirmish. If the player runs out of ammunition, or the weapon is broken, cut the enemy and take their blood from them.
ALL HOPE IS IN US
- Major, now the fate of Europe is in your hands. Expand the bridgehead and hold it until the main forces arrive. First, capture this town.
- But, sir, there are probably several hundred Krauts here, and I only have eight shooters! If the fate of Europe depends on me, isn’t it possible to take at least a battalion?
- You're right, major, we didn't think about it. Take eight more and a mortar as reinforcements.
- But...
- Fulfill! Uncle Sam expects only victory from you!
And so it is in almost every battle that takes place in “Behind Enemy Lines 2. Assault 2” or in the language of a potential enemy “Men of War 2. Assault Squad 2”.
The first part was released in 2011 and caused mixed reviews. The fact is that the authors destroyed the glorious tradition of the “Behind Enemy Lines 2” brand, replacing the principle of stealth missions directly behind enemy lines with an all-out fire battle, attacks by assault masses. As they say, if we don’t throw hats, we’ll fill them with corpses. For some time, the feeling of the futility of such a direction did not go away. But never say never. The game became popular. Evidence of this is the numerous mods tailored specifically for this version. The vanilla authors also, albeit belatedly, realized: they need to make a sequel. And they did. And what did they do? Now let's see.
The first “Storm” included a set of monotonous missions and campaigns for five countries participating in the Second World War: USA, Great Britain, Germany, USSR, Japan. In almost all missions the principle is the same: the player must consistently capture key points, while the enemy tries to recapture them with counterattacks. The intensity of counterattacks is directly determined by the difficulty level. Maps, weather, units change, but not the principle. In the end, this monotony got boring pretty quickly. Moreover, tactics developed once and for all do not require any ingenuity. Only mods could stir up interest, especially if they transferred the action to a different era like civil war in the USA or the 1917 revolution.
In general, the gaming community received information about the upcoming second part with enthusiasm. Still, three years have passed. Surely during this period some new ideas and new technical solutions have matured. What can I say? They are ripe, but it’s not visible there.
The first thing that alerted me was the version number. When loading, the game honestly says: version Assault 3.0xxx. That is, there is no Assault 2, but simply the next version of the first. This usually happens when installing a new patch. Thus, we draw a preliminary conclusion: we are buying a patch for an old toy. True or false? Let's not languish - in general this is so.
Everything convinces us of this - first of all, the picture. Finding ten differences from a game three years ago is probably possible, but difficult. There was no revolution here. Any mod differs from vanilla much more than the second part. Secondly, we not only find all the same principles of the game, but even the same missions mixed with new ones.
Excuse me, but is there really nothing good to say about the game? Why? Of course you can. And it is necessary. We will even say, along the way, trying to reveal the features of “Behind Enemy Lines 2. Assault” for those who are completely unfamiliar with the game. The best way to do this is probably to use the example of a description of one of the campaigns.
MISSION 1. HURTGEN FOREST
As already noted, in Assault 2 we have five campaigns with eight missions each. The first mission is already open for all nations. It is actually educational and the plot is the same for everyone. Subsequent missions open as you complete the previous ones. Neither in plot, nor chronologically, nor logically are they connected with each other. They will be united only by the player’s faction - USA, UK, Germany, USSR or Japan. Since the States are first on the list, we will describe the campaign for them.
The first mission is “Hürtgen Forest”. The enemy is Germany. As, indeed, in most other cases. The mission is educational in nature, so all the features of the game are not yet available in it. But it goes through without difficulty. The player starts with a squad of eight fighters. Half are armed with rifles, half with automatic weapons. The ammunition load includes cartridges for various types small arms, grenades - anti-personnel, anti-tank, smoke, plus a first aid kit. As a rule, fighters do not like to throw grenades themselves; the player must manage this process himself. But they generally shoot themselves. But you can always choose a specific fighter and take direct control over him. It is even sometimes entertaining - to sit in ambush and target the Germans. It’s just a pity that mission conditions provide few such opportunities.
The first task that must be completed in the mission is to repel the German attack. You need to hold out for three minutes. But you don't need to do anything. Just sit back and enjoy the picture - at this stage the AI will do everything for you. The attack power increases gradually. First, the Germans attack with infantry units, then Kubel VW82 vehicles with machine guns appear. Like, you know, these modern jeeps in Libya with machine guns on the roof. It is enough to hit a machine gun shooter for the car to freeze.
In general, this is a pretty good feature, characteristic of “Behind Enemy Lines 2” - the equipment is separate, the crews are separate. You can kill the crew, but keep the vehicle intact; you can burn the tank, but the crew will get out of it and be able to conduct a shooting battle. For example, in "Company of Heroes" this is not entirely true. If mortars and guns still follow this principle, then tanks are just tanks with their own life bar (life bar). So VTV2 definitely wins this round. Trying to repair a downed track under enemy fire while the remaining crew members in the vehicle continue to fire from a tank cannon or machine gun is really cool.
But we digress from the events of the mission. Later, the enemy begins to drive motorized infantry to the battlefield - soldiers in an Opel Blitz truck. Well, at the end of the first phase, the apotheosis is the SdKfz223 armored car, armed, however, only with a machine gun. Such vehicles can be easily jammed with an anti-tank grenade or a bazooka. But in this mission everything is simpler - we are given an M8 Greyhound armored vehicle with a 37 mm cannon and a machine gun. This gun is quite enough to destroy a German armored car.
In general, each piece of equipment has quite realistic armor parameters. The frontal one is thicker, the side one is thinner. Not every caliber will take any armor. For example, the mentioned 37-mm will not even hit a tiger in the side, but it will deal with weakly armored or even unarmored vehicles in one or two. Moreover, the different characteristics of the projectiles should be taken into account. There are high-explosive fragmentation ones, and there are armor-piercing ones. If the unit is controlled by AI, it will choose the desired type of projectile. If you are driving the car yourself, watch what you hit the enemy with. The infantry, naturally, must be disabled with landmines, and the equipment must be hit with armor-piercing ones.
FORWARD! ONLY FORWARD!
So, the German attack is repulsed, the player receives reinforcements - an armored vehicle and another infantry squad. Our task is to capture three control points defended by the enemy. In general, I have developed a formulaic approach to such missions, but it does not work in “Hürtgen Forest”, since we cannot yet call for reinforcements at our discretion. That's why we act like this. We take direct control of an armored vehicle, drive to the front line, stand in front of the German trenches and begin to systematically shoot enemy soldiers. First of all, machine gunners.
One thing is important here - do not drive close to their trenches, within the distance of throwing a grenade, otherwise they will knock you out. Of course, we choose high-explosive fragmentation shells. After all, an armor-piercing bullet acts like a large bullet: it kills only if it hits the target directly. And the high-explosive one hits with a blast wave and fragments. The first control point has been captured.
Next they will give us additional task. Ahead stands shot down medium tank"Sherman". It needs to be reached and repaired. To complete the mission, we are supplied with reinforcements, another infantry squad and a light Stuart tank. Wow! Now we have three squads, an armored vehicle and a light tank. But be vigilant and careful, the main threat to armored vehicles is lying in wait for us here - an anti-tank weapon. With a 100% guarantee, one hit from it is enough to destroy light armored vehicles.
Therefore, let neither “Greyhound” nor “Stuart” stick their neck out for now. You should bypass the German position with infantry from the flank and shoot the servants at the gun. If you get very close, you can throw grenades. After this, we quickly throw both units of equipment across the stream and shoot the German riflemen in the trenches. The second control point has been captured.
And now calling for reinforcements becomes available. This is the principle here. For capturing points, simply for the time spent in battle, the player is awarded points. They can be spent on calling reinforcements. The better the summoned unit, the more expensive it is. Not every unit can be called immediately or in every mission. Usually full list opens towards the end of the battle, when passions reach their climax, and the Germans fight like crazy.
Here, if we need anything additional, it’s an anti-tank gun. However, you can try to use German. The fact is that a PzIII is waiting for us on the third line of defense. Of course, this tank with a cigarette butt instead of a normal barrel is a so-so weapon, but now it is this that poses the main danger. For example, I burst out once - and all that was left from “Stuart” was smoke. However, the Sherman PzIII is tough enough. It was to them that I brought the panzer. The third control point has been captured.
NOT A STEP BACK!
But this is not the end of the mission. We have to go through a real baptism of battle in defense. What was at the very beginning does not count. We have three minutes to prepare the position. Infantry into the trenches. We deploy anti-tank missiles in areas that are dangerous for tanks. The tanks back up a little and defend behind the anti-tank missile defense.
The attack begins. You need to hold out for 10 minutes. First, the naked infantry rushes. We move the tanks and mow down the Krauts with machine guns. Later armored vehicles appear. Tanks also deal with them. Further on the rise: there are light tanks PzII, followed by PzIII and finally the most powerful attack - PzIV of two modifications, G and H. If the second Sherman panzers are mowed down like grass, then when the PzIII and PzIV appear, our tanks are pulled back behind the anti-tank positions. But the 45-mm guns don’t hit the fours head-on well, at most they can knock down the caterpillar. But they punch into the side very well.
But the educational mission is just that: educational. Throughout the battle, the player’s defense is supported by the Bofors AI anti-aircraft gun. Not a bad thing either.
In general, it must be stated that the range of equipment in the entire game is impressive. Only Americans are represented by more than a dozen models. These are the already mentioned Greyhound, Stuart, Sherman (American T-34). In addition to them, the medium tank "Chaffee", "Calliope" with a rocket launcher on the turret, the 76-mm tank destroyer "Wolverine", "Jumbo" and finally heavy tanks"Pershing" and "Supershing". And that's not all. A similarly gorgeous set for all other nations, except Japan - its tank forces are too poor.
The experience of defensive combat will come in handy in the third mission - “Bocage”. Let's jump straight to it, since the second one - "Overlord" - is not of particular interest. It is copied from the first Assault and is a regular capture of control points. In "Bocage" you will have to dig in and repel the powerful onslaught of German tank columns. From the strat we have a Wolverine, 3 Shermans and one Stuart. a tank destroyer and one Sherman are already dug in, the Stuart is frankly weak. We don't touch them. But we will need other Shermans to cover the dismounted tankers we sent under the very nose of the enemy to repair the Pershing standing in the field. I highly recommend not to neglect it. Its 90mm cannon is capable of making holes in any German tanks. I even destroyed one Sherman to get this beast out.
Well, then we have to repel a dozen attacking waves. If you place anti-tank missiles and tanks correctly, you can kill the entire panzer horde without any problems. But you understand that the intensity of attacks will seriously increase. For example, on the fifth approach the Germans will bring in several 150-mm self-propelled howitzers. They are capable of delivering deadly fire from extreme distances. To destroy them, you will have to get out of their secluded trenches and get closer to them. The eighth wave will feature the most beautiful Wehrmacht tanks - the Panthers. But still basic impact force will remain, as in history, PzIV. There is an opinion that if instead of the 6 thousand Panthers created, Hitler would have sculpted 12 thousand PzIVs, our losses at the final stage of the war would have been much greater.
There is also something to do between attacks. Tanks have limited ammunition, and by the last waves they will probably practically shoot it down. we need to call a truck with ammunition and replenish the set of shells. Just look more carefully at the caliber there. Don't bring too much.
THE SILENTEST MISSION
The closest mission to the original VTV2 idea is the fifth mission, “Bastogne”. The fourth again migrated from the first “Storm”. It again comes down to the capture of control points, in which the tactics approved by my personal General Staff prevail. Be sure to take the mortar. Even two or three are better. And we advance on the German defense. Mortars land Germans in the fortifications from a respectful distance. But their main goal is the crews of anti-tank guns. That is, mortars must clear the way for our tanks, tanks knock out enemy defenses, and infantry occupy control points. All that remains is to notice the counterattack in time, prepare for it, repel it and move on to the next point.
But Bastogne is a completely different matter. This is the so-called stealth mission. We have a small sabotage unit in our hands. She is faced with the task of infiltrating a German-occupied Belgian town. We need to carefully eliminate 8 machine gun nests and 5 snipers. It is better to do this as quietly and unnoticeably as possible. If the enemy spots us, he will try to destroy us. So we quietly steer as a sniper. And in manual mode. Paratroopers with machine guns and grenades cover him from afar.
But not everything is great and quiet. For the complete triumph of democracy, it is not enough to land machine gunners and snipers. We need to penetrate into the very heart of the enemy's defense and destroy the repair base along with several Tigers being repaired. You should act quickly after detection by the enemy. The tankers will try to get into the tank. If they succeed, we won't think much of it. It's better to kill this whole pack on the ground. We destroy the tanks with explosives found right there. Don't forget to run away.
But that's not all. We will be informed that a convoy is moving through the city, in which there is a car with a high-ranking German officer. He needs to be spanked. Everything would be fine, only there are also tanks in the column. What's good about Behind Enemy Lines 2: Assault 2 is that it's a decent simulation of reality. Tanks in the city are very dangerous. It is not difficult to get very close to them if you take cover behind walls and fences. Well, as soon as you approach, hit him with an anti-tank grenade. Sure defeat. If you've already run out of grenades, go through the pockets of the dead Krauts. there will probably be something useful.
To complete the mission, we will need to make our way to the evacuation point. Which may also not be so easy. So don't relax. call for reinforcements and a breakthrough!
The 6th mission “Battle of the Bulge” migrated from the first part. It all comes down again to the banal capture of points.
The 7th mission “Philippines” takes us, oddly enough, to the Philippines. Here the Americans will have to repel a furious half-hour attack by the Japanese. They will crawl into our positions like ants, strong only in numbers. If you place infantry and tanks correctly, there will be no problems. The samurai do not have good armored vehicles. And the infantry is mowed down by machine-gun fire. However, here we will have two stationary 150 mm howitzers that can hit almost the entire map. They alone will be able to thrash the Japanese beyond measure.
Finally, the 8th mission, Avalanche, is designed as a stealth mission, but can be completed by simply capturing points. Although the set of units in it is interesting. Even such beasts as the special forces “Devils Brigade” are available. But still, tanks rule the battlefield, reasonably covered by infantry.
That's about it. If you have the first “Assault”, you get five new missions in addition to the old three missions, along with a training one. They are noticeably more diverse in meaning and plot. But in general, the game remains the same “Assault” and can be perceived as a paid mod or patch. If you don't have the first part, you can do just fine without it. Sit down immediately for the second one and get almost the same thing. But all this was said out of bitterness. The game is basically very good and it’s just a shame that it hasn’t received much development. Relying on fashion again?