Men of War | |
---|---|
Developers |
Best Way Digitalmindsoft |
Publishers | 1C Company |
Platforms | Microsoft Windows |
First release |
Soldiers: Heroes of World War II June 30, 2004 |
Latest release |
Assault Squad 2: Men of War Origins August 25, 2016 |
Men of War is a real-time tactics video game franchise, based mainly in World War II.
Soldiers: Heroes of World War II is the original game of the 'Men of War' series, and uses an early GEM engine. The player can control German, British, American or Soviet soldiers in single and multiplayer. As with many of the Men of War games, the missions are based on leading a small amount of forces into battle against a larger enemy. The goal is to use military tactics in the simulation to overcome the enemy with minimal losses.
Faces of War is the sequel to Soldiers: Heroes of World War II, with new features added onto the GEM engine. The player can now freely move the camera with a now fully 3D engine, and can destroy virtually anything in the environment. Although the player still controls a smaller group of units, the missions are usually on a more massive scale, rather than small special operations. This aspect includes AI units allied to the player, more enemy units and more vehicles. The multiplayer also has been expanded, with more options, modes and larger battles.
Men of War was the first to be put under the Men of War name. At the time of release, it had the largest single player campaign. The game includes enhanced graphics compared to Faces of War, and a more expansive single and multiplayer. Part of the single player game reverts back to the Soldiers: Heroes of World War II style of battles, with control of a small squad being put in the hands of the player against a larger enemy. Other single player missions require the player to control larger forces in defense of an area, although even those missions provide the player with an outnumbered force. Larger battles usually require the player to eventually assault the enemy rather than defend, if the latter had been given. The multiplayer expanded beyond the standard of Faces of War, with a larger amount of maps of bigger size. Also included were four factions (Germany, the UK, America and the Soviet Union), which eventually was increased to five with the introduction of Japan in a patch (only in multiplayer).
Men of War: Red Tide is the first of the standalone 'expansions' to Men of War. The game is slightly enhanced from Men of War via its minor bug fixes and tweaks. The game includes the largest single player campaign in the Men of War series, with 28 missions across 6 campaigns. The game does not, however, include any multiplayer features which became a major criticism. The single player is based on the feats of the Naval Infantry of the Black Sea Fleet in World War II. The missions are generally longer and extensively brutal compared to the other games.