The campaigns are mediocre. The most fun part is strategizing and moving battalions around on the strategic map, but this part of the game isn't well developed. The rules of the campaign map are barely explained, and for some reason your units can't travel to other zones, even though the enemy units can. The battles are also broken by inconsistent campaign rules. For instance, I won aThe campaigns are mediocre. The most fun part is strategizing and moving battalions around on the strategic map, but this part of the game isn't well developed. The rules of the campaign map are barely explained, and for some reason your units can't travel to other zones, even though the enemy units can. The battles are also broken by inconsistent campaign rules. For instance, I won a total victory over the enemy in Busan, securing the whole map. Then the next turn the enemy moves units in, and even before the battle starts, my forces are stuck surrounded by enemy zones and I have no path for reinforcement or air support. If there is some mechanic the enemy is using to magically surround my forces, it is never detailed in the intro or on the HUD.
The enemy is also able to instantly spawn dozens of units that snipe all of my troop carriers in the first 2 seconds of the match, before I'm even able to dismount my infantry. The inability to dismount and deploy infantry and HQ units before the battle is utterly bizarre. You can't prep a defensive position, you have to dismount and rapidly click around to set up the perimeter that your forces should have started in. And rather than starting with a large force deployed, you often only have access to a paltry few units, with the remainder trickling in as reinforcements. It's crazy to think that you're launching a large attack wave with only a half-dozen tanks. The computer also has bizarre benefits and some maps where their attacking zones give +6 reinforcement points, while your zones offer +2 or +0, making it very hard to defend some maps.
The multiplayer is somewhat better, but it is marred by a tedious ranked mode. Opponents don't magic-spawn two feet away, and the maps are better balanced than the campaign maps. However, matchmaking takes forever. And the toxic community makes it hard to find a decent custom game. Plenty of players with 1000+ games under their belt will make "Noobs Only" custom games to roflstomp new players, ensuring that the community never grows or improves.
My biggest complaint, is that this game tries to put on airs of realism, but the level of micromanagement required is truly infuriating. Helicopters will run out of ammunition, and then just hover there as easy targets. There's no command for them to refuel and rearm, you have to click them back to a supply base, and then once they're there, you tell them to land. If your helicopter is off the supply zone by a hair, you have to move it and re-land it. Infantry will stand in the middle of an urban zone, but won't take cover unless you specifically right click on the zone. You can call in fighter planes, which will endlessly circle, but unless an enemy flights right on top of them, they often won't attack.
The touted naval combats, are a truly miserable experience, and the worst part of the game. There isn't any strategy, because the ships are so slow, range tends to be the defining characteristic. Realistic perhaps, but far from enjoyable.… Expand
Wargame: Red DragonYour Score0 out of 10User Score
