I've raved about this game in the past, but since I've been playing around recently, I once again wanted to endorse it whole-heartedly. It really is a great mix between realism, fun and action. Its like Company of Heroes and Combat Mission Beyond Normandy got drunk one night, banged and 40 weeks later had a baby. If this happened, MoW:AS would be that baby. It has all the major components of an authentic WWII strategy title. An impressive OOB, LOS rules, factors in elevation, cover, concealment, facing, armor thickness, ballistics, and ammo supply. Men react realistically, they will take cover, run away and make impressive attempts at self-preservation. It really throws a lot of the more complex strategy elements into the game and manages to keep it very fun.
The thing that sets AS apart from the other games in the MOW series is that the missions are all skirmish maps...there is no impossible campaign mode. Your mission is to take and hold ground...capture strategic objects and move across the map. As the player takes more ground, he gets access to better units and equipment. The battle field flows...you may be doing well in the center, when all of a sudden the enemy breaks through on your left flank destabilizing your entire position.
On top of all this, you can actually take direct control of your units and move them around, aim, and select munition types (ie. HE, AP, etc.) I find the RTS element so fun though and the AI so balanced and competent that I rarely feel the need to do this though.
The game ships with American, German, Japanese, British and Russian missions, and each nationality has authentic units and gear....from small arms, to grenades, to towed guns, armor and artillery.
If you've been on the fence over this one, I strongly recommend you take a look.
Agreed, this is a fun game.. great for MP too... I love your description
"Its like Company of Heroes and Combat Mission Beyond Normandy got drunk one night, banged and 40 weeks later had a baby."
You have intrigued me enough to download the demo:)
What the...apparently I own this. And I have never installed it.
Apparently I need to rectify that. ;D
whats the pace like - click frenzy or quite relaxed?
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 10, 2013, 04:16:41 AM
whats the pace like - click frenzy or quite relaxed?
I wouldn't say its relaxed. It can get quite hectic, but that is the nature of combat, right? I'm usually able to manage my units by setting up a relatively strong defensive position on one or two spots on the map and then launching offensives on one side to take ground. This way, my attention is really only focused on one portion of the map at a time. Then, once I regroup and establish a defense over the new ground, I launch a push on the other sides. So, I typically leap frog across the map. You still need to keep your eye on the other positions, and you may sometimes miss something and lose ground, but its usually pretty easy to recover and take it back.
I am 0 for 2 in trying to download and install the demo....tried from two different sites and both ended up being corrupted.....now trying a third:(
i got the demo from steam this morn ... but didn't had time to fire it up yet
Quote from: MikeGER on February 10, 2013, 09:46:47 AM
i got the demo from steam this morn ... but didn't had time to fire it up yet
If the site I am trying right now fails, I'll give steam a whirl....did not notice they had one there so appreciate the heads up.
It's got Japanese missions eh? Have you played those?
Quote from: Gusington on February 10, 2013, 10:40:38 AM
It's got Japanese missions eh? Have you played those?
I just played one in the demo as the US against Japan at Tarawa. Had to storm the beach and then attack a roadblock. Don't have enough time in to judge the game yet, but typically with RTS games like this I have a difficult time controlling all my troops. It does look very nice though and I can see how people would like the game. Will continue to try it throughout the day.
^Finding a game like this that models the Japanese well is not as common as I would like it to be, I am intrigued. Are there any naval units here or is it strictly land combat?
Quote from: Gusington on February 10, 2013, 10:56:32 AM
^Finding a game like this that models the Japanese well is not as common as I would like it to be, I am intrigued. Are there any naval units here or is it strictly land combat?
Pretty certain mainly a land based game (besides the landing craft that take you ashore), with emphasis on infantry, but maybe someone who has full game can comment. As for how well each country fights per their doctrine, really not sure since I am not an expert in that area. I suspect that you might not see a replica of their true strategy, but others who have played the full game probably can answer better.
Looks like Assault Squad with Vietnam is on sale on Amazon for 23 something
http://www.amazon.com/Men-War-Assault-Vietnam-Bundle-Pc/dp/B0067G555G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360514165&sr=8-3&keywords=men+of+war (http://www.amazon.com/Men-War-Assault-Vietnam-Bundle-Pc/dp/B0067G555G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360514165&sr=8-3&keywords=men+of+war)
lol.. I didn't realize that I didn't have assault squad yet, but I have others, including Vietnam, and I do enjoy the series. I do love that you have such control over your inventory, so that you can solve tasks in missions many different ways..
I have been dabbling in this series for quite some time but just dabbling. It seems to be who you play rather than who you fight.
When you think of it that's not bad. It seems to model the Japanese well enough in that Betio scenario. We do not have a lot
of anectdotal material on the Japanese from their side since they had a habit of dying for the Emperor. Unlike the Germans who
fought the Soviets yet managed to surrender to the Western Allies and told many tales of how they held the Eastern front
with nothing but a peanut butter sandwich (no peanut butter or bread).
I reviewed it back in March 2011 and enjoyed it very much. Jarhead makes me want to fire it up again :)
http://wargamer.com/article/2991/pc-game-review-men-of-war-assault-squad (http://wargamer.com/article/2991/pc-game-review-men-of-war-assault-squad)
question....when playing skirmish mode, does it generally play out the same way for each mission or is it pretty random?
Jarhead, I've taken your enthusiastic advice before and have never been let down. Thanks for starting this thread. I just purchased the following box copies from Amazon:
1. Men of War Assault Squad/Vietnam bundle
2. Original Men of War
3. Men of War Red Tide
downloading demo from Steam
Quote from: FrontierCybrarian on February 10, 2013, 12:26:32 PM
Jarhead, I've taken your enthusiastic advice before and have never been let down. Thanks for starting this thread. I just purchased the following box copies from Amazon:
1. Men of War Assault Squad/Vietnam bundle
2. Original Men of War
3. Men of War Red Tide
wow....you went all in:)
Jeez this is a huge franchise. Beginners should start with Assault Squad or something else?
EDIT: Men of War - Red Tide looks incredible.
EDIT 2: Men of War Collector Pack looks to be the economical way to go if all of the games are high quality...50.00 for every game in the series and the DLC. Hmm...
I have all of them. Red Tide is really interesting. They are all of high quality.
I think Assault Squad is the best of the series because it is skirmish based. Each of the other titles in the series are campaign based, and the campaign missions were exceptionally hard. As you had to complete each mission before moving on to the next, this made advancement very tough and frustrating. But still, the missions themselves were done very well and were always impressive. When you did beat them, there was a real sense of accomplishment.
Grim...I tend to attack each map with the same general strategy each time I play, so my battles more or less tend to be similar each time I fight them. That being said, timing changes, as does unit composition, so it never does feel totally the same, and I still have fun each time. In other words, it never really seems to get old.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 10, 2013, 12:39:00 PM
Quote from: FrontierCybrarian on February 10, 2013, 12:26:32 PM
Jarhead, I've taken your enthusiastic advice before and have never been let down. Thanks for starting this thread. I just purchased the following box copies from Amazon:
1. Men of War Assault Squad/Vietnam bundle
2. Original Men of War
3. Men of War Red Tide
wow....you went all in:)
Yes, I prefer the boxed versions and believe they won't be available at a reasonable price for too long. Also, sometimes the boxed versions are cheaper than the download ones.
I am still trying it out this afternoon...not sure about it myself yet. It is probably just me, but finding it hard to handle the pace and management of the units. Does visually look nice and seems to have variety in missions depending on what army you control.
Back to trying...
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 10, 2013, 03:08:49 PM
I am still trying it out this afternoon...not sure about it myself yet. It is probably just me, but finding it hard to handle the pace and management of the units. Does visually look nice and seems to have variety in missions depending on what army you control.
Back to trying...
The UI is extremely powerful. but also very complex...I still have not mastered it. That being said, I think the game is still pretty manageable, even if you use the UI in only the most rudimentary way. Give it time...
It can be fun but, the triggered re-spawns of endless/mindless enemy troops get's old quick. This would make a great engine for Close Combat 3D, all it needs is fixed number of troops, reinforcements, a slower pace, along with an real AI.
Quote from: SgtRock on February 10, 2013, 04:28:56 PM
It can be fun but, the triggered re-spawns of endless/mindless enemy troops get's old quick. This would make a great engine for Close Combat 3D, all it needs is fixed number of troops, reinforcements, a slower pace, along with an real AI.
Your comments taken individually are hard to dispute, but for me, it does not get old. I do not think the AI is that terrible. The AI takes good cover and defends well prepared positions. They stand their ground too and when caught in the open they do fall back and scatter. Remember, at its core, MoW is an RTS game wrapped up in an authentic military skin. If you don't go into it thinking its going to be the next Close Combat, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
The troop types covered is what is tempting me. Soviet Marines? And a whole game based on their history in WWII!
Is there a difficulty slider in any of the older games?
I rated the AI very highly in my review. Maybe I'm a pushover, but it gave me all I wanted and made me feel like I truly earned a victory when I scratched one out.
Quote from: Gusington on February 10, 2013, 05:19:07 PM
The troop types covered is what is tempting me. Soviet Marines? And a whole game based on their history in WWII!
Is there a difficulty slider in any of the older games?
Yes...but even "easy" is brutal.
Damn.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 10, 2013, 06:29:36 PM
Quote from: Gusington on February 10, 2013, 05:19:07 PM
The troop types covered is what is tempting me. Soviet Marines? And a whole game based on their history in WWII!
Is there a difficulty slider in any of the older games?
Yes...but even "easy" is brutal.
I'll second this. I am only playing the demo and the easy level is kicking my butt.
:o
Yep. I played the first game in the series and gave up on the second mission, if I recall correctly. Incredibly difficult game.
first 15 mins in and loving it so far - didnt realise you could control each unit seperately, i like the silhouette of the new position you send a troop to - so far so good
In preparing for my Men of War titles to come through the mail I looked on Google for more info about them. It appears there is a walkthrough for Men Of War Gold Collection (don't exactly know what titles are involved):
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/662523-men-of-war-gold-edition/faqs/58756
Maybe the 40pp guide might help someone and hopefully me later when I receive the games. I'm patient.
^^Hey thanks for that!
To reload a vehicle click on the eye then the target. Can also be used to pick up gasoline to refuel.
does the full game come with a tutorial - im playing the demo and see that goodies have been parachuted in, what to pick and how to pick it is a tad confusing
Darn, this thread!!. I don't own Assault Squad yet ( I own the original, Red Army (or something like that) and Vietnam).. But this thread got me playing my MoW base campaign again, I stayed up too late, and couldn't go to sleep for hours after playing ( the same scenario over and over until I finally beat it)!!..
Lol MD, was probably waiting for me to IM him to start up Warlock again... Now I'm tired, "must stay away, must stay away"
When you get tired of killing the endless re-spawns, try the dynamic campaign generator, it can be a little tricky to get working. You start with a small group of units and get to add to them during a campaign of 6-10 battles, where you can pick your opponent (German, USA, Japan, etc.)
http://www.moddb.com/mods/dynamic-campaign-generator-dcg
http://digitalmindsoft.eu/forums/forumdisplay.php?104-Dynamic-Campaign-Generator
you can also find other mods here
http://digitalmindsoft.eu/forums/forumdisplay.php?103-Mod-Release&s=6ae002ae50f4a082abcd31b410c79c6c
This was posted in the sales thread, but worth pulling out here. Looks like mow assault just $5 plus you get a bunch of other games.
http://groupees.com/bma
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 14, 2013, 06:35:27 PM
This was posted in the sales thread, but worth pulling out here. Looks like mow assault just $5 plus you get a bunch of other games.
http://groupees.com/bma
Broke down and bought today....just couldn't pass up for $5....ended up with 18 pieces of content (games and soundtracks), including MOW Assault....can't beat that.
I really started getting into playing Assault Squad online and I ended up with a string of annoying matches where people just gave up or were purposefully trying to ruin the game, so I took a break from it.
I think since then they've added some sort of rating system to opponents, I think I'll give it another try this weekend. The number of options you have on how you execute your plan of attack is pretty amazing.
is their a way to get units to automatically resupply ? I had to reload all the ammo in a panther and it took so much effort I couldn't watch my fronts. Their has to be a better way then clicking on the supply truck with a man selected and manually loading the ammo to the trooper then to the tank over and over.
Drive the tank close to the supply truck, click the eye icon then click on the supply truck. When both inventory screens open move the correct caliber ammo over (AP & HE). Usually transfer coax ammo as well, since tanks go through it fast.
wow, can't believe I never thought to do that with the vehicle lol