World War II RTSes in 2023

[al_infierno]

Quoting from my post in the COH3 thread:

I've inexplicably found myself in hot, passionate need of a good World War 2 RTS.  Something that's not quite as heady as Combat Mission, not as old as COH2 or the 2D Close Combat games, and not as awful as Close Combat: The Bloody First.

I've dabbled in Second Front and while I like it, it's a bit obtuse and difficult for my casual gaming pleasures.

Company of Heroes 3 has fairly poor reviews so I'm curious to know some opinions of Groggies on the current state of the game. The older COH games with mods are good and all but I've played those to death and am looking for something else.

What say you, Groggy McGrogheads?

[Destraex]

For the record I really enjoy COH3, but am worried that since the dev team got cut down that it will either now be a slow burn or a dead game. However it's still a helluva lot of fun.

You did not mention Steel Division 2? Can I assume you have tried that? It is probably my favourite ww2 RTS of all time while being very believable as a meeting engagement or even if you play breakthrough mode a defensive engagement. Steel Division 2 recently had yet more full campaign and side addons and two new maps. Recently 6 more DLC sides were released. This game has the most comprehensive kit list for an ww2 RTS game I have ever seen.

Gates of Hell is another to consider but I would only play that if you were into men of war 2 assault squad. I have not played that one in a long long time. My problem with gates of hell was that you could not zoom out enough to see what was shooting at your tanks. They would just die from off screen somewhere.

Men of War 2 ... this one just got delayed and seemed to have a very multiplayer only vibe. I don't like the graphics or the interface in men of war games much. So this one did not excite me much.

My pick would abviously be Steel Division 2.

[Sir Slash]

I miss playing Call of Duty and Medal of Honor on my old Playstation 2 way back there. Nothing like that gets me started today First-Person wise. I don't think my 60+ years old nerves could take it. But, DAMN, it was fun.

[JasonPratt]

newer than "CoH2" -- naturally deducts a number of things including RTS games like Codename: Panzer / Sudden Strike

"RTS" -- deducts FPS games and sims. Also turn based games like Second Front(??) and Cauldron of War. CMx2 engine can be played RTS but...

"not quite as heady as Combat Mission" -- deducts CMx2 and more complex things like the Graviteam series; the Hearts of Iron series (which is technically RTS!); and Command Ops 2 (also technically RTS).

With Des I recommend looking at Steel Division 1 & 2, by the way. SD2 has a strategic campaign layer for many of its ops. I have Gates of War, but haven't played it. Heard good things about it.

There's an interesting engine I've piddled with (helped bug-check a thing or two for the dev), which is sort of like a less complex Command Ops (and plays RTS like COps2 and its predecessors), and newer than CoH2, but I can't recall the name of it. It's worth checking out, but I'll have to wait till I get home to check my library for it. Starts its grand campaign with an invasion of Czechoslovakia! Core units can be bought, and level up somewhat like PzGen. NATO designations on a somewhat 3D map, iirc. (I don't think the map itself is 3D, but its implementation is, if that makes sense.)

Could also consider Radio General, which allows you to make plans based on radio reports from your units in RTS. (Not made by the same team who did the Vietnam game, iirc, but similar in concept at a larger scale.) Think it's set on the Allied side of the Bulge...?

[JasonPratt]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1285180/Maneuver_Warfare/

Here's the game I was thinking of. Dev keeps introducing some new support units, and doing patches, which is good!

[JasonPratt]

Here's Radio General: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1011610/Radio_General/

Follows the career of the 1st Canadian Army from its prologue in the Dineppe Raid (testing invasion strategies at Normandy), through Italy, Normandy proper, and the breakout to the Falaise Gap. The expansion adds missions during Market-Garden. So a good selection of an under-represented army! Note that voice command functionality is reportedly VERY buggy.