[h2]8.0/10 – A Breath of Fresh Air for the RTS Genre (Base Game Review)[/h2]
It's been a long time since I've played an RTS with such an engaging campaign, strong storytelling, and meaningful innovations to the classic RTS formula.
[h3]What I Loved:[/h3]
• [b]Campaign & Mission Design[/b]
Every mission introduces a new challenge, situation, or objective that forces you to adapt your strategy. The scenarios are well-crafted, varied, and rarely feel repetitive. Side objectives are a great addition, offering extra challenges and sometimes alternative ways to solve problems.
My only wish is that the campaign had in-game cinematic moments. Something similar to World in Conflict's cutscenes could have helped deliver the story with greater emotional impact and made key moments feel even more memorable.
• [b]World Map & Strategic Layer[/b]
Even though the campaign is largely linear, being able to move your army between locations, refuel supplies, train troops, and trade equipment gives a welcome sense of freedom and progression.
• [b]Army Management[/b]
One of the game's most interesting features. You can capture enemy vehicles or recover abandoned equipment from the battlefield. Since larger armies consume more supplies, you're constantly making decisions about which units to keep, upgrade, sell, or disband. Resource management remains relevant throughout the campaign.
• [b]Diverse Unit Variety[/b]
The game offers an impressive roster of units: snipers, hackers, marines, anti-tank teams, militia, armored trucks, artillery, support vehicles, Humvees, IMVs, Strykers, APCs, tanks, helicopters, and even Terminator-themed sci-fi units. Building combined-arms formations and executing battlefield plans feels rewarding.
• [b]Unit Customization[/b]
Another feature I really enjoyed. Infantry and vehicles can be upgraded with new weapons, armor, gadgets, and skills. Most units remain useful throughout the campaign, with different upgrades allowing them to specialize for different roles.
• [b]Vehicle Resource Management[/b]
Every vehicle has limited fuel, ammunition, and repair resources that must be carefully managed during missions. Deciding when to resupply, repair, or conserve resources becomes a critical part of long-term success.
[h3]What I Didn't Like:[/h3]
• [b]Lack of Mission Briefing Information[/b]
The preparation phase often doesn't provide enough information about the upcoming battlefield or enemy composition. This can lead to inefficient upgrades and poor force composition choices. In some missions, going in blind can be extremely punishing.
• [b]Combat Can Feel Too RNG-Dependent[/b]
This is difficult to describe, but combat sometimes feels overly reliant on luck. Because units have limited ammunition and there's no priority-targeting system, it's common to see multiple ATGMs fired at the same target, only for several of them to miss due to obstacles or accuracy issues. Since ammunition is limited and enemy forces are often larger and stronger, these situations can quickly snowball into major losses.
• [b]Encourages Save Scumming[/b]
The two issues above can indirectly encourage frequent saving and loading. While it's certainly possible to complete the game without doing so, losing a veteran Bradley or tank because of an unexpected enemy spawn or an unfortunate series of misses feels especially painful in a game that places so much emphasis on long-term unit preservation and resource management.
[h3]Final Thoughts[/h3]
Despite these frustrations, the game does an excellent job innovating within the RTS genre. Its combination of persistent army management, meaningful logistics, unit customization, and varied mission design makes it one of the most refreshing RTS campaigns I've played in years.
