The Great War: Western Front™

Had some interesting ideas and potential.. Falls flat, would benefit from a campaign versus mode or coop. Very repetitive gameplay.

Just...no. The game is sadness. You can only choose allies or axis, 1914 or 1916 ...that's all you have for "campaign". The map is tiny. Paris is the most west and most south point of the map, the german empire is virtually not even on the map.. Gameplay is a pathetic copy of total war. You have a world map where you move armies and "build" something, for combat you go into a somewhat 3D RTS map. Unit diversity does not exist. You have Infantery corps, tank platoon, air wing and siege artillery group. Each group contains a set of units depending on "research" (e.g. Tank later contains 2 hvy, 2 light and 1 AA tank). Infantery are needed for everything and cannot be recruited. The rest is more fluff (you cannot even attack or defend a sector without infantery, if the AI attacks a sector with 100000 tank platoons and 0 infantery in it, you can only choose to concede). Resources can only be gained as a pathetic fixed amount each turn. Every sector has 1-5 stars, only a great victory (wipe out all enemies and capture all strategic points within the time limit) counts and removes 1 star. So you need up to 5 great victories to actually conquer the sector..if you don't attack in a turn the sector passively regens a star. RTS is sad. There is like 3 or 4 different maps to fight on. Despite big promises barely anything persists between battles. Insanely limited resources means you cannot possibly build an actual western trench front...ever. Infantery is cannon fodder in the open, very strong in a trench..so attacking is not really an option. Tanks are way too expensive. Artillery is kinda useless since every salvo costs resources (that don't regen during a battle). Planes you just choose the plane mission and click on the map. Planes also make no sense. Fighter can be send to shoot down ballons or enemy planes, not both. Bombers can be send to bomb emplacements or shoot infantery with machinguns. God knows why fighters can't strafe infantery or why bombers dont bomb infantery and trenches... Something like "rock, paper, scissors" does not exist. Infantery with bolt action rifles in trenches can just kill your heavy tank for no reason. Whether your flamethrower infantery can defeat meager cnscripts in a trench melee entirely depends on difficulty chosen. The obvious auto resolve is ♥♥♥♥♥. I attack a sector with 10 infantery corps, 20 tank platoons, 30 air wings, 50 siege artillery ... AI is defending with 2 infantery corps. Auto resolve predicts a "majro defeat". Map far too small, too repetive, too grindy, too limited resources, too few unit diversity or influence on unit composition, RTS part way too unhinged. Petroglyph was supposedly formed by the devs behind Command and Conquer, looking at this game it must have been the devs responsible for C&C dying......

This game has been abandoned by the devs so do not buy this game

[h1] Приветствие [/h1] Всем доброго времени суток! Это мой первый опыт в написании таких больших отзывов, так что не судите строго. В этом обзоре я расскажу об игре, её плюсах и минусах, а также о том, стоит ли её покупать. Ну что ж, начнём! [h1] Ввод [/h1] Для кого этот обзор? Конечно же, для тех, кто интересуется покупкой игры. Здесь вы найдёте краткое описание, плюсы и минусы, мой вывод и личное мнение. [h1] Описание игры [/h1] Игра представляет собой стратегию с элементами тактики. В ней сочетаются два уникальных режима: глобальная карта, где вы можете покупать и перемещать войска, атаковать позиции врага и исследовать технологии, и режим полевого командования, где вы управляете солдатами в бою, строите окопы, укрепления и разрабатываете тактические решения для победы. Действие игры разворачивается во время Первой мировой войны, поэтому линия фронта часто остаётся неизменной на протяжении долгого времени — это часть реализма. Глобальная карта напоминает HOI4, а тактические сражения схожи с другими играми, где важно контролировать солдат и следить за полем боя. https://store.steampowered.com/app/394360/Hearts_of_Iron_IV/ [h1] Особенности игры [/h1] Эта игра предлагает уникальный игровой опыт благодаря сочетанию стратегического и тактического геймплея, постоянно меняющейся обстановке на фронте и внутри страны, а также наличию множества событий и заданий, способных повлиять на ход кампании. Меня впечатлили не только игровой процесс, но и стилистика с атмосферой. Вам придётся отправлять солдат прямо на пулемёты врага, чтобы захватывать позиции, а некогда зелёные поля к концу войны превращаются в выжженную землю, усеянную воронками от артиллерии, руинами зданий и мёртвыми деревьями. Игра отлично передаёт тяжесть и ужасы того времени. Теперь давайте разберём её плюсы и минусы. [h1] Плюсы [/h1] Начнём с плюсов: [olist] [*] Уникальный игровой процесс и интересный геймплей [*] Отличная стилистика и атмосфера Первой мировой войны [*] Постоянные задания и события, а также важные выборы [*] Глубокая система исследований с множеством вариантов развития [*] Различные режимы схваток: обычные бои и исторические битвы, способные бросить вызов игроку [/olist] [h1] Минусы [/h1] Никакая игра не бывает идеальной, поэтому вот недостатки, которые я заметил: [olist] [*] Технические проблемы и баги [*] Плохая оптимизация [*] Отсутствие официального сообщества, а также почти мёртвый онлайн в многопользовательском режиме [*] Визуальные баги [*] Отсутствие полноценной системы сохранений (нужно нажимать "Сохранить и выйти") [*] Отсуствие поддержки игры со стороны разработчиков [/olist] [h1] Почему стоит купить игру [/h1] Несмотря на минусы, эта игра может понравиться: Любителям стратегий Фанатам атмосферы Первой мировой войны Тем, кто ищет уникальный геймплей Тем, кто ценит искусство "пушечного мяса" [h1] Вывод [/h1] Стоит ли покупать игру? Если вы любите стратегии или интересуетесь Первой мировой войной — определённо да! Но лучше дождаться скидки. Она станет отличным дополнением к вашей библиотеке, а в тихие вечера вы сможете штурмовать вражеские позиции, продумывая тактику. Несмотря на все недостатки, я считаю, что эта игра заслуживает внимания. Надеюсь, мой отзыв помог вам определиться с выбором. Но это ещё не всё! Если хотите, можете прочитать моё послесловие. [h1] Послесловие [/h1] Я рад, что вы дочитали мой обзор. Но хочу поделиться своими переживаниями. Игра уникальна, но разработчики не развивают её дальше, хотя потенциал у неё огромный. Я не хочу, чтобы такая интересная тематика осталась в тени. Поэтому я планирую место для сообщества и хочу привлечь внимание игроков к этой игре. Этот обзор — мой первый шаг. Если он вам понравился или вы хотите меня поддержать, пожалуйста, поставьте лайк. Желаю вам хорошего настроения, а игре — новой жизни. Конец!

I don't normally write reviews - most of the games I play are already either mostly positive or above. I see a lot of comments about bugs and abandonware. So far, after playing through 3 and a half campaigns, The only 'bug' I've experienced, is when you're moving your troops through the trenches, and if the trench is full, they get stuck or go over the top (and the timing is wrong, they get nailed). Seems like more of a design feature than a bug to me. One design feature that I would like to change (and there is a mod for this) is sending your troops over the top - sometimes they run around and come out in single file, but the time it takes them to do that, half your suppression barrage has already been fired. As for abandonware - Pffft. The game is complete and once you play it a bit, it has a deceptive amount of depth. Want cheaper artillery rounds? Get the artillery shell cache - half price artillery barrages, but just hope they don't blow up your cache. The AI will counterattack your trenches - he doesn't just sit there and roll over. Brilliant. I love that. I saw someone say just use artillery to suppress and rush and there's no real use for tanks. That's great, if you're artillery is in range for the whole map, and you have enough of it to suppress the trenches behind the ones you are rushing, otherwise you'll be writing a lot of letters home to the families of your dead troops. Tanks however, can draw fire further up the map to give your guys a chance to break through. Or you can use bombers to blow up the MG nests, if you have enough supply left. Careful management of your supplies is crucial to a win. Spend too much on artillery and you won't have enough left for the necessary troops and barrages and bombers. Spend too much on siege bombardments, same thing. Spend too much gold on supply depots, run out of coin. Same thing on defence - MG nests are essential, but where you place them is just as important. Put them in the front trench, and they'll be the first thing to go. Get carried away and put them everywhere, and you have no troops, or not enough troops left. Which will be a real surprise when you see that first enemy tank on the battlefield and he rolls right over you. And if you still find the game too easy, go and customise the difficulty and make the AI really aggressive, but keep his health the same as your troops (or not, give him more). Good luck. This game is absolutely worth it. I got it on special for $15 AUD, and after playing it, I would have happily spent double that. I don't see why people are calling it abandonware - the game has everything it needs, and based on what I know about WW1 (which is a lot more than most people) it's one of the better WW1 games out there. And I haven't experienced any bugs or crashes. Ignore the reviews about abandonware and bugs, and go over the top and take some trenches.

Unfortunately, this game seems to have been abandoned. Bugs and glitches keep popping up, and issues its had since launch are still going strong (looking at you French Air Force)

Honestly I was looking forward to this, but poor balancing and ZERO post launch support has made this game stagnate in my library. Bought it and did a playthrough and hoped for a future update for added replayability but nothing from the devs.

I wholeheartedly believe that you should ignore the mixed and negative reviews of this game if you are looking for, or are interested in a Strategy and Tactics game centered around what WW1 is notorious for; *gritty, brutal, terrible, and deeply dependent on each strategic choice you make* This is no Call to Arms, but it does not NEED to be. It is the perfect mix of deep strategy with need for tactical prowess (which is easy to attain after a few dozen hours). Where each decision, emplacement, artillery strike at the tactical level; combined with your access to supply, buffs from buildings, and need for intelligence at the strategic level that makes this game *just* complex enough - while also making each choice in the research tree, strategic map movement, and special decisions equally and entirely important to winning or losing. Paired with the *Better Persistence* mod in the workshop, watching each battlefield evolve while the bodies pile up and the craters turn a beautiful landscape into a hellish mudhole is exactly what WW1 buffs and/or enthusiasts need from a game centered around the gritty brutality of the war. Yes, thousands will die - but you have no option but to charge into the enemy trenches with overwhelming force. The game forces you combine 19th century tactics with 20th century technology. Yes, many battles will end in a stalemate. Yes, constant artillery barrages are tough to maintain - and even more annoying to weather out. . . Yes, sometimes one mistake or poorly timed charge will wipe your reserves and force you to spend all your supply. That is just WW1. If you are looking for a Strategy Game centered around what makes WW1, WW1. . . Well this is your best bet.