Men of War

Pros

• A refreshing approach to WWII games
• A diverse variety of mission objectives
• Play three distinct campaigns

Cons

• Outdated graphics
• Excessive micromanagement in the gameplay

World War II real-time strategy games have flooded the market so that it's hard to distinguish one from the next in this crowded sub-category. Men of War pushed the boundaries further than ever before and bravely experimented with new gaming mechanics. This game succeeds at carving itself out in the niche because it delivers expressive campaigns filled to the brim with historical details. Jump into the shoes of your military units with third-person "direct control" mode.

Unlike other games in the genre, Men of War bypasses base building because it wants gamers to turn their attention more to the tactics portion of the gameplay. As the elements merge, you learn the history in a fun way, and the game rewards anyone searching for challenge with twists and unexpected turns to the genre.

Difficulty never wanders far from this game. In fact, Men of War offers a unique complexity and difficulty to the point that getting into it could prove difficult for some gamers. The first mission only teaches you the basic commands, and you don't have a lengthy tutorial to hold your hand through the missions. The ghostly outlines, however, clue you in about where your troops might duck in cover. The problem becomes especially pronounced when you have a mission where you have to hide the bodies or booby-trap an enemy vehicle.

In terms of gameplay, Men of War engages you and varies the structure enough to keep it fresh. The single-player mode hands you three separate campaigns. In the first mission, you have an extensive Russian campaign where you must shadow the footsteps of two friends fighting for the Red Army. Your early missions range from defending Sevastopol to evacuating old Soviet factories. Finally, we're not just recycling the common WWII battlegrounds like Stalingrad and Normandy. Instead, we face new challenges in the less-known historic events of World War II.

Because the creators at Men of War were Ukrainian, it should come as no surprise that the game puts a special slant of favor on the Soviet campaign. Meanwhile, the American and German campaigns were about half the length, and they have you gunning down enemies in North Africa. Even still, the shorter campaigns will still leave you mesmerized at the screen. The American and German campaigns take around eight hours each, which tallies the entire single player mode up to around 30 hours of gaming.

Men of War brings intelligence back to first-person shooter games, and you have mission objectives that center around more than, "Eliminate all the enemies." It can range from evacuating factory equipment to buying time for workers or stirring up trouble behind enemy territory. The rich selection in activities for each mission will mean that you can spend as much as 90 minutes beating a single mission and difficult levels can take twice as long.

Pros

• A refreshing approach to WWII games
• A diverse variety of mission objectives
• Play three distinct campaigns

Cons

• Outdated graphics
• Excessive micromanagement in the gameplay