Thankfully, German developers CDV look like addressing this problem with Sudden Strike - a new, real-time, tactical strategy game based on a harrowing period of contemporary history which is now being made into a fun computer game. So far, no one has really captured the scale and essence of the Second World War in 'proper1 computer gaming terms.
For years now, PC games players have had access to hundreds of stuffy, hard-core, hex/turn-based titles - even Microsoft's much-lauded Close Combat RTS series took itself far too seriously. Strategy games based on real-life war time situations are nothing new.
It's also quite frustrating to have injured units without any way of pumping them back up to full health, but if you're looking to escape the realities of war, you've probably worked out by now that Sudden Strike isn't for you. It's not quite as accessible as the aforementioned arcade blasters, and quite often you'll find yourself stuck, perplexed as to what to do next.
Certainly you'll find it hard not to look down on Red Alert and its brethren as being more than a little brainless - even a little passe.Ĭombine SSs emphasis on tactics with delicious graphics, great ambient audio and streamlined interface (the patch includes improvements to the way you unload troops from carrier vehicles) and in no time you'll be cooking up a phone bill to remember.Ĭriticisms are few. Straight away you're thrown into the melee, dodging distant snipers, creeping down alleyways and blowing stuff up. If you're familiar with C&C style blasts, where everyone remains confined to their bases often for hours at a time, hiding behind an ever increasing number of sand bags and gun emplacements, SS missions will come as a refreshing change. The fact that combatants don't have to muck about with building factories, training troops and the like means that every game is steeped in strategy and hard thinking from the outset. We did try playing it on a laptop using the infra-red modem on a 28.8K WAP phone as our on-ramp to the Internet, but after a couple of dropped carriers and a lot of MESSAGES IN CAPITALS from increasingly narked adversaries, we decided it was probably a bit silly and gave it a miss.Īs a game, Sudden Strike really does lend itself to playing against other people.
The very nature of RTS means that the odd dropped packet, lag spike or connection glitch does not affect the flow of gameplay: tanks keep rolling, troops keep moving, and unless something serious goes wrong, you could be forgiven for thinking that every online opponent was hardwired in to the back of your machine. If you're used to playing arcade shooters such as Counter-Strike or Unreal Tournament, where the data transfer rates are much higher, get ready for arenas where low latency is no longer king. Keep On MovingĪside from a rather limited number of multiplayer options, Sudden Strike plays well over any Internet connection, from a 33.6K modem upwards.
If you've not yet bought the box, or have yet to free it from its Christmas wrapping, make sure you install the patch before you run the game, and then go grab yourself a copy of server seeker GameSpy. You can get to the action direct from your desktop without having to do any mucking about from within the game itself. This means that there's now a master server holding information on all SS sessions around the globe, and so joining them has become a point-and-click dream.
If you already own a copy of the game, you'll be glad to hear that this latest update beefs up the multiplayer side of things by including support for GameSpy. Yet Sudden Strike continues to gain popularity both here and in the Fatherland, where its Karlsruhe based publisher has recently released a much awaited patch, available to existing users as a 2Mb download. You'd have thought that losing a couple of world wars would dampen their enthusiasm for a real-time strategy game involving Panzerfaust gunners, Nazi officers, Sturmtiger assault cannons and V-1 doodlebugs, especially when the name of the game in question is often shortened to SS. I have Bitcoin.They're an odd lot, the Germans. DO NOT EMAIL US BEGGING FOR NEW GAMES, LASTEST UPDATES OR PATCHES! YOU WILL BE IGNORED. Please email us at and let us know how you want to donate and we will provide more details. I want to donate via PayPal, credit/debit card or another cryptocurrency. See below for more information on each option.
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