Men of War
Anecdote
Developed by the Ukrainian studio Best Way and published by 1C Company in March 2009, following in the lineage of Soldiers: Heroes of World War II and Faces of War, Men of War represents the pinnacle of a family of games that pushes real-time tactical simulation to the point of individual control of every soldier. At any moment, the player can take direct command of an infantryman, a machine-gunner, or a tank and aim its weapon with the mouse in an almost arcade-like view, or orchestrate units in the manner of a traditional wargame. Three solo campaigns cover the Soviet, Allied, and German theatres, following historically attested units such as the British 8th Army in Tunisia or the 116th Panzer-Division in Normandy. The GEM engine offers strict ballistic simulation with individually calculated projectiles, modelling of armour compartments, and total environmental destructibility. Each soldier has an individual inventory — grenades, medical supplies, binoculars, ammunition — which can be picked up from the dead or exchanged with a teammate. A mission lasts between one and three hours and often offers multiple paths to completion. The competitive and cooperative multiplayer brought together a hardcore community that still maintains active servers today. Best Way went on to produce Assault Squad, Assault Squad 2, Vietnam, and more recently Call to Arms and Gates of Hell, which continue the experience. Composer Sergey Lazarev contributed a sweeping and tragic orchestral score. Men of War is considered the quintessential WWII tactical RTS of the Ukrainian school and continues to inspire a new wave of simulators.
Popularity & reception
Distinctions — PC Gamer – Best Strategy nominated (2009)
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