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History Legends of War
Thursday 7th March 2013 | Osh
With so few turn-based strategy games available for consoles and with the recent success of XCOM: Enemy Unknown hugely expanding the popularity of this type of game, History® Legends of War is a fantastic new addition to the genre. Gameplay is simple to grasp and very addictive, with the intuitive control system making it easily accessible for strategy newcomers, while the extensive depth and traditional feel of the game will thrill the enthusiasts.
History® Legends of War combines strategy, tactics and RPG elements with exciting 3D action, immersing you in the bloody conflicts of WW2 from the beaches of Normandy to the worn torn streets of Berlin. In the extensive single-player Campaign Mode, you assume the role of the famous General George Patton, in control of the US Third Army. You and your troops must transverse across the Western European Theatre, advancing through a sequence of distinct Operations, carrying out all kinds of different Missions, varying from Attack, Inflitration and Sabotage to Reconnaissance and Defence, among others. The varying mission types mean you get to sneak past Nazi patrols, pick off loan soldiers, bomb buildings, blow up tanks, defend strongholds, use grenades to defeat groups of opposing units, rescue stranded allies and lots more. There are 21 Missions in total and they increase in difficulty and complexity as you progress. All Operations that you must complete are real, historical WW2 Operations, including Operation Cobra, Operation Overlord, the Siege of Cherbourg, the Chambois Pocket and the famous Ardennes Counteroffensive which featured heavily in the hit TV show ‘Band of Brothers’.
You have 36 different types of units at your disposal, from infantry, commandos, fighters, and bombers, to snipers, tanks, aircraft and more, each with its own unique abilities and special skills, (for example, type of weapon, distance they can move, strength of attack and so on) all of which can be individually upgraded and improved throughout the game. You choose which units to take with you on each Mission, sometimes you’re restricted to just a couple of units depending on the mission type, and some units can only carry out certain tasks so you need to pick wisely. In addition, you need to take into consideration how much fuel you have if you’re taking vehicles with you, and also the health of the units that you choose. Not all types of unit are available to you right from the beginning, new units become unlocked as you complete missions, however, you must recruit new units to your Army by using Prestige Points, the in-game currency, which you earn depending on how well you complete missions. Prestige Points are also used to upgrade units and to upgrade Patton himself and can also be used to heal units quickly between missions, so you need to spend carefully! A nice little touch is the ability to decorate an individual unit, and make him into a national hero if he particularly excels, individually, during battle. This will increase all his characteristics and skills, making him a very valuable asset in your army, which means you’ll want to look after him more during missions. You definitely build an affinity with your units as you progress and level them up, if a unit dies, he stays dead and you have to recruit a new, basic, unit which you’ll have to build up again. This is likely to affect your decisions on where you position units and what tactics you employ, as you try to keep your more experienced units alive and available for subsequent missions.
The control system is straight forward and easy to grasp, it’s sensibly mapped to the controllers and is instinctive to use. You have full 360 degree control of the camera including a zoom function, though as with most strategy games, a ‘fog of war’ system is in place, so you can only see within a certain range of your location. Uniquely you get full control over choice of weapon (depending on the unit), aiming, ducking and the use of cover.
Also included is a ‘hot-seat’, 2-player mode where players take alternate turns to make their moves. One player controls the advancing American forces while the other is in control of the opposing German forces. The same varied mission types from the single-player Campaign mode also appear in the 2-player mode, giving both players the opportunity to experience all mission types and to resist their opponent’s actions.
The History™ (channel) license ads depth and historical accuracy to the game, enhancing its authenticity. Strategy game experts, Slitherine, have created a solid, accessible and enjoyable game in History® Legends of War, it’s great to see another well executed, in-depth strategy game for consoles.
Published by Slitherine and distributed by PQube Ltd, History® Legends of War, released on 8th March, is available on Xbox360, PS3, PSVita and PC.
For details visit www.pqube.co.uk/legendsofwar
