Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom Review

After I performed and reviewed the earlier Strategic Thoughts sport to floor on the Xbox, Strategic Thoughts: The Pacific, I wasn’t massively enamoured of it. However by no means ones to let a dissenting voice sway their launch schedule, the following sport within the collection has limped onto the massive black Microsoft field, from builders Starni Video games and the Klabater publishing crew. 

The massive query we have now to ask ourselves although is whether or not this new instalment, Strategic Thoughts: Combat for Freedom, is any higher than the final one, or whether or not it’s a case of recent theatre of struggle, usual gameplay? 

Wanting on the story of the sport first and there are two views potential in Combat for Freedom, relying on who you select to facet with at first of the sport. You may have the selection of being the British, with the motion happening at the start of the struggle, with Hitler rolling into Poland, or you possibly can select to be the People; the motion of their marketing campaign takes place in direction of the top of the struggle. 

Whichever you select, there aren’t many surprises to be sincere, as everyone knows how the story of the Second World Conflict ends, however a minimum of with the American marketing campaign, there’s a little little bit of a “What if…?” state of affairs on the finish, with imagined battles between the USA and the USSR. Aside from these flights of fancy, the motion is rooted in historic reality, and so the story is fairly set in stone. 

Now, the presentation and, frankly, there is no such thing as a sort option to say this, however the way in which that the voice overs play out in Strategic Thoughts: Combat for Freedom is virtually felony. I haven’t heard such dodgy voice overs because the unique Resident Evil on the PlayStation, with the well-known “You, the grasp of unlocking” and “Hope this isn’t… Chris’ blood!” traces sounding like a manufacturing from the Royal Shakespeare Firm in contrast to what’s on provide right here. The British generals sound like they’re from Hungary, the People presumably from Mars, and the lip syncing for the minimize scenes is even worse. 

The sound is unhealthy, there is no such thing as a doubt, however after we come to the way in which the sport appears to be like, it manages to worsen. Typically, the motion is considered from a distant perspective, on a hexagon coated battlefield, and right here the motion isn’t too unhealthy. Nevertheless, every so often, the motion will zoom in in your unit because it performs no matter motion you’ve chosen, after which issues worsen. For one factor, why is my tank the dimensions of a city? And why does the digital camera dive into the panorama and refuse to return out till one other unit has been chosen utilizing the shortcuts on the backside of the display? Apart from that, the graphics are serviceable at greatest, but not a patch on Command & Conquer from twenty 5 years in the past, thoughts. 

Sure, the presentation of Combat for Freedom is woeful, however we are able to overlook this if the motion is engrossing, proper? Nicely, maintain on to that thought, as a result of there are points right here too. To begin with is the entire lack of any type of indication about the best way to carry out primary actions. In most video games, you choose a unit with A, then select what to do with stated unit, be it transferring or attacking. You’d then press A once more to substantiate, sure? Nicely, not right here. I sat there for 5 minutes, urgent each button on my Xbox controller till I lastly stumbled throughout the right mixture of buttons to make issues occur. So that you don’t have to fret, right here is my high tip – choose the unit with A, as you’d count on, then use the Y button to make the unit carry out its motion. 

That works initially, however then the second mission for the British is even worse, as it is advisable to “Deploy a headquarters unit”, by which it means an plane provider. I can not for the lifetime of me work out which is the “deploy” button, and so the British marketing campaign very a lot stalled. Fortunately the American one is a little more easy. Not a lot, only a bit.  

Coming from a PC background, as Strategic Thoughts: Combat for Freedom clearly does, you’d hope that the builders would have executed a good job of translating a keyboard and mouse onto a controller map, wouldn’t you? Nicely, calm down, as a result of they haven’t. Shifting the models round with the left stick just isn’t too unhealthy, as a result of the hexagons are fairly giant, however attempting to get your models to truly assault the enemy is an train in frustration, as in case you aren’t on precisely the suitable pixel, the unit will simply transfer as much as the enemy and get shot to items. Making an attempt to get an plane to shoot one other one? Good luck!

Now, you could really feel that I’ve a little bit of a downer on Combat for Freedom, and that’s for an excellent cause – it’s a huge disappointment. I really like a technique sport, having performed many, from the easy akin to Advance Wars, to all of the Command & Conquers and so forth and so forth. I really like the concept of attempting to recreate a World Conflict 2 setting, and I actually like the concept of reimagining a few of the battles from that period. I simply want that somebody with some thought about the best way to make a sport work on the Xbox had taken this on. 

I’m certain that on PC, Strategic Thoughts: Combat for Freedom might effectively be a positive sport, but it surely simply doesn’t work on the Xbox, and that could be a huge downside. I actually thought it could be unattainable to make a poorer sport than Strategic Thoughts: The Pacific, however sadly it appears that evidently it’s potential. 

Do your self a favour, and discover one thing else to play apart from Strategic Thoughts: Combat for Freedom. It’s really unhealthy, and really, really disappointing. 

Strategic Thoughts: Combat for Freedom is on the Xbox Retailer