Sudden Strike with latest patch Developer: Fireglow Studios Publisher: CDV Software Category: : Real Time Strategy System Req: PII450, 64 Mb RAM, 16 Mb Video Card, 12x CD-Rom Might look like: Ground Control Date posted: 4 March 2001 Written By: Jochen - This game was reviewed on PII 550Mhz, 128Mb Ram, Geforce 2 GTS 32Mb, Win98SE - We also test other games on "PlayDevil.com Game Machine" War is not a game But now it is ! Fireglow is the first studio to introduce an RTS game based on the second World War. And this time it is really a strategy game in real-time. Let me explain this 'weird' statement. Recently, I read an article in a magazine about how the RTS games of today are not really about strategy. They are more like real-time economy games. And when you start to think about it, that's actually true. It's all about getting resource-gathering up to speed to be able to produce more units than your opponents. Recently Ground Control took a different approach : you have to accomplish your objectives with a given number of units, which you cannot replace. With this style of gameplay you are really forced to come up with a decent strategy instead of pumping out units like there is no tomorrow and throwing them at your enemies. Sudden Strike is really similar : there is no base building, no resource gathering and no unit production and sometimes units are carried over to a next mission. In theory this should be a good idea. I mean, look at Ground Control. It is an amazing game with spectacular graphics and challenging gameplay. With Sudden Strike however, something has gone wrong. Sudden Boredom Strike? To be honest I was wondering when a team would come up with the idea of creating a game like this and when I heard about Sudden Strike I was excited. After playing the demo, I became less excited and now, having played the retail game, I'm bored. Having played C&C et al since the beginning I was just falling asleep on my keyboard. Gameplay is sooo sloowww. Sure, you can say that units move in real-time but for me that's not an excuse. Besides, the team behind it have provided a speed slider that does absolutely nothing to the speed of the infantery units. In one particular mission based on "Saving Private Ryan", you have to find a soldier behind enemy lines. You have a squad of seven men to acclompish your mission, but the time it takes for them to run from point to point is endless. And that slider does not help a thing !! If you love games like C&C, forget about this one !    Graphics & Sound/Music Graphics in this game look very crisp, albeit very small on higher resolutions. The explosions are the best in any 2D game of this type I have ever seen and everything can be destroyed. All units, except the infantery, can be easily recognised. Sudden Strike is played in a resolution from 640x480 to 1024x768, but 640x480 is way too cramped to have a good field of view on the action. I cannot be as positive about sound and music in this game. To begin with the sound effects, they are a mixed bag. Overall quality is very bad, with alot of crackles in the samples. Voices are not very good either as are the different weapon sounds. The music is good, but doesn't fit the theme of the game. It actually reminds me of 'Force Commander', in which you had a techno remix of the Imperial March. It was dreadful and totally pointless. The same goes here. To make things worse, I always had to start the music myself. Normally it's the other way around... .    Next Page Up Previous Page If you want to review your favorite game, or if you work with a computer game company and want your products reviewing, mail info@playdevil.com. All contributions are welcome. Any problems and/or suggestions are always appreciated on webmaster@playdevil.com Nothing of this entire Site, animation & logo's included, may be reproduced, stored, saved, transmitted, in any form or means, electronic, written or otherwise without the prior permission of PlayDevil. Other Logos & Names are Copyrighted Material of its respectful owners. All Rights Reserved. PlayDevil Productions © 199/8-199/9-200/0 "rip your own stuff"