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World War II Frontline Command
by Jolex Del Pilar
Monday, August 18 2003
Bitmap Brother's WWII strategy game is a slower, more cranial experience, that differs from most RTS games. Does it work? Read our full review.
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Title:
World War II Frontline Command
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Platform:
Windows 98/ME/XP/Etc, Pentium II 500, 128MB Ram, 16mb video card, DirectX 8.1 compatible soundcard.,
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Publisher:
Strategy First |
Developer:
Bitmap Brothers |
#
of Players: 1 - 4 |
Genre:
Real Time Strategy
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Origin:
United States
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Expected
Release:
June 2003 |
Grapevine:
Bitmap Brothers have previously worked on similar titles such as Z: Steel Soldiers. |
At it's core, World War II: Frontline Command is an RTS game that is set in a very popular gaming backdrop. It's not as action packed as Medal of Honor, or as exhilarating as any of the WWII flight sims out there, but it is fun nonetheless.
It does feature 25 Single Player missions that navigate a timeline from D-Day to the end of the war, granted that you play on the Veteran difficulty level (recruit level only features 12). Frontline Command isn't typical in that you don't get to do any of the base building that is usually associated with RTS games. What you are given in the beginning of a mission is what you're stuck with. It's actually very similar to Microsoft's own Close Combat series, but a little less hardcore when it comes to statistics and realism. Still, there are a variety of gameplay elements that keep this game from being a simple arcadish version of Close Combat. You can hide troops in buildings, give advanced commands such as crawl, ambush, or even run(away). The game even features a morale bar. If a soldier sees his buddy take a bullet on the field, he might be reluctant to fire his weapon and instead opt to hide behind a mound of dirt. Of course the opposite also applies. Given enough morale, a troop will charge a tank with his bayonet.
Another difference between Frontline Command and a typical RTS game is the abscence of a "fog of war" to obscure the landscape. Instead, the game features a "Line of Sight" system in which you can see anything your troops can see. In reality, the only difference is that, instead of both enemies and terrain being obscured when you're not in direct proximity, only enemies are ever obscured while terrain remains visible throughout the game, more or less. This makes more sense given the "tactical" nature of the game. It helps you to plan your troop advances much more easier since you can see the terrain ahead of time. It still doesn't mean that an enemy machine gun nest won't be hiding just around the corner, so you must still plan for those type of contingencies.
Graphically, the game isn't bad at all. It looks vaguely of C&C: Generals, and games of that type. The levels are populated by many objects such as bombed out buildings, farms, and even civilian vehicles. Some of the buildings can be used to hide troops inside for an ambush. However, enemies can collapse a building right on top of you if they do enough damage to it, so beware of that threat.
The game's overall presentation is very solid. Although most games feature vintage film footage from World War II, it's still nice to have it included to increase the immersion level of the game. The sound effects are nicely done, although not spectacular. However, it's a strategy game, not a first person shooter.
WWII: Frontline Command isn't without faults however. It seems that the enemy A.I in the game lacks a little common sense, even on the veteran level. They sometimes will charge at you in those "one man army" type assaults (I.E - Come at you one by one). Also, it doesn't seem as if the enemy A.I will ever retreat. Through 20 missions, I had not seen an instance of the enemy retreating to regroup even after I was literally plastering them with rounds of ammunition. Perhaps the Third Reich needed these type of soldiers to be competitive in the game. Another minor complaint is the camera. Although it serves it's purpose to a great extent, a few more options such as rotation would have been great.
So how does WWII: Frontline Command fair as a sum of its parts. Hey, it's a great game that deserves more attention. It's not perfect, but rarely, if any games, reach that type of praise (especially on this site), but it is certainly solid. Fans of the Close Combat series from Microsoft will definitely like this game. Even fans of typical RTS games looking for a slower, more cranial experience will find a lot of value in this title. A great effort from the Bitmap Brothers and we'd love to see more titles from this quality developer.
--- Jolex Del Pilar
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