WarStory: Fight off Hitlers Men & Free the World
WarStory: Europe in Flames is a browser based MMORPG from Bigpoint that is created in the genre of strategy and warfare. Set in the latter part of World War II, the game allows players to free certain European cities from the German stranglehold. Players can opt to play as American or Soviet troops. The game is well laid out and demands strategic game play. For those who are historically and strategically minded, this game will provide several hours of thrilling play.
Re-creating WWII
The video gaming world is overflowing with games that have been set in World War II. There is something about the tragedies, the heroism and the massive impact on all of humanity created by this devastating event that it appears in all media down the years. The topic is as fresh as if it occurred a few years ago. Films, books and now the Internet is chocker block full of information on this great war.
Most of the new generation has not had any firsthand knowledge of this event, mercifully. The greatness of the generation that participated and suffered in this human tragedy can never be forgotten. That is why games have taken on the mantle of continuing to revive this era in all forms. WarStory is one such effort that re-creates those times.
The game is spread across the continent of Europe. The missions are diverse but the objective is the same, no matter which perspective you choose to play from. You will be attempting to free Europe from German hold. You can choose to play as American or Russian.
The game appoints you as the commander of your troops. You can choose from a few portraits that are presented to you in the beginning scenes. The US army will be positioned on the western front in this way, while the Soviet army will be attacking from the eastern front. You can select where on the map you would like to start your adventure. This point is called the drop zone or the landing point. This is where you will set up your troops initially.
The antagonists in this case are the German soldiers occupying parts of Europe. Both the American and the Russian armies set their targets on these occupied cities. They are both fighting for the same cause; therefore they cannot attack one another. Both armies will be moving towards the centre part of Europe from their individual direction.
Unlike most other WWII games, where you play one side, competing against the other, this game presents a fresh outlook. It is more of a friendly race between the Soviet army and the Western Allies to see who will be the first to reach their destination, which in this case is Berlin. Each has to overcome attacks by Germans in the various towns along their respective routes.
Their journey covers four phases in the war. Once one of the two teams has succeeded in securing the liberation of Berlin, the game is over. But you can start a new one again.
Liberating Europe, One Town at a Time
The game features a very detailed and interesting tutorial that will take you through the paces of organizing missions. The tutorial is conducted by a stern sergeant who will whip you into shape to make your battle ready. If you need further information on any object, just hover your mouse over it and you will be able to read the help tool tip.
Each mission is quite detailed from selecting your troops, to choosing the equipment, ammunition, vehicles, etc. The missions are assigned to you by the high command. You will travel to the appointed destinations and engage the enemy forces.
Initially, you will get minor missions from the the scout’s reports. These are assigned every couple of hours so you must regularly keep checking the scout reports section. These missions are relatively simple to teach you the basics of combat. You select troops, jeeps, mortar guns, tanks etc. according to the size of mission.
The interface of the missions is very clear to let you know the objective of the mission and how you are going to achieve it. It will also list the rewards you will be given if you successfully complete it. The rewards are generally in the form of experience points, rank improvements or gold, which you can use to buy resources. Rank will come in handy when it comes time to get favours to acquire high command missions.
Each squad that you select for your mission will cost you in resources such as fuel, rations and ammo. You can select infantry, vehicular and other squads depending on the mission objective and the number of resources you have at your disposal. A speedy way to assemble your unit is to use the auto select button that will fill up your squad and equipment requirements based on the needs of the mission. However, it does not take into account the resources required to sustain such a unit.
You will be asked to liberate certain towns from German occupation. You arrive in the neighbourhood which is an area indicated by a dotted perimeter. There will be the enemy stronghold that will fly the German flag. Generally, a third position is also indicated where you can send troops or vehicles that can provide cover for your attack.
Plan Your Moves
Mortar artillery units are a good way to destroy enemy fortifications. Before you send in your infantry it’s a good idea to bombard the enemy sector to subdue them. This makes it somewhat easier to send in the troops to finish them off.
The way you manoeuvre your units is pretty simple and straightforward. You point on them to select them first. You can select more than one unit by holding the mouse button while dragging a square over the units. You next point to the areas you need them to go to. If you click on the German flag then the units will approach the occupied zone. As soon as the units reach the perimeter of the enemy zone, they will start to fire at the enemy units. Both sides will engage in battle. You are advised send tanks to the second area to provide cover for your infantry.
You may send in this vehicular unit to attack the enemy area from the side, which is called the flank attack. This is a good way to surround the enemy and destroy their base. The whole battle scenario is enacted on screen in an overhead shot. You can watch the action unfold and your units shoot and fire at the enemy.
Since each mission takes place in real time, you have to be quick in your thinking and your reactions. You may need to revise your strategy on the fly if it is not working against a stronger defence. A victory is ensured when all the enemy units have been destroyed. You are rewarded with experience points, ammunition and other weapons which will come in use in future missions.
The battle performance takes into consideration the amount of the time you take to destroy the enemy position, and the amount of damage you take as well as inflict. This affects the levels of rewards that can hope to gain from each mission.
High Command Missions
In order to get missions assigned by the high command, the process is a little bit more involved. The game throws in some realistic and down to earth practical hurdles in achieving these awards. You will need to earn favours from your earlier missions for the high command to even consider awarding you with important missions. Of course, the missions from high command are more resource intensive and the rewards for victory are also very high so everyone competes for these.
It is useful to upgrade your equipment and your troops before approaching these high command assignments. You can actually choose a reward for completing these missions from a list those offered. One of the rewards in completing high command missions are military leaders with unique talents. They join your unit and add value and skill to your entire section.
To complete missions assigned by high command, you will have to report to deployment locations. There are various modes of transport to those places, including taking a plane flight. Interestingly, you maintain a detailed log in your war diary of the steps you take to complete these missions, including amount of gold you spent.
Some missions require you to travel to other towns to collect specialists to join your team. Your journeys are made possible with planes for which you have to pay from your gold reserve. Each officer in your unit has some specialized talents. It is good to have officers with a variety of specialities as you never know when you will need them in battle. You assign squads to such officers to lead them into battle. The more encounters they participate in, the more experience and talent points they gain as well.
You can keep an eye on your entire company’s troops and equipment status from a single interface. When you click on each unit, such as tanks or mortar units, you will see at a glance the condition of this unit in terms of damage as well as its basic attributes. You can also get a recap description of each unit.
War Target Missions
Finally, you also receive actual missions to go to war from the war targets. These are indeed elaborate missions which you should undertake only when you have mastered the junior missions. In war targets, you are assigned certain cities that you must liberate from the German occupation.
The missions in war targets are similar in operation to the ones under the scouts reports and high commands. The main difference is they matter directly with the war effort as they attempt to drive back the German Wehrmacht from the cities. Even though our unit is engaging in this battle, by no means we are the only ones who can successfully drive the Germans out. There will be dozens of other allied teams who will be carrying out similar operations.
The server keeps track of the efforts of every player in the game for the liberation of each city and only when a certain number have been successful, the city is considered to be liberated. This is a great collaborative effort, and each player has to pitch in and do his part.
After every mission, you must take stock of the situation, no matter whether you were successful or not. The game screen will show you the damage incurred on your individual units. You may need to repair your equipment or tend to the injured. All this costs money and resources which has an impact on your overall standing in the game.
The missions are a great educational tool for those who do not have any military knowledge. The game is true to its historical roots so you can actually learn as to how the allied forces fought their battles in WWII. To be a commander of a unit in the heat of war was not a cake walk. You needed guts and quick thinking to succeed. You had to be resourceful and learn how to turn defeats into victories by using your wits and whatever else you could get your hands on.
Winning in the Trenches
The game graphics are very realistic and the menus extremely detailed. The characters in WarStory are well drawn to depict the actual rough and tough soldiers who went to fight the battles in WWII. You will find some loose cannons and some rugged champions in the mix, which adds to the overall dimensions of the game.
In most other war strategy games where you essentially build towns then create armies to protect them. In WarStory you do not own any land, but are assigned the command of military units. Your goals are simple and missions are direct. You need to stop German armies from taking over the European cities under their iron rule.
Each mission is similar and unique at the same time. You will learn the basics of military manoeuvring in the first dozen or so missions. But every time the terrain and layout will be different which will present its own challenges. You need to consider the size of your enemy units and how they match up to yours. You will have to devise different strategies such as whether to use a frontal or flank attack or both.
As a military commander, you need to know the strong and weak points of each of your units. The range and impact of various weapons is also important to know. Remember, these are the 1940’s so the weaponry also reflects that period. Study the maps well and know what is at your disposal and what you can turn to your advantage. The maps are very well designed with terrain that reflects true European lands.
In case you are not victorious in your mission, you will lose all your units that were in battle. Although they are not lost for good, they will need to be fixed and this will take a certain amount of time. You will not be able to undertake any new missions while this is happening. If you have only a few units, be careful not to lose them, as getting them back to full health can take several hours.
Another thing to consider is travel time for your troops. Since you are moving with heavy artillery, etc. your speed is reduced. Even to cover a short distance between towns may take a couple of hours. You can speed up both these time consuming events by buying premium facilities from Bigpoint using real cash. This will speed up the process. But if you don’t want to spend money and are willing to be patient then give it time for evolve.
United We Stand
The game is quite detailed since the creators have tried to be as realistic as possible in setting up the WWII environment. While they must be commended for their efforts, this does have an impact on the learning curve that is quite steep for new players. It takes a while for players to figure out how to assemble the right units and the strategies that may work on missions.
There is no PvP combat in this game, unlike other war strategy games online. You are essentially fighting units powered by AI. This does not mean you can blindly go in and hope the win every mission against a dumb opponent. The game logic is quite intricate and each enemy unit puts up a good fight and can even outsmart some common strategies used by players.
Being an MMP game, it does offer opportunities for players from around the world to communicate with one another. You can exchange notes through the active forum or event he chat window that is open in the game screen itself. You can also team up with other players and combine forces to attack certain towns.
The game depth is quite awesome with over fifty battle scenarios and fifty types of units to manage. There are thousands of weaponry objects you can use. Rewards are plentiful in the game and allow you to amass rank and reputation, in addition to wealth. You can use the won resources to buy new equipment and upgrade existing ones. You can hire the best talented officers and train them through experience and deadly missions to turn into reliable specialists on your team.
Once the overall objective of pushing back the German Wehrmacht freeing Berlin is achieved the game is essentially over. But in WarStory they call it the end of a season. This mean you are ready to begin all over again. The missions will be different so it will be like playing a new game. Your commander carries over from the previous season and all his achievements, ranks, rewards, etc. are kept intact. You will also be able to carry the accumulated gold. In the new season, you can switch to another side if you so choose.
Playable Factor: 7/10
The game takes a while to figure out the controls but there is a helpful tutorial that gives you in depth training in all the manoeuvres. The interfaces are full of important information you need to devise your strategies. Battle movements are point and click mouse operations.
Visual: 6/10
The game captures the time period of the 1940’s very well through its graphical design. The maps, photos and drawings have a charming feel about them even though they depict a harrowing time in history. The animations are simple yet effective. Don’t expect explosions and 3D encounters. The overhead views of the battle scenes are dramatic enough.
Uniqueness: 6/10
Although there are many World War 2 games, WarStory brings to life a unique part the war. While most war games have you fighting to gain a piece of land, this game has an overall objective to see which of the two fronts are successful in reaching the heart of the German occupation first.
Game Depth: 7/10
There are dozens of missions to accomplish in the game as you inch your way towards Berlin which seems millions of miles away. While the missions are repetitive to some extent, using different equipment and strategies keeps them interesting.
Story/Plot: 6/10
Reliving parts of the WW2 history, the game brings to life the story we all know very well. The plot is simple and keeps game play focused on the final aim of freeing Berlin. The missions along the path to this objective make up the story.
Replay Value: 7/10
If military strategising is what you enjoy in your games, then WarStory will have you engrossed in the game for a long time. You will like to try out various strategies in the different missions.
Lastability: 6/10
The game relies on the popular WWII model that inspires the heroic in all of us. It allows us a glimpse into the rough and tumble of real wars.
Conclusion:
An overall military adventure, WarStory Europe in Flames is a realistic depiction of the missions that made up the overall effort to liberate Europe from domination. The game has detailed unit depictions, equipment and weapons to re-create the WWII period. The graphics and animations are good supports to the strategy development of the various military excursions. We give the game a 7 out of 10.