Maps are tightly constructed with destructible environments in mind. It's nothing new to the genre or franchise, but it is well done. Each mission contains three side objectives to complete along with the main goal. The Allies, the USSR, and the Axis powers all have their campaigns that span seven missions. While those same armies, battles, and mechanics may seem derivative on paper, it's important to consider how they're implemented.
The last entry in the series came out over half a decade ago. That isn't a bad thing in this case, though. Even in its own series, it does very little to differentiate itself from past titles. To call Sudden Strike 4 original would be to lie. It would be easy to write off the whole RTS as just another World War II simulator, but the question needs to be asked: does unoriginality mean bad? The liberties they can take with the premise simply are few and far between. To be fair to Kite Games, it is taking over from Fireglow Games, along with developing a World War II RTS that's deeply grounded in historical battles. But from what I gathered, Sudden Strike 4 is far from being another franchise name abuse for the sake of business and I respect that.It's immediately made clear just how little content there is to help distinguish Sudden Strike 4 from other World War II RTSs: the same armies, the same battles, and the same mechanics return yet again. Then again, I can’t speak for the whole series. I doubt this sequel had the same alienating effect the latest Dawn of War had for its fans. Sudden Strike 4 feels like another part of the long running experiment of finding the best formula to modernize the genre. I’m not particularly thrilled about this, but there is enough to my liking to keep me going, however, in shorter bursts. There are still many elements specific to the subgenre, but there is no denying that Sudden Strike 4 is more of a hybrid than anything else. The fog of war can make this experience all the more brutal, emphasizing the need for severe micromanagement. But it’s powering the engines of faster conflicts, relying on systems of health and accuracy.
The tactical decision making is still the fuel of war. While not taking any risks with its content, Sudden Strike 4 does go for a different gameplay approach compared to what I’m used to see from RTTs. The interface isn’t exactly great, but does serve its purpose well. The presentation does hold up to today’s standards with a good enough visual fidelity, physics and excellent audio design. The customary skirmish and multiplayer modes add more flavor for those willing to venture outside the heavily scripted environment of the campaign. The campaign is what a strategy player has grown to expect a glorified tutorial covering the most notable battles for the three major factions of the war. Sudden Strike 4’s action presents the now overly used European theater of WW2 with a rich enough content for everyone’s taste. But since I can’t turn back time and strategy games don’t age so well, I decided to pick up the latest installment in the Sudden Strike franchise. I never got to play the series that defined RTT as the subgenre I enjoy so much. As a teen I missed out on quite a few important series because I was too focused replaying some RPGs to the death. And what better way to do that than playing a WW2 strategy game? Since I pretty much exhausted the Company of Heroes series, I went for something else. With Post Scriptum on the horizon I thought I should set the mood. However, I decided to focus this bit on a game that I picked up during the summer sale.
I was all over the place last week with the games I’ve played, so I ended up with quite a few good screenshots. Screenshot of the Week #161: Sudden Strike 4