We check out Eugen Systems' next foray into the
RTS world.
Anyone who remembered last year's
RTS RUSE knew that it was a solid strategy game with an original deception mechanics. The same developers of that game, Eugen Systems, recently showed off a hands-off demo of their new
RTS called Wargame: European Escalation. According to founder and creative director Alexis Le Dressay, the team planned on making the game as realistic a wartime strategy game as possible.
The game is set between 1975 to 1985 during the Cold War, where the developers give gamers a chance to alter history depending on which faction they pick. The factions available for your control are the NATO forces (comprised of USA and Western Europe) and the Warsaw Pact (consists of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries). The NATO forces have the most advanced units and tech, but they are the most expensive to buy and maintain. The Warsaw Pact relies on strength in numbers and a whole variety of units, probably at the expense of longevity.
You have a set amount of units to control, with players being able to recruit new ones halfway during battle. You defeat your opponent by reducing his or her points to zero by destroying units or securing objectives on the map. While killing off small-time units can get a player quick points, hitting the more valuable ones like an M1-Abrams or Apache gunship will dock off the most points from the opposing team.
Wargame relies on a lot more detail on terrain and battle conditions than one would think. Players will not only have to keep track how much slower a tank moves on anything other than tarmac, but also how much fuel it has left and its ammo count. Luckily, players will have access to supply tanks to put them in proper shape, but this also sports the dilemma of keeping them alive and in cover before an enemy finds and destroys them.
Speaking of cover, recon and infantry units can take advantage of foliage, trees, and suburban houses either to hide or get additional defense points. Conversely, having any artillery fire on cover can set them on fire which would either make hiding enemies flee or outright kill them. Players will also have to keep check on morale; the lower it goes, the higher they end up getting stunned or fleeing automatically from enemies.
Just like RUSE, there is no fog of war; all units are revealed as soon as they're in range of other units depending on their field of view. Le Dressay said that other levels will have rain or snow that will obscure a player's line of sight and even provide cover bonuses for units with the appropriate camouflage. Interface-wise, players can click on a unit far away on the horizon on the screen to zoom on them instantly. All unit information will be listed at the bottom of the page, stating their ammunition, fuel count, rank, and morale. There is even a handy UI line that tells players the distance of whether an attack will hit whenever you click on a target.
Based on what we observed, a lot of thought and detail went into making this a current-gen recreation of games like Steel Panthers and Panzer General. While graphically flashy (made possible by the second version of the RUSE engine), the game has a lot of
RTS meat in it that will satiate gamers who wish for something a little more hardcore. Wargame: European Escalation will be out on 2012 and will be released exclusively for the PC.
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"E3 2011: Wargame: European Escalation First Look Preview" was posted by Jonathan Toyad on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:12:54 -0700
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E3 2011: Wargame: European Escalation First Look Preview
