Recent reviews by natnat

One of the finest games ever made.

This is a large review of the game so go to appropriate sections if you do not wish to read the entire thing.

***Brief Overview of the Game****

Well there are 5 factions. On the Allies side is UK, Soviets and USA whilst on the Axis Japan and Germany.

You have staple "skirmish" missions for each factions each with a different emphasis for example defense missions, tank only missions, stealth/sniper missions among others. However I won't go into too much detail into Singleplayer because Multiplayer is where the game shines.

In Multiplayer there is no grinding to unlock certain powerful units, everything is unlocked from the start from a M20 to a King Tiger.

Now you receive a certain amount of set Manpower each game which on competitive settings is 3000 base manpower plus "payback" which usually comes to around 800-1000mp. There is no base building or collecting resources it is a set amount per second until it reaches 3000 with extras coming through payback that is dependent upon how much MP you have already lost and how much CP you have on the field.

CP (command points) is a value that every unit in the game also receives. You are limited to 100 CP on normal settings which obviously means you cannot completely overwhelm the map with inf or tanks. Heavier tanks cost more CP, so not only are they expensive in MP but they also limit your ability to field infantry to cover LOS and attack flags.

***Key Features/Strengths of the Game***

The physics mechanics of the game of completely unique. Unlike most RTS games which work on an arcadey system of hitpoints with certain values working well against other other values "unit X has 10 pierce damage and 5 blunt damage", Mowas 2 is quasi-realistic.

Whilst counters in most RTS are static and predetermined (you know exactly how much damage your unit will do the enemy unit) in Mowas2 that is not necessary the case. It is very possible and does happen that a tier 1 Volkstrum Sqaud can ambush and kill a tier 4 SAS squad if it is ambushed out in the open.

This is particularily prevalent in tank combat where even an 240MP Damier amoured car 2 pounder gun can penetrate the side armour of a 1250MP Che Ri or even an KT at 2400MP. Of course this requires the Damier to get to point blank range on those tanks in order destroy them and the KT and Che Ri can "max range" penetrate the Damier with ease at 140 range. It is this uncertainity regarding counters that adds a great dynamic to the game as not only does allow players to make comebacks if they are behind on MP by using sneaky inf to destory heavy tanks or using superior tank play yourself and killing a superior tank.

Direct Control is the other great strength of this game. The game engine allows you to 3rd person mode control any unit in the game. That is, if you press left Ctrl or E you can manually take the place of the AI and take matters into your own hands. So if you feel like your MG is not doing a good enough job of mowing down an enemy sqaud you can "DC" the MG yourself. This is mostly applicable with tanks though (as they are your expensive purchases) as often you will know the weak spots on an enemy tank armour to aim for.

***Weaknesses of the Game***

A very steep learning curve. This is not like TW where even relatively newby's can put up a good fight and find other relative newby's quickly. Even 30 hours in this game makes a huge difference in your ability. You will get beaten, and beaten badly in a lot of games. There is a lot to manage and consider in this game and you will be overwhelmed at the start. Bear in mind though the better players you play with, the faster you will improve (even if you might lose a bit more). The rewards for getting good at this game are huge though. Close, tight games on Mowas2 are like nothing else, spoken from a guy who has 1350 hours :p

Although the game does look great on high settings, it is very poorly optimized and puts a much greater strain on your graphics card that it should do. Also if one player has poor performance in a game it can lag the game for everyone else which is very frustrating.

The developers have only limited resources. Digital Mind Soft (DMS) are a limited company at this point in time and are spending much of their time working on Call to Arms Mowas2's Modern Era Sequel. It means they are limited in providing support to Mowas 2. Bugs can take time to be ironed out and balance patches take a bit of time.

***Overall Personal Summary***

This series captures that perfect balance between fast paced gameplay and serious strategy. Unlike many more traditional RTS's this succeed in this game you do not need to have absurd twitch reactions (although of course they help) yet it is not a time consuming slug fest or 'grand strategy'.

It is the brilliance of the engine the game physics were this game is so unique. The ability to directly control anything you own in a quasi 3rd person mode offers so much more than most RTS's. Especially when given the WW2 focus and the vast variety of tanks you can play with, it is like playing a lite version of WoT or WT except there is incredible amount more depth with combining arms of many different facets of the game - you have to simultaniously manage infantry, tanks, anti-infantry and anti tank assets.

It was this game which allowed me to get into competitive gaming. Of course I would never put 1300 hours into a game if I didn't have that extra element of motivation namely competing yet still this a quite superb game and I would thoroughly recommend it to anybody.