Men of War: Assault Squad 2

released on Mar 20, 2014

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 features new single player style skirmish modes that take players from extreme tank combat to deadly sniper stealth missions. Commanders can now faceoff against opponents on various new multiplayer 1v1 – 4v4 maps. To truly bring the battles to life though there is the new 8v8 game mode designed for huge battles on spectacular maps.


Reviews View More

I usually don't play RTS game, but Men of War: AS 2 is an exception to this rule. I have roughly 300 hours in it. Furthermore, I believe it managed to capture my attention due to its “realism”. There are no health bars, tanks can get destroyed in a single hit, units can be ordered to pick weapons off the ground. This level of micromanagement makes every mission feel unique and is one of the main reasons for the game’s success. Other than that, it’s a standard WW2 RTS. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a more realistic WW2 RTS. I should mention that the there is also a massive moding community, with which you can experience most conflicts, even fictional ones.

Story
It's World War 2 and well that’s it. There isn’t much of a storyline here.

Mechanics and gameplay
If you’ve played any other top down RTS, then you should be able to understand the general controls, however there are a lot of additional commands that require to be learned. For instance, highlighting objects on the ground. MoW: AS 2 has a steep learning curve that has to be overcome, before the game can be fully appreciated.
It has a campaign, which is actually just a group of missions, only connected by the fact that you are the same faction. They are: Germany, USA, USSR, United Kingdom, Japan. Each of them has their own vehicles, weapons and units and there are a lot of them.
Missions have an objective, that can be something simple like defend your position to a more complex objective like destroy the enemy spotlights without sounding the alarm. Completing them earn you points that you can spend on more units, also it sometimes enlarges the map. The button to select what units to summon is on the middle right of the screen. Don’t make the same mistake as me and try to complete missions with just the dozen soldiers given at the start.
The main feature that sets it apart from its competition is as I mentioned before its realism. One flanking soldier can disable the enemy’s heaviest tank, after which it can be repaired and put to use against its former owners, is just one example of the depth the game provides. Another thing, you can take control of any unit and play the game like a top-down shooter.
There is also a level editor, but if the regular game was complex, then this is like learning a new language.

Graphics and artstyle
MoW:AS 2 is more washed out and bleak, there are rarely any vibrant colours. I think this suits the realism of the rest of the game.
Graphical fidelity is not high, as can be expected from a decade old game.

Soundtrack and sound effects
SFX are good enough, but I can’t say much more.
I can’t even remember if there is even a soundtrack.

Final Thoughts
I’ve heard the line “Already on that, sir” that it just plays randomly in my head sometimes.

the modding scene really carries this game

RobZ Realism Mod and Great War Realism mod are the best mods IMO, just don't use them together

AI battles require DLC... The game might be fun, but I'm not shelling out the extra cash for that when I can hop on any RTS I have already paid for and play against AI.

One of the best WW2 strategy games ever