It has often
been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So
it was with the Nazi army that tried to invade Russia in the winter. Though the
actual campaign began in the summer (August), the beginning of the end of the
campaign started (arguably) in December when German and Soviet forces became
entrenched in fighting for Stalingrad. The German generals surrendered at the
end of January, and seven months later, the Soviet forces counterattacked.
Spread out,
encountered on multiple fronts, the war was eventually carried to Berlin. It is
that thread that is explored in the Monte Cristo and CinemaWare Marquee title,
Moscow to Berlin: Red Siege. The game is carried out in three campaign chapters,
beginning in July of 1941 with Operation Barbarossa.
Moving
through the crowded ruins of Brest will require some dexterity – a word usually
not associated with the German tanks under your command (yes, players will play
on the sides of the Germans and Russians during the course of the campaigns).
And therein lies some of the flaws of the game. Units will not always stay
grouped, and often will not move and engage, but will do one or the other. The
interface does allow you to give your units some options, like allowing them to
move freely, but generally the AI does not seem to have the same battle plan
that you may have.
One of the
nicer elements of the game, though, is that it is battle intensive. The game
would rather players engage in the battle than spend time micromanaging the war
effort. To that end, reinforcements will show up within a set time frame, and
there is a narrative voice that will tell you if you have units under attack.
The user interface sports a map that will allow you to fly around the mapboard
easily to manage all fronts of your battle.
There are
numerous scenarios (20 total) but it appears that you have to unlock them to get
to them as launching the scenario list at the start of the game only showed the
Brest mission. The game also features 100 weapons, an in-game main menu
encyclopedia that details the weapons of the game, and the ability to call in
aerial attacks should you find yourself in a tough spot.
Those who
have played a real-time strategy title before will have no trouble navigating
through Red Siege. There is nothing new or exceptional about the interface and
general controls.
Graphically
this game is a mixed bag. There are pathing problems for the units, clipping
problems and while you can zoom in close to your units, you can’t pull out far
enough to see much more than 1/6 or less of the mapboard – meaning you may see
five tanks on the screen, but the other two that are part of that deployment may
well be off screen. Still, the effects are well done and the lighting and
shadows (yes, there is a fog of war) also give the graphics a nice presentation.
The audio is
solid but, again, nothing exceptional.
Red Siege is
a solid-looking title that may well be suited as an intro to the RTS genre, but
may not be what the die-hard RTS gamer is looking for to get their video-game
fix. It has some problems that make it seem cumbersome at times, but it also
presents a decent challenge and shines – on occasion – on the graphics front.
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Gameplay:
6.8
The interface is
not bad, but there is some problem with units actually doing what you command
them to do. Grouping several tanks and then indicating where they should move to
did, occasionally, have two of three units move and the third remain where it
was originally. This is a bit frustrating.
Graphics:
7.0
Some clipping
problems occur in the game but generally the game is solid with nice effects.
Getting your units stuck, though, can be a problem – especially when they will
not destroy a vehicle blocking the road through the point-and-click interface.
Sound:
7.0
A decent musical
score, lots of stock battle sounds and voice-overs acknowledging commands – all
in all it is average, but solid.
Difficulty: Medium
There are four
difficulty settings in this game, ranging from easy to extreme. Players should
be able to find the setting that will provide a good challenge.
Concept:
6.5
Nothing really
new is here. The game uses the same basic RTS mechanics found in numerous other
titles.
Multiplayer: N/A
The game does
have multiplayer capabilities through LAN and GameSpy, but during the time of
this test, getting a game was not available. The modes that will be offered are
capture the flag, deathmatch and conquer.
Overall:
6.8
The game is
rather standard for the RTS genre, not offering much in terms of innovation, but
rather trading off what already exists. It is not a bad game, but the real
flavor may be in the multiplayer elements.
