I've completed 1 mission and i'm half way through the 2nd and i'm pretty much loving this game just like the original MoW and the Soldiers counterparts.

The feel is generally "more-of-the-same" regarding MoW, which I find totally fine. I acknowledge that this game isn't the most polished and widely liked games of all time, but there's just something about it, like its predecessors, that makes it great fun for me.

It must be the sandboxy feel coupled with the fact you can manage the inventory of every soldier. It isn't strictly a tactical game per se, it's more about micromanaging an attack/defense knowing that some casualties are inevitable. I feel sometimes too attached to the soldiers I command. I break them into teams with specific roles, but as with MoW, i have a distinct style... special forces.

Perhaps that game wants you to use your soldiers like fodder, since at the moment i'm using Soviet naval infantry, so perhaps you're just expected to charge in and take the pain. I personally make specific plans to hit a particular objective while committing only the required force. Everyone else that's not part of the assault team is either put on security (fire team in case of retreat) or reserve. Fighting with me, usually consists of short furious bursts of firepower and then a quick retreat into cover. The concept is that if you commit a little, the worst that can happen is you lose that little.

It's kind of like playing Rome Total War with that fact that as I play along to it, I add my own historical narration. It's the same with this game. It's abstract enough to not impose any storyline, so I make up my own.

If I were to be anal, I would add 2 things to this game to make it perfect:

a) A bit more polish in terms of controls and fidgety-ness.
b) More of a platoon/company commander experience.

What I mean with b is that I would really like some consideration toward logistics mainly and having to carry forward men and resources. Cos the game is heavily involved in soldier inventory, it can sometimes be a pain in the ass re-supplying your men or re-arming them based on your own style, so perhaps they should add some kind of Platoon / Company HQ concept with trucks or whatever that store all sorts of men and materials you get given by the Battalion or the dead enemy. It's all related to my love of loot. But it would also add a great deal of authenticity to the experience.

Hehehe...I highly doubt trucks picking up gallons of loot post-battle are very historically accurate, but I could be wrong. No doubt there will have been Derf-style commanders in history.

Thanks for the "first impressions" review dudemeister...did you see/handle any ships yet? How do they feel? I'd pick this up if it weren't for my technical issues with the original (hard crashes) and the fact that I've got 2-3 games on pre-order already for the next month. Keep me updated on MoW: RT!

The closest i've come to handling a ship is with a motor-boat [that word makes me chuckle] with an MG. Let's say the experience was short and comical and soon enough the soldiers were forced to swim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuHkDT7q6Gg

Anyway, i've dumped a few more hours into the game but some missions are not particularly intelligent. E.g. there's one of those typical last-stand missions but you don't have time to resupply or prepare your soldiers with ammo from the many ammo crates in the trench. It's silly cos every mission each of my soldiers start with little ammo. Like, riflemen get ~20 rounds or SMG soldier gets ~120 rounds.

There are also still too many Rambo-style commando-missions whereby you have 8 men to conquer the world on their own. E.g. 1 mission you have 8 men to capture a radio station, destroy an artillery outpost on the other side of a river, and kill anything in between... which is a tall order and turns into a grind.

So my impression is slowly turning into the one I have of MoW... a goddamn awesome engine with pant-wetting potential, but strangely under-executed. Quirky as opposed to classic.

I'll crack on though and see what else there is. Maybe the modders will get their mitts on it.

Are there any level-design tools?

None have come with Red Tide I purchased. But perhaps the MoW editor should do fine considering Red Tide is a standalone expansion. Dunno, why d'ya ask?

Oh, I was just curious. It'd be interesting to take an existing map, wipe out all the units and scripting and just build something that's not retarded. Not that I plan on doing that... if anything I'll be going back to mapping for L4D, but I doubt I'll find time.

Hehe, yeah im sure I have the creative ability to map the coolest MoW missions possible but unfortunately that would involve having to learn the editor and scripts and stuff.... so fuck it.

heh, glad to see your level of dedication.