Afghanistan '11
- March 23, 2017
- Retro Epic
- 80h median play time
Get on Steam"Afghanistan '11" is a strategy war game set in the war-torn country in 2011. Players command the U.S. forces, managing resources, troops, and diplomacy to bring stability to the region. The game features a detailed campaign mode, challenging players to make tough decisions in a complex and dynamic environment. Every soldier and resource matters, making for intense and immersive gameplay.
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Reviews
- The game offers a unique and engaging mix of logistics, politics, and combat, making it a compelling counterinsurgency simulator.
- The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively work on fixing bugs and improving gameplay.
- The game successfully captures the complexities of asymmetric warfare, requiring players to balance military action with winning the hearts and minds of the local population.
- The game suffers from various bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration.
- Some mechanics, such as the convoy system and unit movement, are counterintuitive and can lead to confusion and inefficiency.
- The user interface can be clunky, making it difficult to manage units and resources effectively, especially during high-pressure situations.
- gameplay84 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Afghanistan '11 is characterized by its unique mechanics focused on logistics and counterinsurgency, offering a compelling and strategic experience. However, many players find the game user-hostile due to unpolished mechanics, excessive micromanagement, and bugs that detract from the overall experience. While the core gameplay is engaging and rewarding, it often requires significant time investment to master, leading to a mix of enjoyment and frustration among players.
“I really like the gameplay; it is quite unique compared to other strategy war games and has a strong focus on logistics as well as fighting.”
“The gameplay is really compelling, and I think it's a great strategy game.”
“The mechanics are very simple, but the strategy is very dense.”
“But the game is absolutely user-hostile in some mechanics, for example:”
“The gameplay is very basic and it's almost infuriating how one small mistake can destroy hours of gameplay.”
“Gameplay gets repetitive, limiting any fun to being a logistics handler, making sure units are supplied, etc. There is no easy automated way to handle supply, perhaps that was the intent.”
- story67 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 88 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around military operations in Afghanistan, focusing on the complexities of counterinsurgency and the importance of winning the "hearts and minds" of the local population. Players engage in a series of campaign missions that require strategic planning, resource management, and the training of local forces, reflecting real-life military dynamics. However, the narrative can become repetitive and is marred by bugs and unclear mission objectives, which detracts from the overall experience.
“The missions entail increasing the 'hearts and minds' score (a way of measuring the success of American/British operations in the eyes of the locals), securing certain regions of the map and, in later missions, training local soldiers to hand over to.”
“In my opinion as an infantryman that directly served in this theater, I have to say the devs did a pretty good job of nailing down a lot of the aspects of the overall mission structure and basic mechanics.”
“The game features a series of campaign missions based on real-life events and a skirmish mode on randomized maps.”
“Certain campaign missions are flat out broken; there's weird things going on with the IED system, units that are supposed to counter IEDs (Huskys which serve as minesweepers) are vulnerable to them, and MOABs not functioning.”
“Campaign missions are easy to win in only a fraction of the allotted turn limit, and without the ability to declare victory, they drag on without serious challenge nor any substantial change of pace after the inevitable cross-border Taliban assault is mopped up in two or three turns.”
“The ultimate goal in most missions is not only to keep things in check, but to train the Afghan military and pull US units from the combat zone, which makes the mission objectives feel limited and repetitive.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews. While some players appreciate the nice visuals and functional design, others criticize issues such as poorly mapped textures, repetitive elements, and performance problems across different graphical settings. Despite these concerns, a few users emphasize that the gameplay and unique setting can still make the game enjoyable, especially at a discounted price.
“Great game, nice graphics.”
“The graphics are nice.”
“The graphics are functional, improved over v65 and quite wonderfully complement the UI.”
“See, I play video games for 34+ years; I don't really care about graphics, but I do care about messed up or badly mapped textures, or when all units look the same.”
“The lowest graphical quality setting makes everything too bright, the middle looks good but locks my frames per second to a maximum of 30 (which makes the game stuttery when moving over the map), and the highest setting introduces chromatic aberration and makes the game look somewhat blurry.”
“I wouldn't buy the game for the full price; it is too steep, especially with the graphical issues left behind, but I would recommend making the plunge when the game is discounted 50% or more - the gameplay and unique setting itself warrant the buy at that discount.”
- stability16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 81 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is a significant concern among users, with many reporting persistent bugs, crashes, and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the game's unique concept and mechanics, the frequent technical issues have led to frustration and disappointment, with comparisons made to other notoriously buggy titles. Overall, the game appears to be in a problematic state, lacking the polish needed for a smooth gameplay experience.
“It's polished, not buggy, fun to play, straightforward.”
“It also runs great on my oldie-but-goodie gaming box.”
“It's a pretty thin game; not entirely bug-free, but not a lot of content to screw up.”
“Game abandoned in a buggy and unfinished state by the developer.”
“This game is still buggy and still has constant crashes.”
“Great idea, great realization; however, at the time of this review (30 Mar 2017), the game is still buggy and crashes randomly.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is overwhelmingly tedious and repetitive, with many players finding the experience frustrating and lacking clear strategic goals. The tutorial is criticized for being long and poorly structured, contributing to the overall sense of monotony and micromanagement that detracts from enjoyment. While some appreciate the absence of excessive memorization, the general consensus is that the grinding mechanics lead to a dull and laborious gameplay experience.
“I was loving this game for the first dozen hours or so, then it just devolves into a tedious, repetitious slog.”
“Slow, frustrating, tedious, like war.”
“Tedious quagmire with no clear strategic goals, no possibility of decisive victory, and it's just a bloody whack-a-mole and random casualties until the clock runs out.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its high replayability, featuring a customizable skirmish mode and various new mechanics that enhance depth and strategic variety. Players appreciate the balance of challenge and enjoyment, with many scenarios offering memorable experiences. Overall, the combination of campaign content and ongoing updates ensures that players can engage with the game repeatedly without it feeling stale.
“This game is very enjoyable and super replayable.”
“It has a customizable skirmish mode, so endless replayability is addressed on top of the campaigns already present, and they have more content and DLC on the way.”
“Afghanistan '11 is unique because of the asymmetrical nature of the gameplay, and the different ways of approaching each scenario give some strategic variety and replay value.”
“There are many other smaller changes which make the game far more playable; for example, the increased number of things to do means longer games aren't such a slog, and it has already led to some memorable scenarios in the short time I have been playing.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been widely criticized for being repetitive and boring, leading to a lack of engagement during gameplay. While some players find the graphics acceptable, the soundtrack detracts from the overall experience, with many suggesting that turning it off and replacing it with music from other games significantly enhances enjoyment.
“The music in the game creates an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
“The soundtrack perfectly complements the gameplay, making each mission feel epic and engaging.”
“The variety of musical themes keeps the experience fresh and exciting throughout the game.”
“The most boring music/sound I've heard for a very long time.”
“The sound/music/graphics are so boring that the game gets dull very quickly.”
“The looping soundtrack during missions gets a little old after a while.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its absurd scenarios, such as the comical inefficiency of dragging units individually to achieve objectives faster, and the ironic task of influencing Afghan elections, which adds a layer of satire to the gameplay.
“But this is just hilarious, because you can still drag your units one by one at a normal traverse distance and achieve the same goal taking trucks to the destination but 2 times faster.”
“Also, I find it hilarious how you are tasked with influencing Afghan elections.”
“Funny, right?”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game faces significant optimization issues, with users reporting serious FPS drops and stuttering during specific actions, likely due to inefficient code that scans the entire map. This has led to frustration among players, highlighting the need for better optimization to enhance performance.
“My computer science brain is telling me that this is because the game is scanning every hex on the map during these actions (probably more than once for the FOB case). Some code optimizations could solve the problem, but it's still appalling that this issue is present.”
“This game, however, suffers from serious FPS drops and stuttering during certain actions.”
“My computer science brain is telling me that this is because the game is scanning every hex on the map during these actions (probably more than once for the FOB case), so some code optimizations could solve the problem, but it's still appalling that this issue is present.”
