Battle of Empires: 1914-1918
- July 22, 2015
- Great War Team
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Battle of Empires: 1914-1918" is a real-time strategy game set in World War I. Players can choose to lead either the Entente or the Central Powers, commanding massive armies and engaging in large-scale battles. The game features historical accuracy, detailed graphics, and a variety of units and weapons from the era. Multiplayer mode allows for up to 8 players to compete against each other.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- story514 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is set during World War I, featuring a variety of campaigns and missions that aim to portray historical battles authentically. However, many players criticize the mission design as linear and repetitive, with a significant number of missions being bugged or poorly scripted, detracting from the overall experience. While the game offers a vast amount of content through DLCs, the reliance on additional purchases for a complete experience has left some players feeling frustrated and disappointed.
“The mission variety is very good, with the classic men of war stealth missions, defense missions in all kinds of terrain where you have to frantically patch holes in your lines after devastating artillery, large scale offensives involving hundreds of men on the map at a single time, and even unique missions where you forage for food and supplies while dodging Germans to guiding French airmen in their escape from a German prison fortress.”
“Each mission introduction gives deep insight into what you're supposed to be doing and you can very easily find yourself getting sucked in by the authenticity of the mission briefing.”
“You can tell the developers truly love this era in time, as each mission is fleshed out with neat things like horse-drawn artillery and sleds, units that change appearance as the war progresses (pickelhaubes to stalhelms, etc).”
“Unfortunately, the mission design feels subpar compared to all the other Men of War games.”
“Half the missions are broken and don't work right and the game is pretty much abandoned.”
“The missions are boring and repetitive.”
- gameplay181 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Battle of Empires: 1914-1918" diverges significantly from the "Men of War" series, emphasizing artillery over vehicles and presenting a more challenging experience due to squishier infantry and the importance of cover. While the game features interesting mechanics and historical missions, many players find the controls cumbersome and the AI behavior frustrating, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its potential and unique WWI setting, the game suffers from bugs and awkward mechanics, making it a hit-or-miss experience for strategy enthusiasts.
“Gameplay: Battle of Empires 1914-1918 plays much differently than Men of War, with a larger focus on artillery over vehicles.”
“The fact that artillery and fixed machine guns are the real damage dealers and most soldiers only have rifles does make a huge difference in gameplay.”
“It is a challenging game with the classic Men of War strategy element, warfare and stealth gameplay with a pinch of its own spices.”
“The tutorial doesn't explain the controls (or mechanics) adequately, which is a disaster as the controls are a total mess and the UI has 40 buttons.”
“The gameplay mechanics are awkward as you find everything out the hard way, like the behavior of the units (which are utterly brainless).”
“Terribly made game, filled to the brim with bugs and awful mechanics that detract from gameplay.”
- graphics95 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the decent visuals and animations that capture the era's atmosphere, while others criticize them as outdated and lacking polish compared to other titles in the genre. Many note that while the graphics are functional, they fall short of modern standards, with some even pointing out bugs and crude effects. Overall, the graphics are seen as acceptable but not exceptional, with a consensus that they could benefit from further updates and improvements.
“The graphics have been developed to show the beauty and horrors of 'the Great War'.”
“With that said, the graphics are enjoyable and the game is well optimized.”
“The graphics are some of the best in the business in my opinion.”
“The animations and effects are crude, and the graphics are dated.”
“Graphics from the pre-MoWAS2 era and the same with accessibility.”
“Graphics and voice acting are extremely poor and the gameplay is nowhere near as fun as it looks.”
- stability64 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
The game has been widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of glitches, bugs, and unresponsive controls that significantly hinder gameplay. Many users describe it as a "buggy mess," with issues affecting both single-player and multiplayer modes, leading to frustration and refunds. While some players find enjoyment despite these problems, the overall consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements to its stability before it can be considered fully playable.
“Boe WW1 is a good game, has no issues, and is pretty much bug-free.”
“Tons of glitches and bugs combined with sloppy voice overs and broken missions make this game unable to play.”
“The 3 campaigns (2 of which have a high chance to randomly crash) are only available when purchased for a total of $26.97, meaning this buggy mess of a mod (and yes that's all it is) is $46.96.”
“But I was wrong; the singleplayer game still has glitches and bugs which made the campaign unplayable.”
- monetization22 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with many reviewers expressing disappointment over the limited content in the base game and the necessity to purchase additional DLC to access promised features. Players feel that the approach undermines the overall experience, likening it to a fragmented game designed solely for profit rather than player satisfaction. Overall, the sentiment is that the monetization model detracts significantly from the game's value.
“The publisher claims this is to give people more choice in putting together the game they want in a more budget-friendly way, but the base game is so limited on actual content that the approach comes off as a full game that was broken into parts as a sort of cash grab.”
“I really wanted to like this game, but the off-putting voice acting, terrible rifle sounds, and of course the cash grab through having to buy the campaigns is just way too much for me.”
“But the DLC... such a cash grab. I cannot recommend this simply because you need to buy so much to get a complete game.”
- music14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for being basic and monotonous, failing to enhance the atmosphere and often overshadowing important audio cues like voice acting. Reviewers noted that the music lacks emotional depth and is too loud, making it difficult to adjust in-game volume settings. Overall, both the music and voice acting are seen as significant areas needing improvement.
“The music should complement the atmosphere.”
“- need work on atmospheric setting - sounds, music, effects”
“Need to fix in-game volume, music is loud and can't be turned off.”
“The voice acting is out of place, and the music is basic.”
“Let's not also forget the cringeworthy voice acting and the generic placeholder music.”
“For the first 10 hours, I overlooked the atrocious voice acting and the incredibly monotonous music which lacked emotion, out of the sheer excitement this game brought me.”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its janky mechanics and intentionally poor voice acting, which many players find amusing. While the gameplay itself has its merits, the comedic elements, particularly the absurdity of situations and exaggerated character interactions, contribute significantly to the overall enjoyment. Players recommend the game for its blend of glorious and hilariously unheroic moments, making it a unique experience despite its flaws.
“Hilarious voice acting in a hilariously bad game.”
“Nothing like driving an old MKIV tank around, and suddenly it blows up because a German looked at it funny.”
“Recommend for certain, glorious heroic deaths and hilarious not-so-heroic deaths around every corner.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be generally tedious, particularly during stealth missions, which often lead to frequent restarts due to minor mistakes. While the game can be enjoyable at times, the repetitive nature of certain tasks detracts from the overall experience, especially in the context of a real-time strategy game.
“The game can be fun at times, but in general, the experience feels tedious.”
“Then there are the stealth missions, the tedious nature of which causes you to click restart or load save at the smallest of mistakes.”
“It's tedious, even for a Men of War style game.”
- replayability12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, opinions on replayability are mixed; while some players appreciate the variety of multiplayer modes and mod support that enhance replay value, others criticize the campaign mode for lacking replayability. The presence of multiple playable nations adds some enjoyment, but many feel that the game falls short in offering substantial replay options.
“I would rate Battle of Empires: 1914-1918 10/10 for the replayability and the ability for mod support!”
“Various game modes in multiplayer ensure good replayability.”
“The only reason I wanted the game was it would be extremely replayable with a skirmish mode plus the German and French campaign, though early access supporters get French and Russian.”
“There's absolutely zero replay value.”
“And on top of that, the campaign has no replayability.”
“However, I still find joy in it, especially since most nations are playable.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game effectively captures the atmosphere of World War I, offering engaging scenarios and a diverse range of historical factions and battles, making it one of the most atmospheric entries in the Men of War series. However, criticisms arise regarding the voice acting, sound design, and graphical fidelity, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, players who appreciate tactical gameplay may find the atmosphere compelling enough to overlook the shortcomings.
“Does a great job of evoking the atmosphere of the Great War, fun scenarios, tactical challenges, and a wide breadth of historical factions and battles.”
“The most atmospheric single and multiplayer experience ever seen in the Men of War series!”
“Not after practically reskinning a free mod you can download right now for Men of War: Assault Squad, not after being a little of what I think is Slavic bias and putting way more tone into the Russian Empire campaign, not getting accents on the ball for a fitting atmosphere, and certainly not after cheating out many buyers for the base game in its pre-release stage under the premise that they would get it in full when it's done... just no.”
“If you can forgive the voice acting and graphically outdated engine, then this is a top RTS set in WW1 that oozes atmosphere and tactics.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its enjoyable graphics and solid optimization, providing a fun experience despite some performance issues, particularly for Mac users. While some players express a desire for the use of the mowas engine to enhance graphics and optimization further, the current performance is still considered satisfactory.
“With that said, the graphics are enjoyable and the game is well optimized.”
“I do wish they would have used the MOWAS engine just because of the graphics and overall optimization, but it's still great fun.”
“First World War 'Men of War' with 100% better graphics and commands and performance.”
“As for the multiplayer, I've only been able to play one game (because I'm a Mac user, please don't judge *sad face*). It was an enjoyable experience for me (mainly because my teammate, who mind you was a fellow noob, cooperated with me and helped out as much as he could) until I ended up crashing out, maybe due to the performance setting on my game, but nonetheless it was fun and I want to do more of it.”
