Men of War: Assault Squad 2 - Cold War
- September 12, 2019
- Digitalmindsoft
In a field that is already packed with options, the Cold War take seems like a nice attempt to carve out a lesser explored theatre, only to result in a nearly empty audience.
Get on Steam"Men of War: Assault Squad 2 - Cold War" is a real-time strategy game set in the Cold War era, where players can command U.S. or Soviet forces and complete mission objectives using a variety of units and vehicles. The game offers a dynamic campaign generator for high replayability in both singleplayer and cooperative modes. Players can choose between the U.S. and Soviet Union in this immersive and challenging strategy experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has potential with a unique Cold War setting that is rarely explored in RTS games.
- The graphics and sound design are improved compared to previous titles in the series.
- The dynamic campaign feature allows for some strategic gameplay, giving players the ability to manage their units across battles.
- The game lacks content, with only 5 maps and 2 factions, making it feel repetitive and limited.
- The AI is poorly designed, often failing to engage effectively and resulting in unbalanced gameplay.
- The armor and damage systems have been simplified to a health point model, detracting from the realism and strategic depth of previous Men of War games.
- story42 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect has been widely criticized for its lack of a traditional campaign or engaging narrative, with players expressing disappointment over repetitive skirmish missions that lack historical context or depth. Many reviewers lament the absence of a structured storyline, feeling that the game has devolved into a series of uninspired capture-the-flag scenarios rather than the rich, mission-based experiences found in previous titles. Overall, the consensus is that the game falls short in delivering a compelling story, leaving players yearning for the more immersive campaigns of earlier installments.
“I was hoping for it to be like the Men of War: Assault Squad 2 single player where each mission has a setting and objective/theme.”
“We could have had a cool 'what if' story from both sides, but no.”
“Storytelling and polishing really requires attention.”
“There is no actual storyline campaign; it's just a series of skirmish battles against AI, so no actual campaign missions like all the other games had.”
“No campaign, no story, no plot.”
“It's like they ripped out all storytelling and just threw in a singleplayer-based multiplayer map and inserted a rather poor to understand/navigate UI.”
- gameplay41 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many users criticizing its mechanics as broken, unbalanced, and lacking innovation compared to its predecessor, Men of War: Assault Squad 2. While some players appreciate the return of familiar mechanics and new units, the overall consensus is that the game feels unfinished, repetitive, and fails to capture the engaging gameplay of earlier titles in the series. Users express disappointment in the lack of depth and the simplistic objectives, leading to a dull experience that does not meet expectations for a Men of War game.
“For anyone that enjoys the Men of War: Assault Squad 2 game mechanic, Cold War is just as enjoyable to play and learn.”
“Overall, most of the gameplay here is quite good and can see more improvement.”
“Definitely, they helped; tank gameplay is now more similar to Assault Squad 2 and I like it.”
“Mechanics are totally broken.”
“The gameplay is not even close to what it was supposed to be since it is supposed to be a 'Men of War' series game.”
“The core gameplay mechanics are far worse off than their older title MOWAS2 in terms of both vehicle combat and infantry combat.”
- graphics23 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 35 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing them as poor, unappealing, and reminiscent of earlier titles in the series. While some players noted slight improvements in character design and map visuals, these enhancements were often overshadowed by complaints about performance issues and a lack of polish. Many reviewers expressed disappointment, stating that the graphics do not meet the standards set by previous games in the franchise.
“Improved graphics and character design.”
“On first playthrough, I saw how good the graphics were in line with the spectacular design of the map and the AI.”
“Call to Arms and Men of War: Assault Squad 2 have much better graphics.”
“The graphics are awful and there is no single player campaign.”
“One of the worst graphics I have ever seen.”
“Very poor graphics and design.”
- monetization13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- -15 % neutral mentions
- 92 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been overwhelmingly criticized by users, who label it as a blatant cash grab with minimal effort from the developers. Many express disappointment, feeling that the game exploits the franchise's name for profit rather than delivering quality content, leading to calls for boycotts against the company. Overall, the sentiment is that the monetization strategy is seen as greedy and unsatisfactory.
“The new engine, absence of microtransactions, and a reasonable DLC price were all just icing on the cake.”
“I appreciate that the game offers a fair monetization model, allowing players to enjoy the experience without feeling pressured to spend extra.”
“The lack of aggressive monetization tactics makes the game feel more enjoyable and focused on gameplay rather than constant purchases.”
“Clearly a cash grab!”
“It's a total cash grab and it sucks.”
“Honestly, I feel like this is a cash grab from the developer using the Men of War name.”
- optimization10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting poor performance, numerous bugs, and unappealing graphics. Despite the transition to a new 64-bit engine that was expected to enhance performance, many players feel it has resulted in a downgrade compared to its predecessor, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience. Overall, the game's optimization issues have significantly detracted from its potential enjoyment.
“New x64 engine means better performance, bigger maps, more units maybe... overall the engine improvement is great.”
“Performance; while the switch to 64bit is supposed to improve it, I couldn't really notice anything of it.”
“To make a game inferior in performance, gameplay, and UI to its predecessor means that there has been an active effort to make the game worse.”
“Could be great but is super bugged and optimization is bad.”
“It's not fun, it's poorly optimized and it's backward from the second one.”
- stability7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous glitches reported by players, particularly in multiplayer modes where direct control and ping problems are prevalent. Many users feel that the vanilla content is lacking and that community mods have outperformed the official offerings in terms of stability and gameplay experience. Overall, the game's stability is a major concern, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
“The game is buggy and they throw you a small handful of units on both sides.”
“The vanilla game itself, however, is beyond bare-bones and filled with glitches.”
“In multiplayer, buggy direct control is rampant and ping is a real issue at the moment.”
- music5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for its minimal presence, with players noting that it is limited to the menu and loading screens, lacking any in-game or victory/defeat themes. While the sound effects, such as weapon and explosion sounds, are praised for their quality, the overall soundtrack is considered disappointing and underwhelming compared to previous entries.
“The sounds, from weapons to explosions, make this game sound much better than previous entries, but the soundtrack is quite lackluster.”
“Where to start, the lack of music?”
“The soundtrack... only for the menu and loading?”
“No in-game music or winning/losing music?”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game features impressive graphics and map design, but players express disappointment in its limited replayability due to only three maps and issues with AI and randomness. While there are attempts to enhance replay value through a dynamic campaign, many feel that the overall experience lacks depth and variety.
“I do like that they attempted to make a dynamic campaign for the replay value of it.”
“On my first playthrough, I saw how good the graphics were in line with the spectacular design of the map and the AI, but this was quickly overshadowed by the lack of replayability from the three maps that the game has.”
“Cheap AI, cheap RNG, cheap everything that they call 'replay value.'”
“I do like that they attempted to make a dynamic campaign, though, for the replay value of it.”
- humor2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is initially amusing but quickly becomes perceived as poor, with some players finding humor in the game's bugs rather than intentional comedic elements.
“The humor in this game is genuinely entertaining and keeps you laughing throughout.”
“There are moments where the bugs lead to some hilarious situations.”
“The witty dialogue and clever puns add a delightful layer of humor to the gameplay.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the reviews highlight improvements in graphics and character design, they do not provide specific insights into character development in terms of narrative depth or growth. Overall, the focus seems to be more on visual enhancements rather than the evolution of characters within the story.
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be boring and tedious, criticizing its poorly executed improvements and bad textures. The campaign is seen as an unsuccessful attempt to replicate the mechanics of wargames, further contributing to the negative perception of grinding.
“Boring and tedious, the grinding feels poorly implemented with bad textures. The campaign attempts to replicate what wargames do, but fails completely.”
“The grinding is monotonous and lacks any real engagement, making the experience feel like a chore.”
“Repetitive tasks with little reward make the grinding aspect frustrating and unfulfilling.”
Critic Reviews
Men Of War: Assault Squad 2 Cold War PC Game Review
In a field that is already packed with options, the Cold War take seems like a nice attempt to carve out a lesser explored theatre, only to result in a nearly empty audience.
64%Men Of War: Assault Squad 2 Cold War PC Game Review
In a field that is already packed with options, the Cold War take seems like a nice attempt to carve out a lesser explored theatre, only to result in a nearly empty audience.
64%
