Men of War: Assault Squad 2 - Cold War

30%
Game Brain Score Based on 902 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Men of War: Assault Squad 2 - Cold War Game Cover
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.
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"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
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

30%
Audience ScoreBased on 902 reviews
gameplay18 positive mentions
story10 negative mentions
  • The game has potential and could improve with future updates.
  • The Cold War setting is refreshing and offers a unique perspective.
  • Some players find the gameplay enjoyable, especially with mods.
  • The game lacks content, with only 5 maps and 2 factions available.
  • The AI is poorly designed, often failing to engage effectively.
  • The campaign mode is essentially just skirmish battles with no real structure or objectives.
  • story84 mentions

    The game's story aspect has been widely criticized for lacking a traditional campaign or coherent narrative, with players expressing disappointment over the absence of historical context and structured missions. Instead, the gameplay is reduced to repetitive skirmish battles with no real objectives or storytelling, leading to a sense of frustration among long-time fans of the series. Many hope for future updates to introduce more engaging content and a proper single-player experience.

    • “While you can have some fun playing this game, it's nowhere close to the rest in terms of story, units, and gameplay.”
    • “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.”
    • “Storytelling and polishing really requires attention.”
    • “There's no campaign, no missions, and it's more similar to Call to Arms than Men of War: Assault Squad 2.”
    • “No campaign, no story, no plot.”
    • “The campaign is nothing more than AI skirmish missions; no real campaign other than you won, you advance on a fictional map.”
  • gameplay82 mentions

    The gameplay of the latest title in the Men of War series has received largely negative feedback, with many players criticizing its mechanics as broken, unbalanced, and inferior to its predecessor, Men of War: Assault Squad 2. While some appreciate the nostalgic elements and new units, the overall experience is described as repetitive and lacking innovation, with fundamental mechanics like penetration and reinforcement systems failing to meet expectations. Despite a few positive notes on tank gameplay, the consensus is that the game does not live up to the legacy of the series.

    • “For anyone that enjoys the Men of War: Assault Squad 2 game mechanic, Cold War is just as enjoyable to play and learn.”
    • “Pretty satisfied with the usual Men of War: Assault Squad 2 gameplay. I like the new units and campaign, and hopefully we will see new nations added such as France, Italy, or East and West Germany.”
    • “Overall, most of the gameplay here is quite good and can see more improvement.”
    • “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.”
    • “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.”
    • “The core gameplay mechanics are far worse off than their older title, Men of War: Assault Squad 2, in terms of both vehicle combat and infantry combat.”
  • graphics46 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing them as poor, unappealing, and reminiscent of earlier, less polished titles. Despite some mentions of improved character design and map aesthetics, the overall consensus is that the graphics are subpar compared to previous entries in the series, leading to a disappointing visual experience. Many reviewers also noted performance issues and a lack of polish, contributing to a sense of an unfinished product.

    • “On first playthrough, I saw how good the graphics were in line with the spectacular design of the map and the AI.”
    • “You could have had tons of different maps from Europe to Africa to Asia and the Middle East, plus the amazing graphics that have blessed Call to Arms and the trusty old MOW engine with the new direct control option.”
    • “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.”
  • monetization26 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 Men of War 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.”
    • “It's a total cash grab and it sucks.”
    • “Abandoned cash grab of content you could have likely gotten from a mod on any of their other games.”
    • “Like most gaming companies, it appears these guys are just doing the old money grub/cash grab with minimal effort put into a game.”
  • optimization20 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many users reporting poor performance, numerous bugs, and unappealing graphics. Despite the transition to a 64-bit engine that was expected to enhance performance, players have noted that it feels inferior to its predecessor, resulting in a frustrating experience that detracts from the enjoyment of the game. Overall, the optimization issues have led to a significant decline in gameplay quality compared to earlier titles in the series.

    • “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.”
  • stability14 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 experience is lacking in content and is riddled with bugs, leading to frustration even among long-time fans of the series. Overall, the game's stability is considered poor, with community mods often providing a more polished experience.

    • “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.”
    • “The game is buggy and they throw you a small handful of units on both sides.”
  • music10 mentions

    The music aspect of the game has received significant criticism for its minimal presence, with players noting that the soundtrack is limited to the menu and loading screens, lacking any in-game music or thematic cues for winning or losing. While sound effects, such as weapon and explosion sounds, are praised for their improvement over previous entries, the overall soundtrack is considered lackluster and disappointing.

    • “Where to start, the lack of music?”
    • “The soundtrack... only for the menu and loading?”
    • “No in-game music or winning/losing music?”
  • replayability8 mentions

    The game features impressive graphics and map design, but players express disappointment in its limited replayability due to only three available maps. While there are attempts to enhance replay value through a dynamic campaign, many feel that the cheap AI and random elements detract from the overall experience. Balancing and improvements are needed to make the game more engaging for repeated playthroughs.

    • “I do like that they attempted to make a dynamic campaign for the replay value of it.”
    • “On first playthrough, I saw how good the graphics were in line with the spectacular design of the map and the AI, but it 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.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is initially amusing but quickly becomes perceived as poor, with some players finding the bugs to be the only genuinely funny elements. Overall, the comedic aspects seem to fall flat after a brief period of enjoyment.

    • “And the bugs that are funny sometimes.”
  • character development2 mentions

    The reviews highlight that while the game features improved graphics and character design, there is little mention of significant character development, suggesting that visual enhancements may overshadow deeper narrative growth.

  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be boring and tedious, criticizing it for poorly executed improvements and subpar textures. The campaign is seen as an unsuccessful attempt to replicate the mechanics of wargames, further contributing to the overall dissatisfaction.

    • “Boring, tedious, and poorly designed; the textures are bad, and the campaign attempts to replicate what a wargame does but fails completely.”
    • “Grinding feels monotonous and unfulfilling, making the overall experience frustrating.”
    • “The repetitive nature of grinding detracts from the enjoyment of the game, leaving players feeling stuck and unmotivated.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

64% average critic score

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