Men of War: Condemned Heroes
- April 11, 2012
- Fulqrum Publishing
- 14h median play time
The MoW formula still satisfies, but familiar units and a stale setting leave this swansong feeling superfluous.
Get on Steam"Men of War: Condemned Heroes" is a tactical World War II-themed shooter. Players command a squad of condemned soldiers in desperate situations, offered redemption through completing dangerous missions. The game features new tactical options, such as the ability to break through walls and use destructible environments to your advantage. It is a challenging and immersive addition to the Men of War series.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and challenging experience, focusing on the difficult missions faced by penal battalions during WWII, which adds depth to the gameplay.
- Players appreciate the well-designed graphics, audio, and the historical accuracy of the missions, making it visually appealing and immersive.
- For fans of the Men of War series, this game provides a rewarding challenge that requires strategic thinking and careful resource management.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and crashes, which can significantly hinder the gameplay experience and lead to frustration.
- Many players find the AI to be poorly designed, often resulting in frustrating situations where allied units fail to support effectively.
- The missions can feel repetitive and uninspired, with a heavy reliance on clearing enemy positions, which may lead to a lack of variety in gameplay.
- story96 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story centers on the harrowing experiences of penal battalions during World War II, presenting players with a series of challenging missions that often feel repetitive and lack narrative depth. While some players appreciate the historical context and the difficulty of the missions, many criticize the minimal dialogue, poor cutscenes, and lack of a cohesive storyline, leading to a disjointed experience that fails to engage as effectively as previous titles in the series. Overall, the narrative is seen as a missed opportunity, overshadowed by gameplay bugs and a lack of creative mission design.
“This game tells the story of the penal battalions during World War II.”
“Historically speaking, the men in these penal legions received impossible suicide missions; they were expected to die as a penalty for their various crimes.”
“This is how every mission in Men of War: Condemned Heroes plays; the odds are stacked against you, you are not supposed to beat any of the missions.”
“The storyline of the missions feels like you're playing Assault Squad, with minimal dialogue, terrible cutscenes, and no tie-in from mission to mission. Definitely not the same as Vietnam or Red Tide.”
“Historically speaking, the men in these penal legions received impossible suicide missions; they were expected to die as a penalty for their various crimes. This is how every mission in Men of War: Condemned Heroes plays; the odds are stacked against you, you are not supposed to beat any of the missions.”
“No voice acting, briefings, no cutscenes, no story arc. It should not be sold as a multiple campaign story spanning from 1942-1945 standalone game.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mix of stealth and tactical combat, offering a unique experience compared to other titles in the series, though it can become repetitive and frustrating at times. Players appreciate the complex mechanics and mission variety, which include tasks like capturing points and destroying enemy units. Overall, while some find the AI lacking and the gameplay tedious, many enjoy the challenge and depth it provides, especially for fans of the Men of War series.
“A lot of the gameplay revolves around stealth, and if you learn how that works you'll realize the game isn't actually that hard.”
“The gameplay is complex; in each mission, you have to accomplish tasks like killing certain enemies, cleaning fields of enemies, destroying units, reaching a point, and capturing a point. The story focuses on the Russian side, but from a unique perspective: the captured heroes’ one.”
“Fun and challenging gameplay.”
“Shitty game with terrible AI. I was expecting it to at least have that armor penetration mechanic that Assault Squad has, but it doesn't, despite it being from the same years (even released a few months after that game).”
“Either way, if you are used to Assault Squad style gameplay of controlling a combined arms force, this isn't it.”
“The gameplay is complex; in each mission, you have to accomplish various tasks, such as killing certain enemies, clearing fields of enemies, destroying some units, reaching a point, capturing a point, etc. The story focuses on the Russian side, but not the normal one: the captured heroes’ one.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their well-designed textures and aesthetic appeal, with many considering them beautiful and a highlight of the experience. However, some users have reported issues with freezing and graphical glitches in later missions, and there are criticisms regarding repetitive elements and similarities to previous titles in the series. Overall, while the graphics are appreciated, they are not without their flaws.
“Well-designed graphics and textures.”
“The graphics and the textures are pretty nice.”
“Beautiful graphics and plot.”
“Edit: the last few missions have serious freezing and graphical glitching problems, and they are hard as hell.”
“Some gaming magazines/sites rated this game poorly, mainly because of AI flaws, physics errors, or 'copy & paste' graphics from previous instances.”
- stability5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback regarding its stability, with users reporting frequent crashes, bugs, and overall unplayability. Despite some appreciation for the mission design, the persistent technical issues significantly detract from the experience.
“This is such a buggy mess, unplayable...”
“The game is buggy, with sudden crashes and exiting for no reason.”
“I love Men of War games, but this one seems too buggy and difficult.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate its stunning and dynamic quality, others find the soundtrack to be overly repetitive, featuring only a few tracks. Overall, the audio is generally considered nice, with some players noting personal connections to specific songs.
“In this game, the music is stunning and dynamic.”
“The music is nice.”
“Pretty nice audio and nice music.”
“The soundtrack is extremely repetitive, featuring only about three tracks.”
“For me, it can also be regarded as part of my military history research; it reminds me of a song called 'Kombat' sung by a Russian band called The Lube.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while the user interface and mechanics are well-optimized, many players report poor performance, particularly in certain city maps, leading to significant frame rate drops even on high-end machines. This contrasts with previous titles in the series, which were better fine-tuned.
“The user interface is well-optimized, with no bugs and well-synthesized information.”
“The mechanics are sophisticated, being pretty nice and everything moves well-optimized.”
“Not as optimized or fine-tuned compared to previous products.”
“The game also runs a little less optimized than its previous titles.”
“Performance is terrible; no matter how good your machine is, some city maps will drag the best CPU down to 30-40 FPS.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some missions are straightforward, others can be long and frustrating due to bugs and difficulty spikes. Despite the tedium, the rewarding gameplay and strategic elements provide a satisfying payoff when successfully completing challenging levels.
“While the difficulty doesn't spike as hard as Red Tide, it does have issues with bugs that make it more tedious than it otherwise would be.”
“Half of the missions are not particularly difficult; however, the other half can be very long and tedious.”
“It can be tedious and very frustrating, but the gameplay is as good as any mow game, and the levels are rewarding when you take an entire position with 8 men and your wits.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by diverse settings, including open fields, villages, cities, and forests, which contribute to a rich and immersive experience.
“The atmosphere is beautifully crafted, immersing players in open fields, villages, cities, forests, and a variety of other environments.”
“Every location in the game has its own unique atmosphere, making exploration feel rewarding and engaging.”
“The diverse environments contribute to a rich atmosphere that enhances the overall gaming experience.”
“The atmosphere feels empty and lacks the depth needed to immerse players in the world.”
“Despite the variety of environments, the atmosphere fails to evoke any real emotion or tension.”
“The game’s atmosphere is often overshadowed by repetitive sound design and bland visuals.”
