Men of War: Red Tide

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Men of War: Red Tide is a single player tactical real-time strategy game with warfare and historical themes. It was developed by Fulqrum Publishing and was released on November 1, 2009. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Men of War: Red Tide" is a sequel to the critically acclaimed RTS, allowing players to command the Soviet Marines, known as the "Black Coats," in over 20 missions during World War II. The game features new units, weapons, and air and naval support options, providing direct control over tanks, artillery, and more in a stunning mixture of RTS and third-person action. Fighting takes place across various environments, requiring strategic planning and tactical execution.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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78%

Audience ScoreBased on 287 reviews

story16 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

Men of War: Red Tide offers a challenging and immersive single-player campaign that focuses on the lesser-known Soviet naval infantry battles during World War II.
The game features a unique inventory system where players can loot weapons and supplies from fallen enemies, adding depth to the tactical gameplay.
Direct control over individual units enhances the gameplay experience, allowing for a more personal and engaging approach to combat.

The AI is often criticized for being unresponsive and erratic, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences where units do not follow commands effectively.
The game lacks multiplayer support, which limits replayability and the social aspect that many players enjoyed in previous titles of the series.
Many players find the difficulty level to be excessively punishing, with missions that can feel overwhelming and require frequent saving and reloading.

story
178 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
84%
7%
The story of "Men of War: Red Tide" is set during World War II, focusing on the Russian naval forces and their operations against German, Italian, and Romanian troops. The campaign features over twenty missions inspired by real historical events, offering a mix of challenging scenarios that require strategic planning and resource management. While the missions are praised for their historical detail and immersive atmosphere, many players find them to be extremely difficult and sometimes frustrating, with a lack of cohesive narrative connecting the missions.
- “The campaign is extensive, featuring more than twenty missions based on real historical events and inspired by the writings of Soviet war correspondent Alexander Zorich.”
- “The campaign also does a good job of varying the missions in terms of scale and play style to keep things interesting.”
- “The story is based on World War II events where, after picking a faction you want to fight for, you try to fulfill different objectives to gain some advantage for your fighting side.”
- “The campaign is separated by single missions that do not have any connection to each other, besides some story description.”
- “The immersion during the missions was definitely on a high level, but sadly goes lost once a mission is finished and the campaign window is displayed until the next mission is started.”
- “On one hand, it lacks a lot of the polish that the other games have; a lot of things are missing, for example, the main menu music or credits at the end of the story. The story itself seems even more like a collection of missions extremely loosely tied together.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
70%
8%
The gameplay is characterized by a challenging and engaging experience, requiring players to adapt and strategize without hand-holding, reminiscent of the "Men of War" series. While the difficulty can be punishing, with missions demanding deep analysis and tactical planning, the mechanics are well-optimized and offer a mix of squad management and destructible environments. The addition of naval gameplay introduces new strategic elements, although some players find the overall design frustrating at times.
- “The variety of objectives and settings keeps the gameplay engaging, though the difficulty is punishing.”
- “It doesn’t hold the player’s hand or dilute its mechanics for accessibility—it assumes you are here to command, to learn, and to adapt.”
- “The gameplay is complex; in each mission, you have to complete a lot of tasks, such as killing specific enemies, destroying specific units, and reaching certain points.”
- “The campaign is incredibly difficult, and I managed to complete it after 27 hours of gameplay, with many missions leaving me with less than half of my starting troops at the end.”
- “This is not a healthy game mechanic; this is not true difficulty, rather bad design.”
- “The gameplay consists of only managing your squads and units that you receive to finish the mission.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
Overall, the graphics of the game are considered somewhat outdated, yet they are deemed adequate for the gameplay experience, which remains the primary focus. While some players appreciate the graphical details in combat scenes and find them fitting, others note that the visuals do not stand out significantly compared to modern standards. Despite mixed opinions, many reviewers suggest that the graphics do not detract from the enjoyment of the game.
- “The graphics and the textures are pretty nice.”
- “The battles are fierce and graphics are pretty good in my opinion.”
- “Graphics is more beautiful than in Company of Heroes 1 and 2.”
- “The graphics are a bit outdated, which is fine since the gameplay is the main factor of the game.”
- “Yes, the obvious critique is that the graphics are a little outdated and the voice acting is poor; however, I think that the variety and intricacy of the game itself totally outweighs that.”
- “The graphics look quite aged, but the graphical details that most fighting scenes have are fitting the game really well.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
53%
20%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the impactful audio and somber soundtrack that enhances the campaign's atmosphere. However, many users have expressed frustration over the absence of music during gameplay and in key areas like the menu, leading to a sense of disappointment regarding the overall audio experience. While the soundtrack is noted as fitting and nationalist in tone, its inconsistent presence detracts from the game's immersion.
- “The audio complements this well, with impactful weapon sounds and a somber, militaristic soundtrack that underscores the grim tone of the campaign.”
- “The music provided a nice background sound without being too intrusive.”
- “The music is nice, especially the menu one; it really makes you feel nationalist.”
- “Everything is as great as MOH 2009, though the music is bugged and sadly it won't play.”
- “My biggest complaint about the game is that the music doesn't seem to want to play at all.”
- “It completely lacks any music and recycles almost everything from the original game.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive and compelling experience, particularly during large-scale battles filled with smoke, debris, and the sounds of soldiers. While it lacks modern polish and music, the challenging missions and diverse environments, including water-surrounded areas and lesser-known battlefields, contribute to a gritty and authentic atmosphere that enhances gameplay. Players are encouraged to engage with historical context to fully appreciate the depth of the atmosphere.
- “Despite these shortcomings, the atmosphere remains compelling, especially during large-scale battles where smoke and debris fill the screen and the cries of soldiers echo across the battlefield.”
- “It may lack the modern polish or broad accessibility of newer strategy games, but its depth and atmosphere more than compensate.”
- “That atmosphere and feeling was just so awesome!”
- “The atmosphere mostly happens in areas with water surrounding them, such as islands, coasts, etc. The battles also happen in villages, towns, forests, fields, military bases (pretty rare) and even other environments.”
- “That atmosphere, fighting on battlefields that are less known to 'common folk' than the usual ones like Anzio, Normandy, Kursk.”
- “Oh, and don't forget to read the encyclopedia and memoirs of veterans, otherwise you lose out on the atmosphere.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs that can disrupt gameplay, such as units getting stuck on terrain and mission failures that necessitate restarts. Overall, players find the experience frustratingly unstable, particularly during challenging missions.
- “I'm going to assume that it feels broken because the game is buggy and messed up.”
- “My units would get stuck on terrain, which makes me think that the game is just buggy in general.”
- “It is a bit buggy sometimes on missions, and it is not uncommon to restart a mission when things go completely wrong and you find yourself in a position where you just can't win.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game's overall optimization is inconsistent, with poor performance during certain missions and a lack of support for modern gaming PC features. While the user interface and game mechanics are well-optimized and function smoothly, the game itself has not been updated to run effectively on contemporary hardware.
- “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.”
- “The game suffers from poor performance during some of the missions.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The game's replayability is generally considered low, with players noting that while it can be enjoyable to complete each mission, the short length and minimal additional content limit its long-term appeal. It may appeal to fans of older RTS titles, particularly those familiar with the Men of War series, but overall, it lacks significant replay value.
- “It's difficult, showcases what you know from other early Men of War titles (replay value, high-level strategy, in-the-trenches tactics and control, etc.), and it runs on pretty much anything.”
- “It is quite fun to finish each mission once, but since the game is fairly short and offers only minimal replayability, it is only advised if you enjoy older RTS and especially Blitzkrieg and WWII games.”
- “This game offers none to minimal replayability.”
- “It's difficult and showcases what you know from other early Men of War titles, but it lacks replay value.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely derived from the undirected English voice acting, which, despite being criticized, is found to be amusing and serves as effective comic relief, particularly in contrast to the high-quality introductory chapter videos.
- “The English voice acting sounds undirected and funny, with the exception of the introductory chapter videos - those sound fantastic.”
- “I suppose my one 'complaint' would be the terrible voice acting, but personally, I find it hilarious and effective as comic relief.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and boring, with extreme difficulty detracting from the enjoyment of its otherwise appealing features, such as a variety of vehicles and the ability to capture enemy equipment.
- “It's a pity because the game has many good things like dozens of different vehicles or the possibility of capturing enemy equipment, but the extreme difficulty makes it a tedious experience.”
- “Started playing this game and within 5 minutes was thinking to myself, 'this is tedious and boring.'”

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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

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20h Median play time

18h Average play time

8-27h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Men of War: Red Tide is a tactical real-time strategy game with warfare and historical themes.

Men of War: Red Tide is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 18 hours playing Men of War: Red Tide.

Men of War: Red Tide was released on November 1, 2009.

Men of War: Red Tide was developed by Fulqrum Publishing.

Men of War: Red Tide has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Men of War: Red Tide is a single player game.

Similar games include Men of War, Men of War: Condemned Heroes, Men of War: Assault Squad, Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront, Faces of War and others.

Men of War: Red Tide

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