Theatre of War
- July 9, 2010
- Fulqrum Publishing
Get on Steam"Theatre of War" is a real-time strategy game set in World War II. It offers precise control over various units, historical accuracy, and a focus on tactical decisions. Players can command different forces across multiple campaigns, engaging in battles that require careful planning and execution.
Reviews
- The game offers a unique experience by allowing players to command smaller nations like Poland and France during WWII, which is rare in RTS games.
- It features a significant amount of single-player content with multiple campaigns and a detailed encyclopedia of WWII equipment.
- The game has a realistic approach to combat, with mechanics that reward strategic planning and unit management.
- The game suffers from poor AI and unresponsive controls, making it frustrating to manage units effectively during battles.
- Many players report technical issues, including crashes and difficulty running the game on modern systems, particularly with NVIDIA graphics cards.
- The graphics and overall design feel outdated, which detracts from the gameplay experience and makes it hard to recommend to new players.
- story22 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its poor mission design and frustrating AI, leading to repetitive gameplay that detracts from the overall experience. While the campaign features historically based missions and allows for unit progression, many players find the mechanics cumbersome and the challenges unfair. Despite some positive notes on the mission editor and user-generated content, the narrative and gameplay execution leave much to be desired compared to similar titles.
“The ability to improve your soldiers, give them rewards, and enhance their skills for the next mission adds a compelling layer to the story.”
“All of your units carry on from mission to mission in the campaigns, and they gain experience accordingly. They are all named and have semi-independent portraits, allowing you to follow individual soldiers or squads if you are so inclined.”
“Every nation campaign consists of several historically based missions, which enriches the narrative experience.”
“Retarded AI and mechanics, coupled with repetitive missions, ruin the entire game.”
“Most campaign missions are set up in a way that is disadvantageous to the player.”
“It's not that it's complicated; though I'm sure a bunch of 'I'm special because this game requires superior intellect' crowd will try to present it that way, it's just that this game sucks and is a poor successor to something like Combat Mission.”
- graphics19 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely criticized for being outdated, with many reviewers noting that they resemble those from 2007, leading to poor optimization and visual issues like shadow artifacts. While some players argue that the dated graphics do not detract significantly from the overall gameplay experience, others express frustration over technical problems and the lack of modern visual polish. Overall, the consensus is that while the graphics may not meet contemporary standards, the game's mechanics can still provide an enjoyable experience for those willing to overlook these shortcomings.
“Although the graphics are from 2007, many people criticize them for this, but if you look at them in 2007, games were released with such graphics and this is the norm. In principle, the game looks not bad in 2018, and the gameplay negates all the shortcomings of the graphics.”
“If you can overlook the dated graphics of this game, then you should get it.”
“The graphics are dated by today's standards, but the combat game mechanics are more important to me than fancy graphics.”
“So I'm very upset that I can't even get the game to launch even though my computer is perfectly capable of running the game with its graphics.”
“Also, the graphics seem to be very poorly optimized for my computer, as even on high settings I'm getting shadow entities and void fissures on my map...”
“This game uses OpenGL for its graphics, and since the implementation is almost 10 years old, the API used is extremely out of date.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a complex and realistic tactical RTS experience that appeals to diehard fans, but suffers from clunky controls, poor AI, and slow pacing, leading to frustration. While some appreciate the depth and strategic elements, many criticize the game's optimization and repetitive missions, making it less appealing compared to similar titles. Overall, the dated graphics are overshadowed by the gameplay's demanding nature, though it may not be accessible for casual players.
“I believe that it is the predecessor of the now Graviteam Tactics franchise because the game mechanics are quite similar, although Graviteam Tactics has brought WWII RTS to a new level.”
“The graphics are dated by today's standards, but the combat game mechanics are more important to me than fancy graphics.”
“Definitely not an example of ease of access and intuitive controls, as it feels unwieldy and clunky, but it is a real beast of complexity and a heaven for diehard tactical RTS fans of realistic gameplay.”
“Considering that there are games like Wargame and Combat Mission out there that more or less feature the same kind of core gameplay but possess way better optimization, there's really no reason to play this game.”
“Overall it feels like the idea was to use arcade RTS mechanics: crucial tools were not compatible and the leftover tools are meaningless in the scheme of things.”
“However, upon playing the game, I was terribly disappointed in its abysmal performance and terrible AI, and generally extremely slow gameplay.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with users reporting poor graphics performance even on high settings, leading to visual glitches like shadow entities and void fissures. While some players note that performance issues and bugs have improved, many still find the overall gameplay experience to be slow and disappointing compared to better-optimized alternatives.
“In the tab 'Global Settings', under preferred graphics processors, change from auto-select to high-performance NVIDIA processor and press 'Apply' in the corner.”
“Seems to me that performance issues and bugs have largely been sorted now.”
“Also, the graphics seem to be very poorly optimized for my computer, as even on high settings I'm getting shadow entities and void fissures on my map...”
“Considering that there are games like Wargame and Combat Mission out there that more or less feature the same kind of core gameplay but possess way better optimization, there's really no reason to play this game.”
“However, upon playing the game, I was terribly disappointed in its abysmal performance and terrible AI, and generally extremely slow gameplay.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and confusing, particularly in controlling individual soldiers. While the game aims for realism, it often results in a boring experience rather than engaging gameplay, likening it more to a strategic chess game with explosions than a traditional grinding experience.
“It doesn't help that controlling your individual soldiers is tedious and confusing.”
“This game wants to be realistic, but it is boring and tedious too.”
“Overall, this is not a grinding, fix your tank, etc. game; you have chess with explosions.”
- stability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game demonstrates strong stability on Linux when played through Proton, with users reporting smooth performance.
“The game runs smoothly on Linux via Proton.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs during my playthrough.”
“The performance is consistent, making for a seamless gaming experience.”
