Theatre of War 2: Kursk 1943
- July 8, 2010
- Fulqrum Publishing
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Theatre of War 2: Kursk 1943" is a strategy game with both single-player and multi-player options, offering around 5 hours of playtime. The game allows you to command Russian or German forces during the Battle of Kursk, a turning point in World War II's Eastern Front. Choose between two campaigns, Fiery Salient and Operation Citadel, and control troops in historically accurate scenarios on realistically recreated battlefields.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game offers a high level of realism with detailed unit models and mechanics, making it rewarding for players who enjoy tactical simulations.
- It features large maps and allows for long-range combat, enhancing the strategic depth of gameplay.
- The moral system and realistic line of sight mechanics add complexity, making it a unique experience for those who appreciate in-depth strategy games.
- The AI is often criticized for being unresponsive and 'dumb', leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including crashes and performance problems on modern hardware, making it difficult to play smoothly.
- Controls can be clunky and unintuitive, requiring significant micromanagement that can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- story43 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is set against the backdrop of significant World War II campaigns, specifically focusing on the Eastern Front during Kursk and the Normandy landings in Caen. Players experience a more immersive narrative with longer, more detailed missions that emphasize tactical gameplay, crew morale, and the dynamics of tank warfare, although some players have noted issues with mission difficulty and technical performance that detract from the overall experience. The campaigns are praised for their depth and variety, but frustrations with AI and mission design can lead to a sense of imbalance and challenge.
“Kursk's two campaigns are longer than any campaign in A:1943 (at 10 missions each) and more fleshed out from simply attacking, holding, or defending objectives with the use of event triggers to signal retreats, purposeful use of ambushing, the addition of crew morale/cohesion, and tank defenses becoming imperative to survival.”
“The game does away with the 'tactical pause' mechanic unless the player desires, features blood and gory elements, and ups the immersion. This game really sounds like a battlefield on the Eastern Front; any silence is deafening, and I still remember the Red Army missions to this day.”
“Battle for Caen seems to largely acknowledge this by taking another crack at the Western Allies with a fresh perspective: set during the Normandy landings of 1944, BFC focuses on British vs. Waffen-SS forces around Operation Epsom, with a matured arsenal that creates a pronounced difference in tactics without sacrificing the playability or viability of either faction.”
“I stopped playing the Russian campaign in the first mission because Germany attacks with Tigers and the Russians can't destroy them, even with their best artillery.”
“The missions feel impossible with these controls.”
“Sometimes missions start with 3 low-class tanks to defend against 20 high-class tanks and an entire anti-tank army behind.”
- gameplay26 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay is intricate and rewarding, requiring players to read the manual to fully grasp its mechanics, including a moral system and realistic line of sight. While it offers flexibility in division building and maintains detailed modeling of vehicles and combat, many players find the user interface and AI lacking, leading to a frustrating experience marred by bugs and poor design choices. Overall, the game presents a compelling historical setting but struggles with execution, making it challenging to enjoy.
“It is one of those games that you have to read the manual before you play, but it is very rewarding once you understand the mechanics as it has a moral system as well as realistic line of sight and armor penetration.”
“The game does away with the 'tactical pause' mechanic unless the player desires, features blood and gory elements, and ups the immersion. This game really sounds like a battlefield on the Eastern Front; any silence is deafening, and I still remember the Red Army missions to this day.”
“Players are given more flexibility when building their divisions and reinforcements, where they have full freedom to decide what is given at the cost of the RPG-lite level mechanics from Africa (for infantry and crews) being curbed.”
“Slightly good game with large scale maps, silly AI system, and flat gameplay.”
“It's just so frustrating to have a beautifully rendered WWII battlefield, and then feel constricted and frustrated by the mechanics of the game.”
“Secondly, there's a grand total of one new mechanic.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their quality, especially considering its 2010 release, with some users noting that they are surprisingly good and historically accurate. However, there are criticisms regarding the game's polish and performance, with mentions of lag and dated visuals in certain contexts. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the gameplay experience, appealing to both beginners and experienced players.
“Very nice RTS game, graphics surprisingly good for 2010.”
“Not only is it more accessible, it's also got far more depth than Theatre of War, along with excellent sound effects, better graphics, immersion, and an active modding/multiplayer community.”
“With the uniform mod, that game is not only gorgeous and historically accurate graphics-wise, but also the best strategy game on the market.”
“Dated graphics.”
“This is a saga I really wanted to like; however, it feels very unpolished and laggy even with graphics at low.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is frequently criticized for its instability, with users reporting numerous bugs and unreliable AI, which significantly hampers control and overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, some players still find the gameplay enjoyable and recommend purchasing the game at a discount.
“Buggy, boring, and lacking content.”
“It's incredibly detailed and gameplay is good, but it's very buggy and the AI is unreliable.”
“Buggy as hell and is really hard to control the unit.”
- music4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game has been criticized for its poor sound design, including mismatched voice accents and a lack of engaging soundtrack during battles, which contributes to an overall empty atmosphere. Additionally, the presence of a non-functional music slider further frustrates players, highlighting the game's shortcomings in audio experience.
“There's so many little things going wrong as well, from unforgivably bad sound design (Brits speaking in American voices) and the generally empty feel of the soundtrackless battles (the music slider is actually greyed out but left in), all the way to awkward, but sadly compulsory, infantry micro-management (I shouldn't have to manually give my MG ammo while I want to be flanking a Tiger with my SU-85).”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Users have reported performance issues related to optimization, particularly on older PCs, where high CPU usage persists even after closing the game, necessitating a restart to resolve the problem.
“I also had a performance issue on an older PC where after closing the game, CPU usage remains high until restarting.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, indicating that it may feel repetitive and time-consuming.
“The game is quite tedious.”
“The game is quite tedious.”
“The game feels like a never-ending grind.”
