Soldiers: Heroes of World War II demo

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: CNET Staff

"All right, let's go and stick our heads in the meat grinder!" Thus begins Soldiers: Heroes of World War II, which invigorates the real-time strategy genre with a dash of third-person action. Much like that sound bite, the game suffers from a loss of context. The read-me file provides vital control information for repairing and refueling vehicles, but the lack of in-game instructions, tutorials, and control configurations means a high barrier of entry. If you can learn how to play on your own, you'll get fantastic action and awesome explosions in a highly detailed and destructible battleground. If not, the Germans will crush you.

The feature that distinguishes Soldiers: Heroes of WWII is the ability to toggle between point-and-click and direct controls. Direct control lets you position units with directional keys and aim precisely with the mouse. Send one of your soldiers to the mortar gun, place another in the tank, then switch to direct control and start blasting. However, you can only move the camera with the mouse, which conflicts with direct-control aiming. Also, we couldn't find any hot keys for selecting units and assigning commands. Blowing up a speeding German motorbike is fun, but you'll only get there if you have the patience to teach yourself how to play.

Publisher's description

From Codemasters :

Soldiers: Heroes of World War II drops you into the heart of the most intense WWII combat. Take control of the most elite American, British, German, or Russian forces ever to impact the war zone. Up against overwhelming odds, you must complete your missions incorporating stealth, guile, speed, and aggression. Mission objectives include blowing up railway tracks, kidnapping enemy officers, and destroying convoys. Be warned that much of this activity will take place behind enemy lines.

Command troops by using either RTS-style, point-and-click commands or by using the direct-control feature for individual units, providing a more realistic and precise style of play. Use the fully interactive environment, tools, and equipment around you to complete your objective. Maximize the effectiveness of your squad by assigning tasks relevant to each individual's skills. So long as you keep your men alive, you can do whatever it takes to secure victory. Nothing is preset.

This demo features one single-player mission in which players must defend a farmhouse and a commanding officer from German forces.

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