Officers [PC]

08 Jun 2009 at 10:39:00 by Peter Parrish
Systems used to review this title: (PC)

Just in time for the anniversary of the D-Day landings, here's a WW2 Real Time Strategy game that gives players the chance to re-fight (amongst others) Operation Overlord. Such an innovative combination of setting and style guarantees it will stand out from the crowd. In fact apart from games like Company of Heroes, Men of War, Close Combat, Blitzkrieg, Hearts of Iron, Axis & Allies, Stalingrad, Codename: Panzers, Baby's First WW2 RTS, Hitler: The Resource Gathering Years and five hundred other titles, Officers can claim to be unique.

It's the cheapest of cheap shots to highlight just how many games there are about dragging a highlight box over a small unit of tanks and then right clicking on an anti-aircraft gun, but it also gestures towards the more serious difficulties of attracting an audience in such a saturated genre. Even players who can't get enough of WW2 RTS action will only consume so many of these games. Most, surely, will only bother with one or two. By now they may even be burnt out on the whole concept. Which means Officers is starting from the bottom of rather a steep hill. It not only needs to climb that hill effortlessly, it needs to make a remarkable speech at the summit and then breakdance its way back down again.

This it does not do.

There's plenty it does just fine, however. Pre-release marketing noises drew attention to the scale of the battles offered, and these are certainly massive in scope. Loading times of several minutes (on a box that exceeds the recommended requirements) gave poor first impressions, but seemed more acceptable when it became clear that each mission required several hours of play to complete. By the time you're through, it's not uncommon to see statistics along the lines of 1,000+ enemy vehicles destroyed. Miles of roads and tracks connect villages, factories and fuel dumps of varying strategic importance. Ambushes are a constant threat and (as you play the Allied forces attempting to sweep Axis forces from Europe) the opposing soldiers are usually deeply entrenched - or have nothing to lose.

Each map features a number of important strategic points (towns, airfields and soforth) that must be captured to claim victory. Minor objectives are also widespread and offer smaller bonuses for taking them. Missions typically begin with Allied forces in control of just one (or even none) of the major points, with orders to press onwards and seize the rest. To an extent it's up to players how they wish to pursue these goals, but a number of friendly troops are often controlled by the AI in order to set up a sort of rolling narrative throughout the mission. For example you may be ordered to escort an AI convoy of supplies or aid in covering a distant advance.

As is the current vogue in RTS games, the gathering and retention of resources has been streamlined, as has the production of forces. Food, Fuel and Ammunition all play a role, but in truth it's something of a background one. Essentially, if your armies have control of a few key strategic points (large and small) they will be fine for resources. If they're severely lacking in anything, the chances are you're doing so poorly that you may as well restart and reconsider your approach. Building new vehicles and deploying more men is a simple case of requesting reinforcements at any of the major strategic areas. The amount available to a player at any given time will, again, depend on how many of those pesky points of tactical importance are under Allied control. Progress is therefore a case of crawling forwards, taking key areas of the map without losing too many troops, and then reinforcing when an important objective falls to your men.

Thankfully your advances are not confined to the ground. Artillery bombardments, bombing runs and paratrooper squadrons are also at your command, in limited numbers. Of course with any airbourne attacks, it pays to ensure the skies are clear of enemy fighters and the ground clear of anti-aircraft guns. Allied fighters can be deployed as cover for heavier, slower planes, or as a response to Axis bombers.

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