Overview.
Platform: PC Games
Genre: Shooter, First-Person, RTS.
ESRB Rating:
"Frontline: Fields of Thunder" is rated Teen
Frontline: Fields of Thunder Special Features:
?
Battle Maps:
Streamlined interface.
Unit parameters and the battle dynamics based on historically accurate data.
Two historically correct campaigns that encompass 20 missions, most of which will be based on historical episodes
New Units: Three to four new units will be added to the unit pool in an effort to more ac*
? Curately depict the actual, historical events
New Rewards: The game will feature new awards, medals and promotions to suit the historical period of the game
Multiplayer functionality, including 10 multiplayer missions that can be played both on LAN and over the Nival.Net Internet service
Paradox Interactive has released a playable demo for Frontline: Fields of Thunder, giving you the chance to try out the first chapter in a new RTS series developed by Nival Interactive and N-Game Studios (thanks: Strategy Informer). Frontline: Fields of Thunder follows in the footsteps of the original Blitzkrieg and incorporates the best aspects of the now classic RTS games. It will also feature a new reinforcements system and lots of gameplay tweaks. Additionally, players will notice that the typical promotion system found in Blitzkrieg 2 has disappeared. In Frontline: Kursk there is only one hero, the player, who gets the experience as well as the ranks and rewards.
My Review
Well the game arrived as expected, even though its not due for release for sometime in my country, the beauty of some online retailers.
Anyway, lets get down to the nitty gritty.
Quick install, the game cant be very big. Load it up, crank up all the settings, crank up the 5.1's and prepare for some blast action.
(fotr= fall of the reich)
The main menu now has a new skin, but the same layout. As most will know who played the demo. Pretty much every option is the same as in blitzkrieg 2 and fotr. In the demo you were only able to play 2 russian missions, so i was quite keen to try the german campaign. Unlike blitzkrieg 2 and for, there is no difficulty setting. This is no problem for me, having played all blitzkriegs released, but for newcomers it may be a little daunting. There is an option to take a tutorial (as before) so this should easy the newbies into the game and give them an idea of what lies ahead.
With this version, there are no more 'reinforcements', except for planes. So, like BK1 you start the mission with a certain amount of units, and depending on the mission; after you complete the first objective of the mission you may get more. This seems to work well, and certinly gives it a more BK1 feel. I really hope it is like this in multiplayer as blitzkrieg 2 and especially fotr were awfull online. With loads of tank and gap rushers, the game was no fun.
Another welcome return is the ability to use binoculars with infantry, this enables a small amount of scouting to be done, this comes in very handy on the first german mission. My 2 sexy grey looking stugs were hungry, and they certinly got fed. This helped me take out some anti tank guns before commencing on my first assault.
The weapon ranges are longer than in blitzkrieg 2, but not as long as in fotr. This is good, because in fotr you can be picked off by a lone anti tank gun over half way accross the map.
There is no mistaking it, this is almost identical to blitzkrieg 2, it does however brush up quite nicely on some of the annoying things of blitzkrieg 2.
The maps are more detailed, and generally have several objectives to complete. So you do have to look after you units to some extent, although quite often you will get a few more to help you with that next objective.
Quite often, you have to think on your feet, rather than just telling your troops to charge in one direction. For example, sometimes its good to have a two pronged attack. You start by sending a few troops and light tanks to one part of the defensive line to absorb some fire, then hit the other flank with your man tank force in a blitzkrieg style push.
The graphics havent changed much, but the unit textures have. They are definatly more detailed. (check my screenshots) Some tanks of the same type have slightly different skins to give them some variation.
The sound is also the same, however nothing was wrong with the sound. The tank guns sound meaty, the music kicks in when a fierce battle in underway, what more do you want?
From what i have seen, ammo is in short supply, so you have forced to make shots count. So there will be no pummeling an area with artillery for half an hour.
In blitzkrieg 2, you could upgrade your units with special abilities like track targeting after your commander go xxx amount of points. Well in this version all those abilities are available from the very start. This is good, but it means artillery is deadly accurate, my Stugs, were picking off T34's with 1/2 shots between them. Unfortunatly, these skills arent enabled by default so you have to go through all the tanks and click the right icons, same when new tanks arrive for the next objective.
On some missions, you have the cpu on your side controlling some units in blue from your forces. Most noticeably on the first german mission. If your lucky, the 105mm howitzer guy will get killed, meaning you can take control of this gun, i was not so lucky though.
Elements of the bk1 kursk add on are in this game. With lots of minefields about which need to be cleared in order for your advancing tanks to at least reach the enemy lines in one piece. Your sappers however are pretty slack, and dont see to cover much area in their search, so you could be there for 15 minutes trying to clear a couple of fields.
Without doubt the best part of the game is the online play. The multiplayer side of these games has always been fun. Up to 8 players can play, with 1-4 on each side. Team work is required, and if one of your colleagues is under attack it should be your duty to send over some reinforcements for him, and likewise for you. Or, you could always deploy your bombers on the atatcking force, or send in some ground attack planes.
The game has now boycotted starforce, infact there isnt any cd protection at all. Meaning that you dont even need your cd, or a serial code. Obviously they arent worried about piracy, and just want people playing the game. A nice change of angle here.
Conclusion:
A good game in its own right, and with the community here (bkportal.com) making mods, chapters and individual missions, the game has the potential to go far.
Its a definite improvement on blitzkrieg 2, especially as the reinforcement system is now gone. If you loved blitzkrieg 2, you will definatly love this.
7.5 /10
Screenshots
http://www.sendspace.com/file/qbvefa
Platform: PC Games
Genre: Shooter, First-Person, RTS.
ESRB Rating:
"Frontline: Fields of Thunder" is rated Teen
Frontline: Fields of Thunder Special Features:
?
Battle Maps:
Streamlined interface.
Unit parameters and the battle dynamics based on historically accurate data.
Two historically correct campaigns that encompass 20 missions, most of which will be based on historical episodes
New Units: Three to four new units will be added to the unit pool in an effort to more ac*
? Curately depict the actual, historical events
New Rewards: The game will feature new awards, medals and promotions to suit the historical period of the game
Multiplayer functionality, including 10 multiplayer missions that can be played both on LAN and over the Nival.Net Internet service
Paradox Interactive has released a playable demo for Frontline: Fields of Thunder, giving you the chance to try out the first chapter in a new RTS series developed by Nival Interactive and N-Game Studios (thanks: Strategy Informer). Frontline: Fields of Thunder follows in the footsteps of the original Blitzkrieg and incorporates the best aspects of the now classic RTS games. It will also feature a new reinforcements system and lots of gameplay tweaks. Additionally, players will notice that the typical promotion system found in Blitzkrieg 2 has disappeared. In Frontline: Kursk there is only one hero, the player, who gets the experience as well as the ranks and rewards.
My Review
Well the game arrived as expected, even though its not due for release for sometime in my country, the beauty of some online retailers.
Anyway, lets get down to the nitty gritty.
Quick install, the game cant be very big. Load it up, crank up all the settings, crank up the 5.1's and prepare for some blast action.
(fotr= fall of the reich)
The main menu now has a new skin, but the same layout. As most will know who played the demo. Pretty much every option is the same as in blitzkrieg 2 and fotr. In the demo you were only able to play 2 russian missions, so i was quite keen to try the german campaign. Unlike blitzkrieg 2 and for, there is no difficulty setting. This is no problem for me, having played all blitzkriegs released, but for newcomers it may be a little daunting. There is an option to take a tutorial (as before) so this should easy the newbies into the game and give them an idea of what lies ahead.
With this version, there are no more 'reinforcements', except for planes. So, like BK1 you start the mission with a certain amount of units, and depending on the mission; after you complete the first objective of the mission you may get more. This seems to work well, and certinly gives it a more BK1 feel. I really hope it is like this in multiplayer as blitzkrieg 2 and especially fotr were awfull online. With loads of tank and gap rushers, the game was no fun.
Another welcome return is the ability to use binoculars with infantry, this enables a small amount of scouting to be done, this comes in very handy on the first german mission. My 2 sexy grey looking stugs were hungry, and they certinly got fed. This helped me take out some anti tank guns before commencing on my first assault.
The weapon ranges are longer than in blitzkrieg 2, but not as long as in fotr. This is good, because in fotr you can be picked off by a lone anti tank gun over half way accross the map.
There is no mistaking it, this is almost identical to blitzkrieg 2, it does however brush up quite nicely on some of the annoying things of blitzkrieg 2.
The maps are more detailed, and generally have several objectives to complete. So you do have to look after you units to some extent, although quite often you will get a few more to help you with that next objective.
Quite often, you have to think on your feet, rather than just telling your troops to charge in one direction. For example, sometimes its good to have a two pronged attack. You start by sending a few troops and light tanks to one part of the defensive line to absorb some fire, then hit the other flank with your man tank force in a blitzkrieg style push.
The graphics havent changed much, but the unit textures have. They are definatly more detailed. (check my screenshots) Some tanks of the same type have slightly different skins to give them some variation.
The sound is also the same, however nothing was wrong with the sound. The tank guns sound meaty, the music kicks in when a fierce battle in underway, what more do you want?
From what i have seen, ammo is in short supply, so you have forced to make shots count. So there will be no pummeling an area with artillery for half an hour.
In blitzkrieg 2, you could upgrade your units with special abilities like track targeting after your commander go xxx amount of points. Well in this version all those abilities are available from the very start. This is good, but it means artillery is deadly accurate, my Stugs, were picking off T34's with 1/2 shots between them. Unfortunatly, these skills arent enabled by default so you have to go through all the tanks and click the right icons, same when new tanks arrive for the next objective.
On some missions, you have the cpu on your side controlling some units in blue from your forces. Most noticeably on the first german mission. If your lucky, the 105mm howitzer guy will get killed, meaning you can take control of this gun, i was not so lucky though.
Elements of the bk1 kursk add on are in this game. With lots of minefields about which need to be cleared in order for your advancing tanks to at least reach the enemy lines in one piece. Your sappers however are pretty slack, and dont see to cover much area in their search, so you could be there for 15 minutes trying to clear a couple of fields.
Without doubt the best part of the game is the online play. The multiplayer side of these games has always been fun. Up to 8 players can play, with 1-4 on each side. Team work is required, and if one of your colleagues is under attack it should be your duty to send over some reinforcements for him, and likewise for you. Or, you could always deploy your bombers on the atatcking force, or send in some ground attack planes.
The game has now boycotted starforce, infact there isnt any cd protection at all. Meaning that you dont even need your cd, or a serial code. Obviously they arent worried about piracy, and just want people playing the game. A nice change of angle here.
Conclusion:
A good game in its own right, and with the community here (bkportal.com) making mods, chapters and individual missions, the game has the potential to go far.
Its a definite improvement on blitzkrieg 2, especially as the reinforcement system is now gone. If you loved blitzkrieg 2, you will definatly love this.
7.5 /10
Screenshots
http://www.sendspace.com/file/qbvefa
Last edited:
