Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Jerome Koehler

Warfront: Turning Point was pinging on my radar way back when the game was first announced and my anticipation for it has grown to epic proportions. When I was given the option to review the game, I jumped onto the opportunity like a Tiger (tank that is) on its prey. Even though the World War 2 Genre was growing stale amongst the players, it takes exceptional skill to revitalize the subject matter that makes a person want to return for more.

The game takes place during World War 2, but with Hitler out of the way, history has changed its course. Mingling with the normal sights of tanks and regular infantry, there are exoskeleton war machines, freeze rays, and battle zeppelins. With all of these unique units, how will this game stand up against heavy hitters such as Supreme Commander and Command and Conquer 3? Read on to find out if this game is a worthy purchase with your gaming dollars.

The graphics of this game definitely are sight to behold. Everything is rendered in its 3 dimensional glory and looks appealing to boot. All three of the “races” have unique skins for their units, so no units will look similar, even though the same cannot be said about the function of said units. The Germans have the usual World War 2 outfits, the Americans look just like soldiers that were featured in any generic World War 2 movie, and the Russians have their heavy coats and red stars. All the units are detailed very nicely and you can see that pride was taken in the creation of the units. With the varying contrast from historical to experimental, the developers have done an awesome job with the units. As the player's base continues to sprout from ground, it makes my heart jump with joy to see all of the little touches that were added to the buildings. Flags wave in the wind, power generators have a crackle of electricity around them, and the barracks has units going about their business ranging from walking guard to conducting pushups. It was refreshing to see that the same care was put into the creation of the buildings as with the units.

The environment received the same care and consideration. Battlefields range from war torn cities to winter wonderland landscapes. The weather play an important role in the battles the player fights are if it is raining, the radar screen will flicker and calling bombers and air drops becomes impossible. In the winter landscapes, snow slowly floats to the ground as two, or more, armies clash amongst each other. It is interesting to see that the weather actually has an effect on the outcome of the battle. The only real gripe that I have with the game is that during the cutscenes, the voiceovers are not synced with the movement of character's mouths. Other than that, I believe this game deserves kudos for a job well done in the graphical department.

The actual sounds and music in the game are definitely not of a low caliber and the effort that has gone into the voice acting needs commendation. Some of the voice overs do make you want to smack your head due to them being very cliché of the genre and others definitely fit with the style of the unit. My prime example of a job well done is the Vodka dealer with his thick Russian accent...who could deny a character whose prime purpose it is to sell vodka to the soldiers? Some of the heroes' one liners make me cringe though as they make no sense or the accent is just rendered atrociously. On the other hand, the voices of the units do change when different weather patterns affect the battlefield. If it rains, the units will complain about how wet and miserable it is and when it snows, about how cold the weather is. I personally was amazed when this little tidbit of information was discovered.

The music changes its theme depending on which nation is played which causes each side to have its own unique music. For example, the Russians have the traditional sounding nationalist Russian theme playing in the background. It makes you want to achieve a victory with your fellow comrades.

The controls of the game are very reminiscent of the usual vanilla RTS formula that has been used for years. The mouse and keyboard pretty much control all of the action with shortcut keys and rubber band drag and click allowing for control of the battlefield. One interesting control feature allows the commander to take control of a base defense structure and boosts the units power and range to fight off enemy incursions.

Warfront takes the typical RTS mold and attempts to invigorate it with nice eye candy and the inclusion of the ability to commandeer your turrets in the first person perspective. Each side has units that are unique to it and units that are cookie cutter between all of the sides in the conflict. The Germans have the most powerful armor, the Russians have the best infantry, and the United States has some the strongest airforce. All of the sides have access to the ability to call in bombers from off map to wreck havoc on the enemy with everything from conventional bombs to earthquake bombs that decimate the area.

As mentioned previously, the United States have the strongest air force and all of their buildings require no power. The US have the traditional units you hear about in World War 2 movies ranging from the Rangers to regular grunts with machine guns. The US also can rely on helicopters, nuclear weapons, and the awesome Earthquake Bomb.

The Germans have this game's trademark unit, the exoskeleton, and it acts as a workhorse for Germans. Machine guns and the ability to shoot missiles at the push of a button give this unit unprecedented flexibility. The tanks are definitely the high point of the German ranging from light tanks to heavy artillery that blows the enemy into submission.
The Russians reliance on infantry gifts them with the medic unit, that allows healing of other infantry units, and the vodka dealer, who causes the damage output of infantry to be increased but causes damage over time to them. The Russians do have access to some of the interesting armor though, as is evident with the deployable artillery turret. Also, once a Gulag is constructed, they will have access to monetary income depending on how many units they kill.

All three sides have access to three separate heroes that add either passive abilities or debuffs to the surrounding units, the hero, or have abilities that can be activated through the push of a button. Research is conducted by climbing through three different tiers of technology, unlocking more powerful weapons and research opportunities.

Once the battles begin, the player will notice that every unit has a counter to it. Air units will be shot out of the sky by AA weapons, tanks will be defeated by AT weapons, and infantry are torn to shreds by machine gun fire. This is where the games flaw comes into the effect. It seems that the units do not take a lot of punishment before they fold like a deck of cards. Other than that, the AI does a good job of pitting its troops against the human mind. On the easy setting, luckily, no use of the bombers can be seen. On the higher difficulty levels, the AI throws everything and the kitchen sink at you.

With the game being released in the $40 price point, you definitely get your money's worth from the game. With the included multiplayer, the singleplayer campaign, or the skirmish option, the player will always have something to do with this game. Sadly, this game was released in between two heavy hitters, C&C3 and Supreme Commander, so the game will more than likely get drowned out between these two. Other than that, this game was a joy to play and review so, in my humble opinion, it does deserve some support. With the game already being released and seemingly not sparking any interest on the gaming boards I frequent, I believe this game deserves more attention than it is receiving right now. If you are looking for a rock solid RTS, look no further than War Front. With the release of two games that were hyped from conception, I hope there is enough room in your wallet to support a polished game that is enjoyable.

Gaming Trend Score

84

1. Graphics: 88
2. Audio: 80
3. Controls: 81
4. Gameplay: 84
5. Value/Replay: 87
6. OVERALL:84