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Men Of War 2’s multiplayer mode is the tank’s time to shineWe’ve been playing some matches in three of its seven game modes
We’ve been playing some matches in three of its seven game modes
Crucially, though, everyone gets access to some sort of tank, which let’s face it, is always going to be the MVP of any WW2strategy game, and probably the sole reason why we’re here in the first place. As Men Of War 2 heads into its first open multiplayer tech test on Steam today (running until March 27th), here’s my full report of my mildly doomed multiplayer tankventures in its Combat, Front Line and Incursion modes.
Whatever battalion you end up going for in Men Of War 2, you’ll always get a mix of different units. They’ll be mostly based around the specific unit type you choose, but as a match progresses, you’ll also unlock two additional tiered echelons in that battalion that give you access to more powerful units - many of which come in the form of tanks or air strike support in addition to boots on the ground soldiers. You’ll still need to make sure you’ve got enough command points banked to bring them onto the battlefield, of course, but the added variety plays a crucial role in the escalation of each match. After all, more units doesn’t just open up the number of strategic avenues available to you as a player, but the arrival of bigger, beefier units on the opposing side also gives battles a climatic ebb and flow as each team adapts and counters what’s trundling down the front lines.
Even with three tiers to each battalion, however, you’ll only ever be in command of a handful at any given moment. Most units require a hefty number of command points in Men Of War 2, and I maybe only had two or three units on the field simultaneously in each of the three modes I played. With such a small band at your disposal, communication with your teammates becomes absolutely essential, as this is a game that really relies on coordinated attacks and strategies to get the most out of your limited units.
I was, admittedly, not great at actually vocalizing the vague plans that were forming at the back of my head in the heat of the moment, and (with extended apologies to my long-suffering teammate on Men Of War 2’s publishing team) it quickly became apparent that simply chucking units at a problem wasn’t really going to cut it. I look forward to digging deeper into each battalion’s strengths and weaknesses once the game comes out in full later this year, but yeah, I can also tell it’s going to take a lot of trial and error even now.
Those plans could potentially get quite large and involved, too, with Men Of War 2 offering up to 5v5 multiplayer matches. You can set the mode, team size, maximum troop level, eligible armies and battalions and difficulty level in the Settings menu, and there are also two additional Spectator slots people can hop into as well. Once you’ve picked your team, it’s time to select your troops. As you’d expect, you can have any combo of battalions and nations on your team - although having a mix is always handy so you can cover more ground.
The map we play on is the Borovaya River, a lightly forested arena with its titular river slicing diagonally across its flat, muddy fields. Cover is sparse here, but there’s enough height on the surrounding terrain to set up a good defensive position on a hill overlooking a shallow ford. It’s a spot that, in mere minutes, will become absolutely littered with exploded tank carcasses and burned out machine guns as we stake out our respective battle lines, but first comes the gradual march up the map, and yes, Černoch wasn’t kidding about my tank’s miniscule line of sight - a long, but very narrow wedge directly in front of its cannon. Artillery, meanwhile, punctuates the fog of war with large, circular viewpoints, as do the lightly armoured support vehicles that accompany them.
Another interesting wrinkle to Front Line, however, is that every so often your army’s commander will also set you additional objectives in this mode, such as capturing flags points and attacking other important points on the map. Pushing (and holding) the line has always been one of my favourite mode types in RTSmultiplayer games(thank several years ofSupreme Commander lunch time matchesfor that), but these special objectives were just the extra little bit of spice the match needed to sustain 30-odd minutes of intense tank and infantry jostling.
We very nearly had an all-out tank war with this one - our side had one tank and one artillery versus the other side’s double tank combo - and dramatic doesn’t even begin to describe it. The sandy beaches and rural farmland got absolutely demolished in our fracas, but we also got absolutely mullered in the face of the team B’s beastly Tiger and Konigstiger double tank whammy, which are two of the heaviest and most durable big metal boys in the entire game, Černoch tells me. Even with my own heavy tanks on the field, they needed several shots (and additional tanks, and air strikes, and grenades) to take down, but it was pretty thrilling all the same. Handily, entering direct control and mousing over those monstrous tank lads did, in fact, give me a breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses in a little tooltip - not that I was in much of a position to do much about it, necessarily, but it was a welcome concession in the heat of the moment to have that information in front of me so that I could, if I have the right units, try a more effective strategy against this all-powerful behemoth.
Still, even though I only got to sample less than half of Men Of War 2’s eventual multiplayer modes, these three alone are plentiful evidence that Best Way’s WW2 RTS is shaping up to be fighting fit for its eventual deployment later this year. If its single player campaign is half as compelling as these multiplayer modes, Company Of Heroes 3 will almost certainly have some hot competition for this year’s best WW2 strategy game. To see the game in action for yourself, head on over toSteamto join in Men Of War 2’s multiplayer tech test now.
