As the title says, for fans of the originals you're going to find a lot of similarities in this with the first games in the series. For a follow-up to the last one (Sudden Strike 3), this now 4th run in the series after 10 years makes quite the showing. All of the same gameplay is there with often brutal and hectic missions. I could tell right away when loading up the game's campaign screen that they took a lot of care to make it seem familiar with a new coat of fresh paint. (For example the campaigns are labeled as "German" , "Soviet" , and "Allied" like Sudden Strike 1). There is more here that is similar to 1&2 than there is 3. The third in the series is often considered the 'average' hit-or-miss among fans and it seems these developers were definitely more-so fans of the first two games. Over-all very fun and challenging and runs like a charm (no crashes at all yet for Day One release) Many of the same features return: - Brutal and Hectic combat commanding all the way down to individual units with their own pros and cons - No spawning or building of infantry or vehicles, what you see is what you get (so use them wisely, a faltered attack can be costly) - A lot is still the same right down to "Repair Vehicles" (Engineers) building pontoons across rivers, along with capturing equipment and resupplying your troops if they run low on ammo - The control scheme is almost exactly the same as the first games (for me this was a major positive since there was very little time I needed to spend figuring things out) - Mission ratings are back lending to a lot of replayability to try to beat the same missions with new tactics Awesome new features: - Slicker U.I. that is also intuitive+ Infantry and Vehicles move in formation a LOT better now (easier to rotate vehicles on the fly with mouse) - Tank crews can even be killed in order to capture/commandeer them - Fuel is yet another resource now that vehicles require, giving even more 'realism' flavor - Real Time Pause!
I distinctly remember playing this on Nintendo 64 and while it was fun, I could never beat it with a 64 controller. It then came as a complete surprise hearing about this game being re-released back in 2015. And now being able to play it again with updated controls definitely makes for a fun, but brief run-and-gun shooter. The combination of level-exploring with key and weapon-hunting still feels like a joy to play. The music is also pleasing to listen to, with funky weird beats while circle-strafing Velociraptors! It never gets old. Is it worth it for the price? In my humble opinion, yes - if you intend to play it more than once. All in all, one play-through took me about 8 hours total. What's the game about? - Being a Badass Kiowa-Apache on a super sweet quest involving shooting Dinosaurs, Ancient Warriors, and Robots! - Shooting Dinosaurs that SHOOT back! - Ninja Circle-Strafing a Raptor with a Knife! - Platforming levels that are so vertical that your fear of heights may get triggered! - Intense Boss Fights! A T-Rex shoots lasers out of its EYES dude! - Music worth jamming to man. - Plenty of secrets to find. The game's plot is: You are Tal'Set (a descendant of Pal'Seg'Na'Saquin) on a quest in the Lost Lands to defeat the Evil Overlord known as the Campaigner, whom seeks to find an ancient alien weapon that could forever destroy the barriers that separate realities throughout the Universe.
