Swedish publisher Paradox Interactive, specializing in historical strategies, annually releases “hardcore” projects. And although they have not gained particular popularity, they are more than successful in occupying the niche of games for a narrow audience of players. Series like Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings And Victoria, on many lips today. Fans of this or that strategy have long rallied into large communities. It is for them that partners work Paradox Interactive, creating large global projects with detailed gameplay, statistics and diplomacy systems. The publisher maintains its reputation by releasing truly rare, high-quality products. This time the “paradoxes” represent the results of the development team’s work Turbo Tape Games from Norway, who gathered to revive the ideas of classic wargames of the 90s.
Peeking into the past
Is anyone familiar with global strategy? Harpoon? Its first part was released in 1989. In those days, it gained worldwide popularity among console players. It is unlikely that our readers may know anything about her, but the following Harpoon 2 1994 and Harpoon 3: Advanced Naval Warfare 2003 may be familiar to you. This series was based on a simulator for training tactics among military officers of the NATO bloc. Its entertainment version, which went to the masses, also presented a large number of realistic possibilities. In the role of commander-in-chief of an army of submarines, destroyers, aircraft carriers and aircraft, the player had to solve complex strategic problems in reconnaissance, radar competition and directly in the battle itself. Each combat unit carried tactical types of weapons, but excluded the use of nuclear warheads, which turned a modern virtual war into a testing ground for real military brainstorming. This project is taken as a standard by the studio Turbo Tape Games when creating a wargame Naval War: Arctic Circle.
Naval War: Arctic Circle captivates not with its northern seascapes, but with the depth of its tactical combat.
By the way, the development principle itself is very similar to the situation with the submarine simulator Silent Hunter 4, in which the entry threshold was lowered, controls and gameplay basics were simplified compared to the third part. This is exactly what happened with the series Harpoon, which at one time turned out to be too difficult for players, which negatively affected its popularity. So, reviving the game in the face Naval War, the developers have carefully simplified it. Care was required to maintain the “hardcore” nature of the project. The result, however, was not so rosy – the Norwegians are still very far from their intended goal, although they are heading in the right direction.
IN Naval War you https://matchbook-casino.co.uk/bonus/ should start playing by going through a tedious tutorial, so disliked by fans of quickly entering the game. But we must honestly admit that if you are already a seasoned expert in strategies, then the textbooks can be put aside, since in the campaign mode hints are given with enviable regularity. And in general, the interface is quite convenient: in fact, all the time you play in 2D mode on the global map, giving orders to “units”. The 3D mode is used as visual variety and does not provide any functionality. Simple visualization that can be disabled in settings. From time to time you will have to pore through the thick manual that comes with the game. A deeply developed world often creates difficulties in getting to know it. And here lies the first disadvantage of the game – the motivation is too weak to immediately rush into a long study of the basics. No bread, no circuses for you, just a long and tedious path through training for the dubious pleasure of outwitting the enemy with cunning maneuvers on the tactical map. After all, everything was exactly the same in the case of the series Harpoon, which the developers themselves criticized precisely for this. It’s probably great to step on the same rake while still pointing your finger at it.
On the threshold of World War III
As soon as you complete familiarization with all the instructions and textbooks, the developers offer to plunge into a fictional military conflict in 2030 between the world’s two largest competitors – the NATO bloc and the Russian Federation. They will face each other in a confrontation over valuable resources hidden under the water and ice of the Arctic. Of course, you just couldn’t help but hear about it. There is not much time left before the planned depletion of the world’s oil and gas reserves, so the leaders of the largest countries are beginning to defend their historical rights to own the territories of the once-no-man’s Arctic. It is noteworthy that a wide variety of countries are displayed in NATO, including the USA, Canada, Great Britain and almost all Scandinavian states. As the developers promised, Russia is not presented as an enemy of democracy and the main aggressor on the planet. At the same time, the plot periodically nevertheless depicts pictures of the daring attack of the Russians on harmless convoy and transport ships in the northern waters of the World Ocean.
Plot in Naval War not important. Here the gameplay itself is the basis. The story is contained in a dozen short briefings, shown before the start of long missions in the form of a printed newspaper. Each mission requires from one to several hours of real time to complete it. Definitely this strategy is only for patient players. No, the developers have provided time rewind, but the planning process requires a very leisurely approach. This is especially acute at first, when you have to compare the characteristics of each aircraft, ship or submarine presented in the game. But they include dozens of specifications and functionality used depending on the current situation. For example, for aerial reconnaissance we use higher altitudes to cover a larger radar radius. And to attack the altitude must be reduced. And this must be done with each aircraft separately. For naval “units” they already have their own set of tricks, and so on.
The tasks, it is worth noting, are varied. Protect fishing vessels from hostile forces, prevent landings in a protected area, blockade a port, reconnoiter the main positions of the enemy – with each new mission the developers give us more and more complex tasks. Your victories or defeats will not be lost in your save files on your computer. The game keeps its own statistics, which will greatly help or perhaps hinder you in multiplayer. Collective play via the Internet in such conditions, when you are the Admiral and are free to act at your own discretion, turns the battle with a live opponent into a real performance. This is not for you ArmA, where everything is scripted and not Battlefield with endless reinforcements. Here it is you who command the reinforcements, you decide to use submarines or aircraft, only you can set goals for your army, arrange it in the right order and perform maneuvers. There is only one goal – victory at any cost; the rest depends on the player’s intelligence.
War is only for our own people
With all the significant advantages Naval War its isolation makes you wonder: is such a “hardcore” strategy needed by modern players today?? After all, there are so many alternatives around with wonderful graphics, plot. Only the recent tactical strategy Wargame: European Escalation showed a wonderful example of how great a “hardcore” wargame can look in 2012 against the backdrop of the most beautiful AAA games. But, as we have already said, Turbo Tape Games your way. It consists in simulating the principles of modern warfare as truthfully as possible. After all, it is already different from the Second World War both in weapons, and goals, and the very tactics of the struggle. Therefore, the developers put the usual techniques described in old books to rest, demonstrating their own view of the Third World War. And in this they are helped by numerous fans of the topic, who on the official forum provide the Norwegians with information support, the existing characteristics of combat units, and share their experience.
Every battle is full of surprises: just when you were confident of victory, you are already saving the remnants of the army.
Naval War: Arctic Circle at the moment it is replete with problems with the interface and sometimes freezes completely, although this can be attributed to shortcomings in the pre-release version of the game. A naval tactical simulator and RTS rolled into one, without graphical frills or sophisticated technologies – this is exactly how the project appeared to the players. If you finally understand all this, then the game will definitely please its buyer. This will be especially true for those of you who are no strangers to long evenings of tactical action films or strategies. However, you shouldn’t expect a revolution in the genre from the Norwegian studio – it’s just a good representative of today’s rare “hardcore” games.
Pros: "hardcore"; a huge amount of actually existing weapons and equipment of NATO countries and Russia; simulation of radar and reconnaissance equipment; vertical control space – from submarines and ships to aircraft and ballistic missiles; the ability to wage an invisible war with stealth weapons; complete control over the entire army and individual “units”; Weather effects affecting combat.
Cons: extremely primitive graphics; difficult to learn for beginners; the scarcity of Canadian weapons in the NATO bloc; the model of at least a simple economy and resources is not used to provide the army.