Red Dragon should open the wish list of every gamer who shares the view that RTS games should promote strategic thinking, not fast clicking. [06/2014, p.66]
More than a worthy game of its genre. An extensive option of strategies and tactics, something that is missing in most rts. The main feature is quite thoughtful gameplay, the player does not need a cockroach or a korean reaction, therefore, a beginner having mastered a couple of basic points may well outplay even a veteran player. Recommended for playing with friends.
Wargame was developed across the three installments, but always bit by bit. Nevertheless, the third one may be considered the actual top of the series. Navy might seem bizarre but as a company to land battles – it's working. Large scale battles, tens of beautifully-crafted models of ironclads changing into fireballs, and impressive multiplayer slaughter. If you've enjoyed military approach in the previous two installments, Red Dragon won't disappoint you.
Everything that is important for the Wargame series has been improved or expanded in Red Dragon. The developer has introduced naval battles, but unfortunately this novelty looks quite poor - which is a shame, because it was supposed to be the biggest new feature. Still, the game itself is miles above mediocrity and keeps on providing lots of fun for wannabe generals.
A good game in a great series, but it only gets a qualified recommendation because of its weak naval warfare and its lack of several clever features that distinguish its predecessors.
This is more an add-on than a sequel. It even shares a lot of the strengths and weaknesses of AirLandBattle as well as European Escalation. The addition of naval warfare adds a new, welcome facet, but in the end there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Ships that trip over each other and bumble around islands and pivot in the water and soak up an indeterminate amount of damage and, worst of all, relate poorly to the rest of the game. This is not the naval counterpart to Eugen’s smart implementation of air power. Why couldn’t they come up with a similarly graceful way to head out to sea? Why is Wargame: Red Dragon yet another RTS added to the wet heap of naval systems worth ignoring?
immersion: Immersion is generated through player agency, and combat primarilly. The game world serves immersion only as an extension of combat. Players are able to custom design their regiments/task forces with detailed data on each unit and multiple transports for the same unit making each unit slightly different from even the others in the same type and kind of unit. These contribute to a feeling of involvement with the task force (10/15)
Difficulty: Difficulty is adjustable, very coarsely only. Additionally, a lack of precise tutorials also contribute to the difficulty. This contributes to a sensation that the game is difficult as much because the user doesn't know how to execute commands as much as the base difficulty. This lack of information drags the game down, players shouldn't feel like there is a great game they're missing out on because they don't understand enough (6/15)
lasting appeal: If the game does not grab the player immediately and inspire them to look for better tutorials the game will not last long at all. If the player does seek tutorials and let's plays the game will have staying power for about 3 months. This makes the game mostly average in lasting appeal. Customisation would help but the player must be interested enough to persevere(6/15)
overall 7.3/15 slightly below average.
First there is a very poor tutorial if you are new it's going to be hell to understand the game suffers from a non-comprehensive type of gameplay and a steep learning curve. Some times it feels like you have to play with a textbook and the micromanagement is atrocious. The notification system is poorly created by the developer it's difficult to understand what is going on during battles it's chaos everyone shooting and randomly some units are destroyed. Many units feel unbalanced for example old AA machine guns can destroy planes easier than ant-air missiles the game tries hard to be as realistic as possible but fails miserable. Some units feel unresponsive you tell them to attack and they do that in very slow motion (not sure if this is a bug or a stupid gameplay mechanic) The game is NOT entertaining it's not your typical strategy game and not in a good way.
Alright, i am pretty much a RTS freak, so of course i had to check the wargame series.
It was an unpleasant first experience, because i got pretty much destroyed at the start of the easiest campaign.
Anyway, i played it for hours, figuring it out, watching youtubevids, until i got a decent knack for it.
As stated often, you dont play this game for the singleplayer. It is rather boring, even annoying, when you play on the same map for the 5. time, it feels like the campaign doesnt make progress.
Anyway, a big bonus here are the starting videos, creating a nice atmosphere.
The multiplayer is actual fun, be it against AI opponents or actual human opponents.
But there are a couple of things that i need to mention that lead to a position that i cant rate this game above 4/10:
The realism. You expect this game to be realistic, but is not. Sometimes weird things happen without you realizing why.
Here are the 2 examples that stuck the most:
Tanks run out of fuel after like 5 KM. This just doesnt make any sense, even if they were using the roads, on the big maps tanks are not able to cross the map diagonal even once.
The vision of the units. As stated, in the campaign you fight several times on the same map, me even more since i had to restart the first campaign a couple of time.
I just couldnt explain myself why my infantry got so utterly destroyed by my opponents, even if i chose the ones specifically against enemy armor.
Well here is the solution: I had no scout unit nearby. Even with no tree, an enemy tank on an open bridge close to the city my infantry was in, will not be attacked until a freaking scout unit is nearby. Then suddenly my infantry crushed the enemy armor. It was a joke.
It may sound like little stuff, but it just keeps piling up.
However, it was an engaging experience, and the game is definitely worth a shot.
SummaryThe Wargame series returns to duty, larger, richer and more spectacular than ever before. In Wargame Red Dragon, you are engaged in a large-scale conflict where Western forces clash against the Communist bloc.