Anyone play Act of War?

Post by **Vympel** » 2006-01-14 09:49am

My brother bought this game months ago and I just installed it. I had heard good things about it, but I'm on the third (or fourth) misison right now and I must say all it's managed to do is give me the fucking shits.

The presentation, graphics, sound, etc is fantastic, but the AI is completely fucking pitiful.

Why is it that when I order my entire infantry squad to attack something, only the front two morons do, and everyone else just sits behind them, waiting for them to die? And why is it when one of my men is attacked, that one moron runs off to attack whoever is attacking him, while everyone else next to him just stands by, completely bloody oblivious? Shits me ...

Rant off.

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2006-01-14 03:52pm

I've played it, and I never noticed that being much of a problem.

My infantry always behaved rather well.

Post by **weemadando** » 2006-01-15 05:42pm

[Loyal HABite]
I never played this game. I never found it to be fun and enjoyable. I certainly did not partake in hours upon hours of play in both the campaign and skirmish mode as well as multiplayer. I did not find the FMV to be enjoyable at all. I did not like the nice streamlined airstrike dynamics and other bits of gameplay excellence. And I hate Dale Brown for writing such an undeniably stupid plot. Except when I get to blow up the White House.
[/Loyal HABite]

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2006-01-15 08:46pm

It wasn't really serious in either the unit selection or the story, but it was just good ole fashioned RTS fun. Lots of nice and interesting gameplay choices (putting infantry in buildings, especially tank killers, increases their worth by a thousand. Why don't more games do this?) Great airstrike system, nice variety, although some fucking weird units for the secret service faction. Power armor with rocket launchers? But still, it was a fucking rush assaulting the White House with a dozen Abrahms and Bradleys.

Post by **Vympel** » 2006-01-19 08:53am

Having gone further into the game, I've definitely grown to like it and have overcome it's few AI quirks in terms the tendency of individual units to move forward when attacked. That said, there's some bizarre stuff in this game:

- Obvious SA-2 SAM sites being called SA-12s;
- MiG-21s and F/A-35s having an equal chance of shooting each other down;
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Power Wank Armor with Miniguns and Anti-Tank missiles;
- Robot vehicles that can just materialize massive SAM launcher packets, drone service facilities, and an anti-tank gun in the blink of an eye;
- The sheer absurdity of a massive "terrorist" attack on San Francisco employing military vehicles off-loaded by freighters at the piers;
- Ludicrously expensive cloaking-device equipped vehicles for the bad guys- these are the same guys who can muster no better gunship than a Mi-35;
- YF-23 Black Widow for the bad guys- funny, I didn't know it was in production;
- The even more absurd notion of the Russian President asking for American assistance to put down an internal insurrection;
- 2S6 Tunguska-M1s- which for some reason don't have missiles.
- Nano-wave repair of infantry- funny, looks like a MAGIC SPELL to me. Why they added this when medevac copters are in the game, I have no idea.
- Magic spell repair vehicles- why they added this when they have vehicle evacuation in the game, I have no idea.

Those are just a few oddities and absurdities. Don't get me wrong, it's bloody fun, and despite all those realism niggles it feels good.

Post by **weemadando** » 2006-01-20 06:03pm

I love playing multiplayer and consistantly capturing enemy personnel. Its a great feeling. Especially when you are at a LAN and can taunt your opponent about the secrets that your captives are spilling.

Post by **Vympel** » 2006-01-21 07:53am

weemadando wrote:I love playing multiplayer and consistantly capturing enemy personnel. Its a great feeling. Especially when you are at a LAN and can taunt your opponent about the secrets that your captives are spilling.

I find it too fiddly. I just did the Russia mission where you get the US Army, Task Force Talon, and Russian troops all in one go, hence I had a field hospital to hold POWs and the Task Force Talon barracks. I capture 20 POWs, then I don't bother anymore- 20 is more than enough to get shitloads of money long after your oil derricks have run out.

Don't know how it is in multiplayer- how many POW-prison add-ons can you make?

Some more bizarre things in AoW:

- T-80BV tanks for the Russians? Say what? Is making a T-80U or T-90 model that hard? And the picture when you select it is ... a T-72S? Fuck they're confused. And why does it have a spinning antenna on the commander's hatch?
- Russian airstrike after I destroy the SA-2 erm I mean "SA-12" batteries consists of ... MiG-21 horde. Ok ... has been out of Russian service since the early 1990s, Su-24 is the most numerous plane in the RuAF inventory, but fine ...
- Mi-35 gunships with nothing but machine guns and rockets, no missiles (apparently they're coming in the expansion pack ...)
- Why do "BTR-80s" have twin Kornet launchers?
- Not a BMP to be seen anywhere in Russia? Ok ...
- Iskander missiles being launched from silos? Buh?
- Commanche helicopters- with no 20mm cannons ... even though the Apaches have both cannons and their missiles.

Yes, the game is still heaps of fun and is one of the best RTS' I've played in ages, but fuck all this stuff gets on my nerves. I just don't understand why getting it right is so hard, especially when they were reasonably faithful to US units, for the most part.

Post by **weemadando** » 2006-01-22 04:05pm

Play as the terrorists - unlimited prison camps can be built. I often spend the first half of a game building nothing but, and capturing enemies...

And yes, the POW dynamic is broken a little, but the expansion is due before too long which MIGHT fix it.