Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Apr 11, 2022

  does not work properly on steam
• SaltyBean

  Jan 7, 2023

  I like German yelling
• gamedeal user

  May 24, 2017

  This review is solely for SS2. I never thought I'd see this day, to see this not-so-known legendary masterpiece I grew up with in Steam. This is a review from a person who owns a physical copy of both Sudden Strike 2 and Sudden Strike Anthology. Sudden Strike 2 is an action-packed, rather slow-paced, quick in combat strategy game for players who understand the value of a single unit and have a keen eye for tactical approach, positioning and unit management. The player has to think outside the box. This is not a bad sign, it merely does this to prevent you from killing all of your units to those one or two bottleneck situations. The game makes you choose a different approach, you have to make good use of what you're given, in some missions you don't even get reinforcements, you fight with what you have or with what you have left from your previous mission. Everything must be done carefully, consider what type of units you have at your disposal and how to use them accordingly. Scavenging the battlefield is always an option, found an abandoned AT-gun? Make it yours. Found an empty tank? Make it yours. The gameplay is classic RTS, there are simple and clear mission objectives for you complete, there aren't many missions with timelimit and feels more buffed compared to its predecessor. Troops have a certain amount of ammunition, morale, exp and fuel for vehicles (Fuel came in "Resource War" add-on). You can order your infantry to take cover in a building (even the floor they'll take), make them crawl on the ground for increased stealth and cover at the cost of vision range. Vehicles can tow AT-guns (larger trucks only), carry troops, spare parts, ammunition and static MGs at the same time. Tanks can carry troops on them too and you can even command the tank commander to stand up and peek out for increased vision range. Anti-Air will shred planes to dust, artillery doesn't have 100% accurate fire and depending on how far it has to shoot it loses accuracy greatly. Sometimes you can have a squadron of planes at your disposal, or a small ship for some naval artillery and even a freaking armored train. Being able to provide ammunition, healing or repairs to your units is crucial. There are no base-building elements, except that utility trucks can build tank traps and small pontoon bridges, some units can deploy mines and in some rare cases you might have a random building with a spawn for a limited amount of units. That's as close as you can get. There is a wide range of units to command, mainly historically accurate in names and looks, rest of them are rather plain. Unit movement is slow and especially tanks feel heavy and turn slowly. Also there are no indicators to tell you anything about your units, you ultimately have to find out everything by trial-and-error. Tanks are pure gold, not because they can take out most of the enemies but it's their design that makes them a pleasure to have... and they are a nice big fat target. Why, because of armor penetration mechanics. Even light tanks can take out larger heavy tanks just by shooting them in the back. But that's not all; You can take out a Panther tank with a big bunch of troops equipped with grenades, it works but you will have heavy casulties. But what if you had troops with anti-tank rifles, or bazookas? Would you still take that risk or would you rather use those to take it out? Hell, there's even a chance that you might be able to kill the tank crew inside and make the tank yours if your weapons have enough armor penetration! If you're interested in making your own missions, try out the Mission Editor, it can be a bit tedious to get the hang of it but once you get it, the possibilities are limitless. Even I didn't know how to use it properly for a long time but with some internet digging and self-learning I realized how simple it actually is, scripting has been made so easy to use. Scripts are just simple command lines with blank spots for you to fill the rest. Placing objects and units is even more simple. Unfortunately, despite I have played this game for years, I cannot say much about the multiplayer. How it works? Does it work? Is it even playable? It's all unknown territory for me. I do somehow feel now that Sudden Strike 2 is out in Steam, playing it online is easier but I do warn you; DON'T expect to find a lot of activity in multiplayer. From my point of view this game has less players than humans have bones. TL;DR In short: + Great singleplayer experience (Campaign and Single Player scenarios) + Graphics, 2D art looks amazing (even in 2017) + Armor penetration factor + Difficulty + Mission Editor +/- Time consuming +/- Micromanagement +/- Interface size +/- Multiplayer (never got the chance to try it) - AI has little to none adaptiveness and pathfinding is clumsy - Fuel consumption of tanks is ridiculously high - Editor requires learning (can be listed out after you learn it) - Morale is supposed to affect combat values but doesn't seem to have any effect - No indicators for unit stats (range, weapon type etc.) you go with your guts and knowledge Overall, this game is a great pick for its price. It's is quite similar to the Blitzkrieg-series so if you have played them you basically know how to play this. If singleplayer is your way to go and you like a good challenge in terms of unit management, positioning and no base-building element, I highly recommend this game. Even with its small flaws it's very playable and Editor increases replay value. For multiplayer, you need to find players, scenarios are pretty much 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4 (I think there was a 1v1v1 map around too), Co-op against AI is not possible as far as I know. For those who actually read all of this, I salute you. For those who released this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing this game to Steam, this is a day I've been waiting for.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 3, 2017

  That was great game, still playable
• gamedeal user

  Jul 4, 2017

  Today I experienced a Game.exe error which results in crashing the game i hope there will be an update or solution to end up this issue I still recommend this game
• gamedeal user

  Aug 9, 2017

  Alright...This is my final opinion on this game... Amazing RTS. Played it a lot as a kid (Still have my hard copy) It still holds up really well with fun factor, and difficulty. The artstyle is very nice, adds to the atmosphere of the game. Well worth $6, Compared to the $30 when it was released back then XD BUT, The game STILL crashes everynow and then....There seems to be an issuee with the US campaign when you start it. It has something to do with Windows 10. I was able to get passed the first mission with a fix I found, but then it crashed again on the 2nd mission. It also crashes on the "Bridge defense* mission in the British campaign. 10/10 gameplay and fun factor but BEWARE, This game does have some issues with Windows 10, So be prepared for a few crashes (and they are game breaking crashes)
• gamedeal user

  Oct 14, 2017

  At the time this game felt more like an expansion, not a sequel. It was a decent RTS game about WW2, but a fairly unpolished one that didn't address many shortcomings of the original. Pathfinding is the most distinct one, but also the interface. However the game isn't too bad, though could of been a lot better. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1159971743 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1155077464
• I C AN ' T S E E

  Jun 8, 2018

  ich habe keine munition
• gamedeal user

  Jul 7, 2018

  Sudden Strike 2 looks borderline ugly and aged absolutely terrible, but to this day, it remains on of the best realtime war simulations ever developed. With no base building, insurmountable odds and a very high focus on tactics and correct unit usage, it is a tactical paradise with a stunning amount of content. One only needs to be able to see past the ugly mug blurry interface and abysmal resolution. Anyone who played this in the past, may very likely be able to ignore its shortcomings due to age, anyone not ever having laid eyes upon sudden strike might struggle, but the game, infamous for its high difficulty, is definitely worth it for enthusiasts with a heart for nostalgia.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 26, 2018

  Compared to Sudden Strike 1, this follow on has a few improvements and few downsides. Overall an okay game for the price paid but has a few annoying issues that prevent this from being a great game. Pros: + 1 Shot kills are more frequent and realistic than in previous games where previously guns whittle away at enemy HP. + Troops can now ride on tanks into battle, however, like in real life, they are vulnerable to enemy fire. + New infantry units such as engineers, vehicle crews and pilots are a welcome addition. + Vehicles now have selectable crews, so they can mount or dismount from vehicles, capture abandonded vehicles and crews can be killed from inside their vehicles. + Artillery (indirect) fire and reload faster, which makes for easier gameplay. Self Propelled Artillery actually function as artillery instead of a paper tank destroyer. + Trains are an interestingl unit in providing fire support to troops near railroads. + Aircraft can now be loaded at friendly airfields to parachute drop troops at desired locations. Alternatively they can land at other airfields to transport troops. Cons: - Crews somehow can't abandon vehicles automatically when they are or about to be destroyed and all die (have to manually click to abandon). Previously, some crews managed to succesfully abandon their vehicles before or when they were destroyed. - Flames - infantry and vehicles alike stupidly run head first into flames that cause them damage and sometimes kill/destroy them. Lets not forget tanks and infantry getting obliterated by friendly trains and planes on tracks/runways (realistic but stupid mechanic) - British troops, vehicles and crews all have American voices now...Why? The previous game made the effort to give them British voices but this iteration is just plain lazy and unpolished at best. Also many incorrect nations are mixed in at random times in game as fillers. Again, plain lazy. - Trains come equipped with ramps but cannot transport any vehicles or troops....aisde from fire support they are effectively useless. Also the lack of track sidings mean you can't change train car arrangements which mean the trains aren't very flexible in role. - 'Cruisers' or warships are the most useless addition to the game. Gunboats and landing craft are useful but the warships can only move in one linear direction, back and forth. They cannot unload or transport troops like gunboats/landing craft and only serve as static artillery/AA pieces. Also issues with modelling in game but thats the least of their problems.