It’s been a while since we’ve seen a WW2 real time strategy game, so Order Of War is a highly welcomed addition to the RTS base. While most RTS games are either focused on the ancient times (Age of Empires) or the future (Command & Conquer, Supreme Commander), WW2 RTS titles are few and far between. While Order of War brings some decent and fun WW2 action, a few bugs and a lacking multiplayer prevent it from becoming a great game.

Order Of War lets players control either the US Army during the invasion of Normandy (and onwards. towards Berlin), or the German Army during the Russian campaign into Nazi Germany — yep, you can play as the Nazis and defend the “Fatherland” from zhe Russians. The game will instantly immerse you into the action, from the brief and snappy mission descriptions, to the polished action itself. You will control anywhere from a few troops going into a covert battle, to hundreds of soldiers and several divisions, when landing on the beaches of Normandy, for instance.

The micromanaging in the game has been simplified somewhat — you don’t control a single unit, but rather, a company, which holds anywhere from 30 to 50 soldiers, and likewise, you can’t control individual tanks and artillery units, they are grouped together in units of 5. This makes for a more simplified control scheme, but the hardcore RTS  crown might find it lacking in certain aspects. The overall controls are very suited for the casual gamers, you won’t find the realism of Company of Heroes, nor the micromanagement of Age of Empires. Although you will be able to win cash during the battles, and “buy” certain power-up and abilities, like calling in an artillery strikes and air plane attacks. The single player campaign will last you a good 15 hours, and when you’re done (or before), there’s a great skirmish mode as well. The multiplayer, while fun, only has 6 maps, which tend to get boring really quickly and the game doesn’t come with any map tools for the map builders out there.

However, the game isn’t without flaws, most of which are caused by a buggy gameplay mechanic. For instance, your tanks will run over a lot of your soldiers, and the soldiers themselves aren’t the cleverest on the field — they rarely look for cover when under attack, and are basically mowed down most of the time.

Technically, the game looks gorgeous, the animations are great (unless you get really close), the sounds and effects are top notch as well, and the whole game feature a good cinematic feel. In all, Order Of War is a fun game, while it doesn’t break new grounds or offer any real new additions to the genre, RTS fans will enjoy it, especially if you’re into simplified game style like Dawn Of War 2 (but with a WW2 feel, after all).

The Good:
Fun gameplay
Great visuals
Simplified controls

The Bad:
A few glitches here and there
Only 6 multiplayer maps
Vague soundtrack

Overall score: 7/10