The game Syrian Warfare (in the Russian version the game is called Syria: Russian Storm) is an attempt to shift the mechanics of real-time strategy to a modern, trendy, if I may say so, setting.
Review of Syrian Warfare - Russian game about the war in Syria
The Syrian Warfare game from Russian indie developers Cats Who Play was released on the eve of the Russian Defender of the Fatherland Day. The game shows the events of the modern war in Syria from 2012 to 2016, including the entry of Russian troops into the war in 2015. The end of the plot is the battle for Palmyra and its liberation.
The real-time strategy genre implies the control of combat units in this game. At the same time, the technology does not have life strips. Damage affects specific modules of combat vehicles. At the same time, soldiers and equipment move from one mission to the next, and their experience and effectiveness grow. There is also the possibility of capturing captured equipment. Of the interesting features, there is a call for air strikes, the use of heat traps and smoke screens, the assault on buildings and landing from helicopters.
Explosions, effects, shadows - the graphics may be far from modern, but they are brisk. So that Syrian Warfare walkthrough will remain a pleasant gaming experience in your memory.
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If for some reason you did not start and gra Syrian Warfare, then check the system requirements for compliance with the characteristics of your computer: operating system Windows 7 or higher, 64bit only, processor 3.1 GHz or higher, graphics card GT 440 or higher with 1 GB memory, 4 GB RAM, free hard disk space - 10 GB.
“It has never happened before, and here it is again.”
In the winter of last year, a serious hype unfolded around Syria: the media’s fading interest in the sluggish struggle of the “tyrant Assad” against everyone kindled a series of important and not very events, unprecedented for the military operations that were slowly taking place here.
While from Aleppo - largest city in the north of the country - the jihadists who settled there four years ago were knocked out, far in the east, the garrison of the Republican guard, who was under siege in Deir ez-Zor, began to report on the previously unprecedented activity of militants from ISIS, following large convoys to the east.
Russian air intelligence confirmed the reports of the besieged, but the destination that the terrorists were striving for could not be predicted until it was too late.
On December 8, the second battle for Palmyra began. The loss of the city was a blow to the reputation of the Russian-Syrian coalition, but the army managed to hold its positions at the T4 military airfield, as well as evacuate most of the inhabitants. Despite the obvious need for an early counterattack, it was constantly postponed: the main strike forces in the person of the Desert Falcons, the Republican Army and the Tigers division were busy securing Aleppo. Only four months later, the city was swiftly recaptured and the advance of the SAA forces towards Deir ez-Zor began.
However, that's a completely different story. But the events between December 8, 2016 and March 2, 2017 became the plot basis of the addition "Syria: Return to Palmyra".
Why is this a good topic, but wasted in vain?
A big dababe is a big babaha.
From the very first seconds, it becomes clear how many different units, weapons and equipment have been added to the game: almost all aspects of the gameplay have received some new element in the piggy bank of an already not bad original.
Even the musical accompaniment was not spared, and for the addition we recorded several more good tracks that fit into the desert surroundings.
Black ISIS Humvees have also been added to the game, which you will meet in the first missions: capturing them, you will get your hands on pretty armored cars with very accurate machine guns.
Infantry can now carry DShK heavy machine guns and an SPG-9 heavy grenade launcher into their arsenal.
The units were diversified with Tiger detachments: four people with large-caliber sniper rifles and anti-tank systems are able to single-handedly stop a small company of terrorists with tanks and artillery. Instead of the police squads from the original, there are now 5-man hicks from the people's militia, suitable only to die ugly from another armored car of militants, or run away in a panic from a shahid-mobile. Even in an armored personnel carrier / infantry fighting vehicle, you can’t put it normally with other units. On the other hand, a detachment of 8 Hezbollah fighters, whom the developers politically correct called "Lebanese Volunteers", now neatly and whistlingly fit into the standard 8 man-places. Squads of "foreign mercenaries" are now available to the enemy, which differ from ordinary militant squads in higher quality equipment, such as a hand-held revolving grenade launcher.
For a snack, Russian troops can now send a detachment of airborne troops, regularly throwing phrases: “Uncle Vasya’s troops!” and "The blue splashed, splashed ..."
The already extensive list of "technicians" and "gantrucks" was replenished with carts with BO (recoilless guns) of 82 mm caliber and "Zushki" (ZU-23-2). The tanks received a whole heap of various modifications and improvements, and the long-suffering T-55 also received a whole separate role in the form of a “fortified” version, on which a character from the original game rolls right into the heart of the battle.
Grandpa Mansour and his strange empty gas tank.
After completing the quest to find a fuel truck in the face of an enemy attack on all fronts, you will get the most pumped tanker in your ranks.
The vehicles now have Humvees, which are used by ISIS operatives who escaped from Iraqi Mosul, as well as Russian Tigr MCIs, which are already being used by Russian military advisers and contractors. From the air, all this disgrace can be clicked by an ATGM from a Gazelle Air Force helicopter.
In terms of tactics, the developers have introduced trenches into the game as shelters. What distinguishes them from ordinary buildings is complete indestructibility in the traditional sense of the word. And if the building falls apart during the fighting and leaves the fighters in it without cover, then you can sit in the trenches as much as you like. Also, due to the fact that the trenches do not stand out from the rest of the landscape, it is much more difficult to get into it than into buildings, and small artillery and rocket launchers, which used to induce shock and awe, smashing the narrow streets of Arab towns into rubble, now due to low accuracy practically do not cause damage to units that have settled in the ground. However, the armored vehicles that have come close, on the contrary, grind the sluggish fighters into a bloody mess.
As in reality, the approaches to the T4 military airport, due to the lack of natural barriers, were completely dug up by bulldozers.
Small mind - big army.
Among a number of promises and plans that the developers shared with the press and players, there were words about an improved artificial intelligence both adversaries and allies. With the release of the add-on, it became clear that they did not cheat here, and the computer AI was really pulled up and he learned new tricks.
For example, in the original game, its crew jumped out of a damaged enemy vehicle, and after that it was possible to forget about the danger on its part: the crew would sit by the crippled vehicle until the end of the mission. Now, any free and repairable equipment will be captured and used by the enemy at the first opportunity.
An enemy armored personnel carrier, shot down at the very beginning of the mission, can be repaired by the approaching enemy reinforcements, while the player carefully manages the course of the battle on the front, and remind of himself, suddenly appearing in the rear.
If a player or an ally is forced to leave his wrecked vehicle in position and retreat, then it is better to “finish off” the broken box than to allow it to replenish the enemy’s arsenal.
If the militants are too lazy to walk on their own two feet, then they lay their raking hands even on civilian cars parked in large numbers on city streets: it’s quite funny to see how gentlemen with machine guns in black tights pour out of a tiny blue hippie minivan.
Having lost its gun turret, the T-55 elegantly turns ... turns ... into a martyr's mobile!
Previously, during the mission, it was possible to remember in advance where and from where the hordes of villainous bobbleheads are advancing, and leave gifts for them in the face of Fri-Min. Now you can find out where the opponents are attacking from: instead of chaotic annoying spawns from almost everywhere, now ISIS and the SAA have a certain common front, from where they receive reinforcements with varying degrees of regularity. But it is impossible to find out where they will direct their blow.
Every time fresh enemy units appear, they choose the direction of attack completely randomly and do not hesitate to go around from the rear, and, having made a decent detour, hit the weakest point of the player's defense. Behavior has also become more difficult in the city building, and when possible, units no longer drive head-on into a fortified position, but hide behind buildings and wait for reinforcements to arrive, firing harassing fire.
However, if it comes to assaulting through open terrain, then the old-fashioned way the AI throws meat at the positions.
Tent camp of a sapper company of the RF Armed Forces near Palmyra.
As in reality, the troops will leave it in a hurry, without waiting for the fall of the city, leaving a lot of working equipment and ammunition, which the player can take for himself if possible.
In the original Russian Storm campaign, allied troops only appeared in the third mission, covering the entrances to Khmeimim Airport. In addition, they play a significant role in the first half of the game, since the player will have to defend with them.
However, protecting a computer ally is completely optional: you can always concentrate all your forces only on your strongholds, entrusting the destruction of the enemy to artificial intelligence.
If the player sends a couple of units to cover the neighboring fortified areas, then this can make life much easier in the future, since the spaces free from enemy troops will allow for wide maneuvers throughout the map, which must be done to complete side tasks. During the course of the mission, some of the surviving ally troops can be transferred under your command and used to patch up gaps in your defenses. Thus making cooperation useful for the passage of the campaign.
"Assads, assads - they run along the landings ..."
So what, gentlemen, is the game about? Well, everything is relatively simple here: the main character begins his adventure, sitting at the base in the small town of Al-Amiriya. In this area, ISIS fighters appear only on major holidays, despite the proximity to the front line. The day typically promises to be quiet and calm, as everything started spinning ...
On the move, tanks and Grads don’t fall asleep (this is waiting for you already in the second mission), but game designers will put a decent amount of small boxes, suicide bombers and infantry on the table without ceremony.
In the Russian Storm campaign, such intense battles only begin in the middle of the game. In "Return to Palmyra" they hit in the teeth decisively in the very first mission.
A large number of events are fertilized with well-written dialogues and miniature scenes. Someone is always saying something, commenting and ordering. The radio does not stop for a minute. The characters actively exchange opinions about each other and what is happening. The density of what is happening on the screen rolls over, and at times it resembles some kind of action RPG, rather than a strategy.
During the first three hours of the game, we will have to perform the following feats:
* Repulse a massive attack on their positions with barely twenty people under control and zero equipment.
* With the same forces, reconnoiter the suburbs and clear out the vanguard of ISIS, cover the evacuation of the local administration. The vacated city hall building will need to be defended from endlessly prickly opponents until the end of the mission.
* Pull the general alive and unharmed from the center of the city, into which enemy troops broke through from the rear, bringing down the defenses of local militias, while simultaneously holding positions at the base. Fascinating quest "and how should I do it without armored vehicles?" included.
* Cover the bus with civilians, which is stitched through even from a machine gun, while it rides around the rear and takes people out.
*Find and return to service the crews of the T55 and BMP1 of the escaped armored company, which abandoned the equipment due to the lack of fuel in it. And yes, fuel also needs to be found somewhere, otherwise the equipment will not budge. Good luck with this.
*Recapture the city while simultaneously holding all the previous positions.
Infantry scouts move extremely slowly, but reconnaissance with armored vehicles is a matter of nuance and can result in the death of vehicles and crew.
The tension in the game just rolls over. This level of emotional tension, multiplied by the overall complexity of the game, I have never experienced before. Even with the ability to pause the game at any time, there is no peace. The hasty retreat from Palmyra in the second mission, from the point of view of the production, is completely drawn to the plot of a separate film or book. In general, the process of playing in "Return to Palmyra" can be described as a kind of XCOM, only in real time and even more ruthlessly than usual.
Unfortunately, here lies the main threshold of the game, which many can stumble over: constant tension and the complexity arising from it. There is no timer in the game, but ammunition and people with equipment are running out, and what's the point of a tank without shells or an armored personnel carrier without fuel? The more time you spend on completing the mission, the less chance you have of winning. Even being at the forefront of the offensive, you always have to run your eyes and look for the cherished trucks with shells, from which you can replenish the ammunition of the equipment, because it is apparently a waste to bring shells to the command.
And the endless streams of enemy technicals, infantry and T-55s, which, apparently, ISIS learned to print on 3D printers, do not help matters.
The last mission, surprisingly, compared to what it was before, is empty and boring - the apotheosis of the difficulties that the developers throw at our feet.
Not surprisingly, in addition to three difficulty levels: "Normal", "Realistic" and "Iron Man", the fourth level, "Easy", is now available in the add-on.
Tired of the sandy yellowness, the eyes are allowed to rest in the snow-covered gorge. Sorry, not for long.
God! Syria! Assad!
In the old days, when the sun was shining, the grass was growing, Yeltsin was a skin and styrofoam was made from milk foam - in the strategy games market there was an unspoken parity between the Ukrainians from GSC Game World and the Russians from Nival. And in this wonderful time of "Cossacks", "Blitzkrieg", "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Confrontation", our today's copy fits perfectly: a complex, diverse and truly strategic game that makes you count not only every infantryman, but already every cartridge.
Only here the duration is lame: it took me only 15 hours to complete the penultimate difficulty with all the achievements - and this is two or three days of leisurely clicking on the buttons. It's a shame - there are no words. It remains only to rely on Allah, so that he kicked the developers and they rolled out to us the long-awaited map editor.
But those 400 rubles that the add-on asks for are nothing compared to what emotions it gives in return.
I don't give ratings, because this is a subjective matter, and therefore I will say that "Return to Palmyra" is an addition that, from any point of view, is worthy of one of the best strategy games of this year, which we deserve.
Hidden text
P.S. God forbid you set low quality textures: the strategic map between missions turns into an unreadable pixel mess.
On the occasion of the return Syrian Warfare ("Syria: Russian Storm") on Steam, we decided to roll out a review of this good, in general, game. Congratulations guys from Cats Who Play with a way out of this difficult and ambiguous situation.
Long before the release of "Syria: Russian Storm", I heard a lot of bad things about this project. There were also accusations of trying to cash in on the conflict, and of propaganda, and even of profiting from blood. And at first glance, it really is. This was evidenced at least by the fact that formally this is a continuation of the mediocre domestic strategy already in 2010, which was drearily called "".
Modern warfare has evolved enough to be the easiest way to get resources, territory, etc. These are already conflicts of interest, when stronger countries can sort things out at the expense of weaker ones, without participating in obvious skirmishes. An open conflict could well lead to a more serious counter-conflict, and then an open war with the use of nuclear weapons and the transformation of the world into a cemetery, a museum of military operations, to which no one will go anymore.
It is much easier and calmer to sort things out on some neutral territory, the usefulness of which is in question. This is now happening in Ukraine, this is happening in Syria.
The only thing that is not revealed in the course of such conflicts is the winner, who then writes history. Modern media simply will not let this story be rewritten and will simply write their own. Moreover, one side will have its own history, the other will have its own, and the third will have a completely different one. Only this story will be big and strong, it will tell how "ours and only ours" soldiers courageously defended and fought. About how the enemy was defeated, etc.
This story will keep silent about small tragedies. About the small internal conflicts that started it all. This story is not about people. For example, about how a person's entire family was killed by an accidentally dropped bomb. And then they took advantage of his grief and despair. He was sent to another, distant country. There he got behind the wheel of a truck and drove to his death and create death. And he had nothing to lose.
In this regard, the game is a little happy. It begins with a small conflict in a small town. And only later develops into a full-fledged war. But the attempt to show the tragedy from the point of view of ordinary people is very commendable. No, the game is not flawless. Here and there, there are hints of some hidden organizers and invisible participants in the conflict.
At first, they literally lead us by the hand - drive here, capture this building, defend this territory. But the further and stronger the conflict flares up, the more freedom we are given. And although specific points will appear on the map for completing subtasks, you are free to complete them yourself.
Don't say it's given big variety, but allows you to build very specific tactical schemes, depending on which units you have chosen at the beginning of the mission. You can both famously shoot back with snipers from the slope of the peaks, and water the enemy with grenade fire.
Those. tactically we are not limited by anything. And we will also survive only on the basis of our own strategy and the included brain. And sometimes you have to do a lot, because. the enemy will almost immediately outnumber us.
And this is both good and bad at the same time. Good in the sense that we have a really tough, complex and very interesting wargame. There will always be a lack of everything - people, equipment, combat power, even fuel. Yes, the technique here quite realistically devours fuel while moving. And it is quite possible that the fuel will simply run out. There won't be a fuel truck nearby. Then your cool tank, the main weapon on the battlefield, will turn into a stupid piece of iron.
The same goes for damage. They are very conditional and depend more on what exactly has been damaged. The unit can fall from a well-aimed sniper shot, and the car can stand up tightly after the engine is hit.
Yes, something can be repaired, patched up, but for the most part, equipment will have to be cherished and protected. As well as units, especially considering that all the accumulated experience is saved. Those. all available troops with experience gain will begin to act more efficiently. What is simply necessary in the face of an ever-increasing numerical superiority of the enemy.
So there are cases when, for the sake of a deceased experienced comrade, you have to go through everything all over again.
The bad news is that not only comrades must be experienced, but also the player himself. Because Syrian Warfare is a really serious wargame and no concessions are given to beginners. If you do not have clear spatial thinking, tactical skills, or you simply do not want to overexert yourself with constant thinking and strategic doubts, then it is unlikely that the game will be able to deliver the fraction of pleasure that fans of such games get.
These games usually have no rules. There is no rock-paper-scissors principle here. Here, as in war, any accident can be fatal.
Therefore, the entire strategic part must be well developed. If units die due to bugs, mistakes and miscalculations, this is not good. Fortunately, "Syria" managed to avoid this. The performance is good, no bugs were noticed with a quite decent picture.
It would seem that difficult - point the cursor at the enemy unit and press the button - the task will be solved. But at the same time, it is necessary to take into account about a million nuances and be able to calculate and assume somewhere else a million.
In the material: Syrian Warfare
I had a chance to play the domestic PTS Syrian Warfare from the Moscow studio Cats Who Play the other day. By the way, as the developers themselves write, the team for the most part came from the once famous studio MiST land. Then the guys marked themselves with several small, family games, and at the end of February they released Syrian Warfare.
Almost immediately after the appearance on Steam, the game was removed from sale for some time, which immediately caused a storm of unhealthy excitement in the press. Still, because the theme of the game is hot - the war in Syria. However, after a few days, all problems with Steam were resolved, sofa patriots calmed down and now everyone can buy the game.
Syrian Warfare ("Syria: Russian Storm") is a real-time strategy based on the very recent hostilities in modern Syria. Technically, the game is made on the updated 2008 Warfare engine. The game engine and the picture on the monitor lack the stars from the sky, but everything looks quite modern and even pleasant.
Plot in the game there is only one relatively small campaign - for the Syrian army. There are no other options, but at the moment the Syrian Warfare: Return to Palmyra add-on is being developed.
Wargame?
As a tactical war game, Syrian Warfare provides the player with a whole host of opportunities to express themselves. As a rule, there can be several ways to achieve goals, and which one to use is up to you. And the freedom of choice always only pleases.
Any building on the map can and should be used as a shelter for infantry units, of which there are a lot of types and composition. At the same time, in the event of shelling, of course, a village shack crumbles into dust much faster than a capital city high-rise building.
Generally speaking, the cover system looks and works great. It is always clearly visible how the fighters, who received the order to occupy, for example, a high-rise building, run up the stairs and take up defense on the floors and roof. And all this takes precious time.
If your fighters are fighting for a long time while in the building, the appearance of the latter is always perfectly clear - isn't it time to change position before the building has collapsed yet.
Combat units and equipment in the Syrian Warfare have appropriate weapons and ammunition, which run out as the fighting continues. If, for example, an infantry fighting vehicle is under your command, then the interface always shows what kind of ammunition is consumed and how much is left. Some types of heavy hand weapons are left over from killed Islamists and can be used by the player's squads. The armor and main components of combat vehicles are damaged and up to a certain critical moment they are completely subject to repair by crews right on the battlefield.
On the maps, there are an abundance of various vehicles, which can be immediately “saddled” if there are free drivers and sufficient fuel supplies. Yes, the fuel supply also needs to be looked after and refueled from time to time.
Often you come across military equipment located in warehouses or abandoned by the enemy, which should also be used to the best of your ability. As it is in modern combat, combat vehicles must be sent into battle very carefully, taking into account the cramped city streets and the enemy’s a large number anti-tank weapons.
Russian troops (the very ones that seem to be not there) in Syrian Warfare are presented as gunners for lethal air strikes and special forces units issued to the player at the most “hot” moments.
Anwar my boy...
The main plot character of the Syrian Warfare is a young Syrian police officer, with whom the player will have to go through a series of difficult missions while maintaining (if possible, of course) their combat units. In between battles, the player is given the opportunity to replenish his small army and learn about the political situation in the country along the way.
Wanting apparently to add drama to an already more than dynamic game, the developers now and then force the player to listen to the endless telephone conversations of the protagonist with his grandmother, commanders, subordinates, imams, journalists and God knows who else, right during desperate battles. In the first two missions, it still seems amusing, but by the start of hostilities in Damascus, all this chatter begins to seriously strain. In addition, along the way, a whole swarm of additional game tasks is pouring on the player. So, skipping information completely past your ears can cost you dearly. At least on the first playthrough. And that there will definitely be attempts to pass both the second time and the third, you can be sure.
The real scourge of most modern RTS is AI's lousy pathfinding (so-called patchfiding), which is present here in full glory. It is always extremely "pleasant" to see how a precious tank, instead of just turning back a little, begins a turn under the nose of the enemy and helpfully exposes its stern to enemy missiles and shells.
Most likely, ardent fans of the game will not agree with me, but I cannot but reproach the game for excessive complexity. There are several difficulty modes in Syrian Warfare, but if I choose an easy level, sorry, but it should be easy to play. This is like a general rule of good taste in the gaming industry and it is not very correct to make a person who bought a game suffer despite his desire.
Conclusion
In general, Syrian Warfare is a quite high-quality and, in my opinion, unexpectedly solid game. Moreover, the game can really catch on, if you have already started playing, figured out the local mechanics and went through the first scenarios. A true paradise for hardcore fans of real-time strategy and all fans of micromanagement in difficult combat conditions. Good voice acting of units, peppy music and quite decent graphics perfectly convey the atmosphere of hostilities.
In addition, all fans of the nightly stories from Channel One will certainly get moral pleasure from the plot of the game. Well, if, of course, they manage to live at least a little in the difficult gaming realities of Syrian everyday life.