Tour of Duty '44
MOD for WDK 2K

DEVELOPER : Boku Strategy Games
PUBLISHER : Shrapnelgames
MOD AUTHOR: Ed Marshall 

 

System Requirements Pentium 133, Win 95/98, 30MB HDD space, 24MB RAM, 16-bit color 800x600 res.

Recommended Pentium 200MHz, 48+ MB RAM

Ratings
Other/Notes This is a modification, therefore please see the original game review for the numerical ratings, and the text for a discussion of the differences. Pros: Still a great editor, AI still strong. Lots of data entered for WWII units. Entertaining scenarios. Cons: There's a huge assortment of other titles out there to suit your particular WWII wargaming needs, usually for much cheaper or even free. Overall: 4.9

It's really discouraging when a good idea goes almost unnoticed. When WDK2K came out, I was terrifically enthused. It's a fun tactical skirmish game set in the future, with a strong AI and a fantastic editor. Therefore it wasn't long before a number of modification ("mod" in the gamer's parlance) projects got started.

But, as we all know, it's much easier to start such a project than finish it (the reviewer glances guiltily at his own long list of half-completed tasks....). That's why I was so encouraged when Shrapnelgames sent me the first commercial expansion to WDK2K, Tour of Duty '44. In ToD44, the 21 scenario linked campaign recounts the activities of an American infantry platoon from the landing at Omaha beach to the battles at St. Lo. A great deal of work has gone into the broad mass of data, converting this Sci-Fi engine into something more familiar to fans of The Longest Day. There are a huge number of well-drawn vehicles, units (30+ infantry types), guns (including the inimitable '88) as well as a major amount of new terrain. This alone makes it interesting for wargamers interested in playing out small scale "what if's".

Aside from this, the same things that were good with WDK2K are good here: a strong non-scripted AI makes single player battles interesting (as long as the human is on offense) whether they are the canned scenarios or user-designed. PBEM support is great for those of us with crappy modem connections. But the counterpoint is also true; the lack of a 3rd dimension is somehow more nagging in something attempting to portray reality even vaguely - as long as the game was about 'space marines' it didn't bother me. The friendly fire issues are, frankly, broken and it requires a trip into the editor to fix that. (Example: landing at Omaha beach. Granted, there are a TON of guys on your side in this one, and many of them won't make it across the map, so it's less of a problem later. But I had at least 5 guys (!) killed when the soldier directly - 6' - behind them was shooting at a distant bunker and they accidentally put one into the back of their comrade's head! Whups! And this isn't counting the flamethrower incident. That one was my fault.)

The scenarios start with the aforementioned slogging run up the landing beach, into the teeth of murderous MG fire from heavy-fortified pillboxes. This is a little tough as the first scenario in a series - a training run or something might have been better to warm the player up, as the realistic weapon performances make this a rather brutal introduction to the game. Nonetheless, as your men manage to get some warm bodies up close to the bunkers, taking them out isn't too tough. Then you are left with whomever survived to take on the next battle. Your soldiers improve with experience, and husbanding the skilled fellows results in a quite realistic casualty level among the new guys. It's not a complicated formula, and the maps are balanced enough to keep the player at a reasonable level of anxiety. (Until the Panzers show up, then abject terror would be more appropriate.)

However, this genre is a very, very tough one in which to survive. I would wager that there is no "war-historical" field with more titles already extant than WWII, and this is what, on balance makes it a tough game to recommend. Unfortunately, it's a reality: gamers have a finite amount of dollars to spend and a finite amount of time to spend playing the games they buy. With the current practice of drastically marking down 6-month old titles in so-called "bargain bins" it's hard to justify the $20 purchase price of ToD. A quick trip to my local software outlet bore this out. Need a fantastic WWII platoon level title? West Front (and its ilk) can be found in the bins for $12-20. Prefer real-time tactical? Close Combat 1-whatever are there, too: $15. Or, if you absolutely MUST have tactical, WWII combat mano-a-mano Shrapnelgames itself sells what I consider to be one of the most enthralling games ever: 101st Airborne. Price? $20. Steel Panthers World at War is available for a FREE download. All of these games, in one incarnation or another, have won SGO's Editor's Choice award. True, none of them offer the editorial abilities of ToD, and that is a strong selling point in its favor. But is it a convincing one? Ultimately, that's the buyer's choice.

I liked WDK2K a lot; I still think it will push the bar higher for other commercial companies in terms of 'what is required' in games and their bundled editors. But facing the prospect as a consumer, trying to figure out where I'd hand over the sawbuck that's burning a hole in my pocket? I'd think carefully about what I want from a game before handing it over for ToD'44.

If you like to comment on this review, please post a message at the forum.
Reviewed by Steve Lieb