Towards the end of last month, I got hands-on with The Great War: Western Front. You may remember me checking it out (hands-off) at Gamescom earlier this year, and I was more than interested in playing it then. Technical issues aside (I hate Parsec and the fact that it freezes on me every twenty-bloody-seconds), what did I think about my hands-on with the World War One trench-warfare strategy game?
Since it was announced, The Great War: Western Front has been a game on my radar. For a good reason, Petroglyph Games has veterans of the Command and Conquer and Company of Heroes series. As you can expect, their strong history of strategy games is on show here, but with something added to make this stand out from the rest. As you can imagine, with the setting, that’s Trench Warfare.
My hands-on with The Great War: Western Front put me in the second battle of Passchendaele (also known as the final attack of the Third battle of Ypres). I was leading the allies, the British and Canadian, and trying to dislodge the central (German, in this case) forces. The initial setup explained during my hands-off was missing here; the setting up of trenches, artillery, and so on. I was on the attack but still had a lot to play with.
Granted, having a lot to play with didn’t help me early on. I can’t blame all my failures (just most) on Parsec and my many reconnections causing time to run out. On a second attempt, I sent more men to their deaths than Mr. Reaper himself. Blue Öyster Cult did not write their song envisaging me as the reaper. You see, timing is everything in this game. Even though you can pause the game to get a breather, you’ll still find yourself cramped by Janus.
Taking the fight to your enemies, you must time things to perfection. This is especially true when the battle has an overall time limit, which can force you to make mistakes. One such error is sending men over the top without sufficient cover – that cover being artillery. These can be smoke barrages, rolling barrages for suppression, and even direct artillery strikes. The issue is timing these wrong and having them finish too early; your men will very quickly get mowed down – something that took allied generals far too long to realise when they would do huge barrages that ended a while before sending the troops over the top.
So yes, timing is the key to success in The Great War: Western Front. Success can also bring further success, giving you additional resources, troops, and troop types. For example, completing the first objective – capturing the central position – allowed me to select between two different unit types as a reward. The mission then moved to an overall aim of capturing the German HQ, with optional objectives of capturing the flanking headquarters and trenches.
It was the overuse of artillery and planes – either trying to take down enemy visibility balloons or attempting bombing runs – that cost me the fight. I pushed the left flank, but often not with enough force. By the time I captured it, I had no resources to call reinforcements. Another critical mistake was when calling reinforcements, I would leave them out in the open, with German artillery picking them off – far too many lost before I moved them to a trench.
It’s a learning experience where you need to look at the map’s layout, look at obstacles like barbed wire in your way, and ensure you keep on top of the units you have. Many strategy games will let you call in reinforcements and not have to worry about them immediately; let them act as reserves. Be aware that even behind friendly lines, your units are not safe.
I’ve watched and read a lot about World War One, so there’s no denying just how bloody and brutal the whole conflict was. Showing this in a strategy game was never going to be easy, but there’s something to be said about The Great War: Western Front. Petroglyph has worked on it, captured (to a large extent) what I imagine it was like, and kept it fun enough for a game. While this was just one battle, it bodes well for the future. The Great War: Western front is set to release next year.
