Customer Reviews

Mission Barbarossa

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are really two ways a person can review this based on two differing types of gamers. A person could be impressed by the fact that many changes have been introduced to the game to make it more realistic. I, however, am not in that category.

I came to enjoy the original BK based on the fact that certain elements of the game made it 'relaxing' to play. You knew that your sniper was like the invisible man. You knew that the enemy couldn't see you before you saw him. You knew that the enemy artillery couldn't be used without you knowing where it came from. All those things are gone, and personally, I don't find this game enjoyable anymore.

I can give this game a positive review if I was looking for all-out realism, but that's not what I personally came to expect from the BK franchise. There was a certain cheese factor that I considered good game design. Games are meant to be enjoyed, not cursed at until you don't feel like playing anymore. Let me give examples of what I mean:

The artillery in original BK put you at even odds with your opponent. If he fired his, you knew roughly where it was, and vice-versa. In this new version, you won't see a single triangulation circle until you are deep in his territory, and then the circle is way out of range where you actually come across the guns later on. Now, explain why if you fire a single gun, cannon OR tank, he knows exactly where you are, trucks and all and it rains buckets, even when you've pushed his advanced units far back? Frustrating as heck, and hardly enjoyable from a game-playing vantage point.

The sight ranges are suddenly huge, so you can be shot at from way outside the actual weapon ranges of individual units. I enjoyed previously how if you came under fire you had a chance to retaliate somewhat. Forget that now.

Your sniper is no longer the invisible man. He will be spotted at much great ranges, and he is dead meat if he dares fire his gun if there's more than one opponent within range.

Now two more real killers as far as this game goes. The AI has become out and out brain dead. I had to do a great deal of extra work to make sure my units don't go charging out and firing at will if one enemy gets spotted by forward observers. I tend to enjoy an element of surprise, but your own units will do everything they can do to void it, if you don't set your 'hold ground' and 'ambush' settings with every single move you make. On more occasions than I care to mention I would find units far down the map who weren't given any orders to move, killing my intended surprise attack, and killing the unit themselves.

Also, the game tended to crash more than any previous releases, making it a bit frustrating after building up to a critical point in the chapter, and then having to go back a half hour or hour to redo everything you had just done.

In addition to this set, "Mission Barbarossa", the downloadable mission set "Mission Kursk" from CDV had the exact same complaint list from me, and crashed even more often than this one. After getting increasingly frustrated by stupid units and what I considered grotesque changes to the previous fun game mechanics, I simply switched everything to the God cheat mode just to finish out the game and feel like I got my money's worth without feeling like putting the disks in my shredder.

Overall, from my personal expectations of the game based on looking for a relaxing experience and not hours of endless frustration, I cannot recommend this set. If you are looking for ultra-realism and constant frustration, you may enjoy it more than I.

This is a great add on for the Blitzkrieg series. I wish there were more. The expansion pack includes more battles, types of armor and troops, and advanced AI. If you are a true Blitzkrieg fan you will eat this expansion up. No doubt.

Mission Barbarossa is a Mission set for the WW2 RTS game Blitzkrieg. If you like rts games or you have played any of the other Blitzkriegs you'll like it. It adds a new German Campaign and new units. But you do need a copy of the Original game to run it.

Great addition to the Blitzkrieg game. There are some differences. AI is tougher. It will use mortars to punish you severely, even your armor. I always did think the original wasted mortars as totally useless. I didn't even use them except in a defensive position and expected to lose them quick. Their range was equal to the infantry. Here they are devastating, accurate, and if they have infantry spotters they will track you with no mercy. My little infantry killer Panzer II I love to do armed recon with is in jeopardy if I get impudent.

Snipers are less godlike and will be killed again if you get cocky, no binocular command, just a straight extended sight line. The real bonus is a two man team of spotters w bino's (Russians have them too so find and kill with prejudice). And that brings me to sight lines. They are Really! extended. Often to even off the screen and you have to scroll over to see what your Pz III is shooting at instead of the infantry right in front of them. While annoying at times it can pay off. They might see an AT gun I didn't pick up on that was exposed as I moved him up and see it as the greater threat that it is. AI is much more advanced-good and some bad. Your armor will take off at the drop of the hat and get themselves killed. Setting up an attack spoiled by Johnny Stupid's charge unto death sucks. Setting up an attack I entrench my armor at each stop while in overwatch when scouting (not hold-isn't consistent). Move your dug in tank now you idiot haha. I know armor is all about aggression but please.

Success is rewarded with reinforcements as in the real blitzkrieg tactics. I read an account of a German staff officer in my US Army Combined Arms Warfare Late/Modern from my days at BNOC armor school saying the lightning war name came from how the movement looked on a map, a jagged lightning bolt shape bypassing strong points not the lightning speed though there is that too.

Sounds are upgraded. Almost sounds like a mod it is so different. Screaming arty and shell casings hitting the ground for example. Really pretty good.

Artillery is king here as in WWII. Arty killed more than bullets. Neutralizing it is a prime objective. You can flirt around the edges and inflict casualties even get lucky and make some good kills but you will pay on a full out attack if you don't use air, counter battery, something to answer that devastating arty. Shoot and scoot works but enemy counter batt is quick and accurate 3-4 rounds max and start hooking up those trucks and pray.

Currently stuck on mission 7 I think it is. I have 2 Pz III's and a Pz III H model (wonderful tank) and 2 KV1's to kill. As the Germans said on the eastern front: Aint fair man! I provoked one of them twice to come across a bridge into a ambush and nothing could kill it, even my Fw 190 ground attack failed. They hit it once and Ivan called fighter support on another. I used everything with infantry even a captured 76mm field gun, another killer. It killed everything and roamed over to my arty and killed it too. Tough b*stard. It was kind of funny KV1 & my 4+ squads of infantry all jammed up on little wooden bridge and all my armor fanned out in position/range for the kill-the perfect fail. Went beyond aggravating into ridiculous. Took a break and going at it again now. Coax him onto the bridge and destroy it maybe-mines. Is Win7 instability involved here? One in a while strange things happen. Small ones.

Air power is more responsive and important too. This is a bit twitchy on Win7 but totally useable.
What currently works on 7 for me:
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg Burning Horizon
Barbarossa

And not:
Blitzkrieg Rolling Thunder. The copy protection disk check scheme failed on Vista too. If I bought this new, did they remove that wasted bit of garbage protection ware? Let me know if they did.
I'll add Homeworld 2 here. Such a great game that is not that old and is part of the Things Killed by Win7. Microsoft you are bad. New versions often so we have to buy new stuff. You are stinkish. Stoopid monkeys. Gates is no hero to me.

Glad to buy this new and it works. Harder but if you liked the first one you will enjoy it even with the changes. There is not much coming out these days of this type of game is why I like it too. Almost reduced to a squad or company level game in scope with how it plays.

Very challenging to play and addicting. The only reason I don't give it a 5 star rating is that it has crashed on me a couple of times. Some scenarios are very hard to beat even in the easy mode.

The game locked up frequently. The marker indicators were not in the correct position and it was the same tried old exercises. If I had a choice this mission would not be impossible. I was relived that the add on was relatively short in duration. It was uninstalled and placed in the trash.