Sudden Strike

by Strategy First

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000056MK0
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: January 26, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,312 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC

Amazon.com Review

Sudden Strike's realistic terrain and soldier and vehicle graphics make it one of the most visually impressive WWII strategy games we've ever seen. The gameplay follows the simple conventions of real-time strategy games like Command & Conquer or StarCraft, except you don't have to harvest resources in Sudden Strike.

The problem with the game is that it may be too simple. The point of Sudden Strike is to grab hold of your units (and to the game's credit there is a wide variety of units to control) and fling them at the enemy en masse. This lack of strategic depth isn't a fatal flaw; most strategy games of this stripe usually devolve into that sort of battle. But the unit pathfinding is poor and it gets frustrating watching your own troops get stuck on trees or wander all over the battlefield trying to get to where you want them to go. This weak artificial intelligence is especially evident when you play the single-player game against the computer. It just cannot mount a well-conceived assault to save its silicon life.

Yet the maps are attractive and there are about 40 missions to play. Combat gets intense with up to 1,000 units on the field, and things do blow up real good. You can portray the Russians, Germans, Americans, or Polish as well. Variety and generous multiplayer options (up to 12 players), coupled with attractive graphics, might win over strategy players new to the real-time scene, but veterans aren't going to be wowed by this weak graphical blitzkrieg. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Attractive graphics
• Simple, straightforward gameplay

Cons:

• Overly simplistic gameplay
• Bad artificial intelligence

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect WWII strategy, June 17, 2001

By 

"susan_hanes" (Vista, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sudden Strike (CD-ROM)

If you are into WWII or strategy games this is the perfect game.I love this game, the graphics are incredibly detailed, my favorite are the soldiers, their really small but very detailed and funny too, they overact a little when their shot, they moan and keel over while blood gushes out of them ( I find the german soldiers to be the funiest). If you leave them there for a while they hum and sing songs to themselves and sometimes you can catch them smoking. The detail on the vehicles are incredible as well you can see the countries insignia all over them, and the blasts from the the tanks are clear and realistic. The sounds are great the explosions almost sound real (you can even hear the metal sheels from the cannons clank on the ground before they explode). You can command several different kinds of tanks, vehicles, and troops, as well as call in paratroopers, supplies, and bombing raids (Very devastating if the bombers don't get taken out by flak first). It is programmed perfectly to, I have had it for at least 5 months and haven't encountered a glitch or bug yet ( and I've played almost every mission available, speaking of which a second disk came along which gives you extra missions, including one very fun one called saving private bryan were you get to play out the entire saving private ryan movie!!). There are a few bad aspects to the game though here's what they are.

1)Difficulty: The game is incredibly hard since youu men die in one hit and don't get replaced (once you get you reinforcements you don't get anymore....) so it requires a high amount of strategy to win without out using cheats.

2)... AI: I'll be frank, The enemy AI ..., the enemy runs straight into to death, don't get me wrong the game is still extreamly challenging, it's just that say your playing a mission in the game and your their is a field and you have it locked down with snipers, and machine guns, and cannons, and a wave of enemy soldiers comes along and they get slaughtered and the next wave comes along, they run straight through the same field and get slaughtered again, now I don't know about you but if I was fighting in a war, and I saw a field full of the ... corpses of my fallen comrades I wouldn't want to run through the same field, because I know what would happen to me. The game is still fun but it would have been more fun to see smarter soldiers.

3) Lack of mission creator: This would have been fun, but I know that this is going to be fixed.It's been announced that the expansion sudden strike: forever which comes out later this month ( you might want to check me on that at the website) is going to have a mission builder, as well as new units and desert terrain.

Overall the game is great and if you are a strategy game fan or a WWII buff do NOT!!!!! pass this game up it is definitly worth your money.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, but not quite great, February 15, 2001

By 

Michael F. Maddox - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sudden Strike (CD-ROM)

SUDDEN STRIKE is not the best WWII tactical RTS game, that is certain. The game obviously attempts to model itself more as a Command and Conquer or Total Annihilation than an SSI turn-based or Close Combat style of game. As such, the fighting can be complex and overwhelming, with lots and lots of units involved. Individual units ARE difficult to discern in the wonderfully crowded landscape, and a firm command of the grouping controls (plus liberal use of the PAUSE command) is necessary.

Unit pathfinding is not nearly so bad as some have said, and a waypoint facility IS provided, although some reviewers have said otherwise (something that makes me question these negative reviews - did you read the manual?). The primary difficulty lies in timing coordinated attacks with vast numbers of units spread over a rather large map. Units will generally get to where you tell them to go quite easily - the difficulty lies in getting them to take proper cover when they get there.

The command interface is not awful, but the units' response to these commands can seem questionable. Movement is good, but COVER often appears to do nothing as units stand in the open and take casualties. In addition, the system often brings in reinforcements that operate on their own apparently standing orders, moving blindly into firefights if not told to do otherwise. As such, handling this interface can quickly become an exercise in mouse clicking.

The game LOOKS outstanding. Everything can be destroyed - even trees. B17 raids are stupendous. The sound...well, it's there, and it's sometimes repetitive and annoying. If you want a good WWII RTS game and you like frantic action, this is the game for you. If you want a more controlled, thinking-man's game in the same genre, get Close Combat III and IV.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The game CHEATS!!!, March 20, 2001

By 

bigjimleo "JML" (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sudden Strike (CD-ROM)

If there is one thing I hate it is when games cheat. This game gives each unit two range statistics, sight range and weapon range. Playing this game even on its easiest setting, I continually got wiped out by units that supposedly had short ranges. Even my snipers(which supposedly have long vision ranges and weapon ranges) couldn't barely see other units before getting killed. Snipers behind trees were no match for SMG units standing in the open. It was particularly lovely to see artillery out ranged by riflemen! With the cheat code to turn off the fog of war, this game became playable, but you shouldn't need to do that. Also I am tired of games that don't have mission editors. Yes this game is cool because you supposedly have lots of units at your disposal, but that hype means nothing when you don't have the ability to choose. There are much better combat games out there.

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