World War-based themes are pretty popular in video games due to their gory and brutal animations and battlefields. Real-time games are pretty difficult to take to reproduce in console gaming since the keyboard is easier to control and operate. But, Sudden Strike 4 changes the entirety with better and more optimized gameplay and control for both PC and Xbox or PlayStation gaming.
Video games are not that easy to make since there are loads of little details and components to involve. The combination of coding, animation, and designing leads to either a hit or a miss for the gaming community, and the Sudden Strike series has always proved that war-based real-time games are not only fun but also loved by the gaming community.
So, let’s talk about whether Sudden Strike 4 made an impact after its release or not.
About Production
Developed by Kite Games and published by Kalypso Media, Sudden Strike 4 is the fifth release in the Sudden Strike series and the fourth independent game released. It is a real-time tactical game that focuses more on production, logistics, and warfare considerations than battle.
The game was set to release in late June 2017 but was pushed to release in August 2017 on both PC and PlayStation platforms. Upon release, Sudden Strike 4 has received quite a diverse range of critics and reviews on both playable platforms. Regardless, it stands to be one of the best real-time tactical games available that capture the essence of the battlegrounds of World Wars.
About Gameplay
Sudden Strike 4 features single-mode gaming with three campaigns, namely The Germans, The Allied, and The Soviet, referring to the original parties involved in the actual World Wars. There are twenty different missions involved through which you can build your support and ground in the tactical game.
The game involves real incidents involved in the World Wars where you can subsequently control the parties in various battles like the Battle of France and many more such small war missions. Like any other RTS game, Sudden Strike 4 offers a bird-eye view of the battlefields that gives you a proper vision of how to set up and plan your army and invasions.
The game emphasizes mostly strategic moves, just like its prequels, and closely relates to them base-building, camping, and battle engagements. There are different types of warfare and military units which make for the player to think it through when planning an invasion or to protect their land from any attacks.
Sudden Strike 4 has a very predictable plotline and reinforcements when under severe threat of losing your game to AI opponents, but overall it has above-average gameplay in the sense of controls and strategies.
Thoughts and Views
What struck me the most when I first encountered Sudden Strike 4 was how gorgeous the animations looked. The details of the battleground in various seasons and weathers are quite immaculate, which makes the game more enjoyable on a high-resolution screen. You employ Sudden Strike 4’s top-down perspective to coordinate and direct your different military troops.
The game offers you four different military units, namely infantry, tanks, artillery, or aircraft. Here, the former three can be easily built and increased in their functions and duality, but aircraft is quite limited in what you can view on your screen.
The game heavily focuses on how you use this military warfare to your advantage, as all of them have respective functionalities to progress in the game and battle your opponents out. Although, in some instances, the game lacks a certain control over the key binds, and the controller plays with little staggered and wobbly motions that make it a bit tough to overcome when in the middle of an important strategic plan.
What falls short is the voice acting which seems quite monotonous, maybe because of the use of too much artificial intelligence to do the part but ignoring that the game has many plus points of standing out.
Now, strategy games are not an easy task; they are demanding to a certain point, rewarding a little, and come with a lot of fun when done right. The overall inspiration drawn from the World Wars is quite a scenic take that perfectly embodies what these battles and wars are all about.
Multitasking in the video game is another great take for Sudden Strike 4, which allows you to make quick decisions and come up with a response to counter your enemies. What I like is how you can panel the artilleries to certain angles depending on what kind of warfare you are using.
For example, with infantry, you can have a groundbreaking frontline cover to protect your squad, while airforces give you a high-ground perspective when playing. Sudden Strike 4 has a very satisfying and visually appealing set-up to stand out as a great real-time war-based strategy game.
The creative take and direction in the game are well delivered, which makes the game fun to play rather than grunting over every failed opportunity in a tactical approach. Another noticeable problem that comes with the game is that it has its fair share of glitches and bugs. Although, I am assuming that will get fixed with different updates and developments.
So, you should not get upset when you see one of your tanks just disappearing from the screen or bugging out to some other direction when you want it to go in another. That, in fact, makes the game lose its essence since it is all about strategizing and mastering fieldwork.
The idea of a multiplayer strategic game seems more fun, in my opinion. With Sudden Strike 4, the developers had the chance to incorporate the online multiplayer strategy in the game, but it seems just remains an idea now.
What is lacking in the game is how bland the storyline goes. I would have preferred a more authentic take on the Generals and their actual accent when you are trying to recreate a World War, but it falls short in that matter.
Another crisis that bugged me was that there were no proper resources or mining in the game. It all comes down to making an army and planning or saving yourself from an attack. Some parts of the game become very much predictable as the storyline continues, so there is another disappointment lingering behind.
Well, the pretty and aesthetic take of the game mostly rules it over. Plus, it is quite cheap, as, for $11, you get to exploit the most out of this one game. Sudden Strike 4 has its shortcoming, but it is better than most of the prequels released with just better graphics, animation, and tactile approach.
I would say Sudden Strike 4 is an intermediate-friendly game so, so if you are a complete newbie, then adjusting to the multiple key binds and controls may leave you frustrated and sick. But, for a quick learner, it is easier to progress. Sometimes in battles, your soldiers are more trouble than the entire enemy army.
Units occasionally fail to obey orders, loitering and waiting behind as the rest of your army advances into combat. Also, there are instances in objective-based missions where your army avoids the goal. So, the gimmicks of the game in terms of control and command make it a little questionable in terms of development and production.
Final Verdict
Sudden Strike 4 is a visually appealing real-time tactical game for those who like to pass their time simply upgrading their strategic skills. No, it will not make you a mastermind like Chess games, but it surely is a good way to involve yourself in a different take on tactical video games.
You need to certainly understand how the game operates to know where and what exactly you have to do as an army commander. Apart from that, Sudden Strike 4 embodies the entire troupe of wars and battles from history in a video game quite well.
Yes, there are various issues when talking about the buggy controls and glitches on both PC and console-based platforms where you may find it difficult to control your army that may look like they have their mind or the weird-sounding AI voiceovers with the same American accent on Generals of different ethnicity. Ignoring that, Kite Games did a good job in releasing an okayish version of the previous Sudden Strike franchise.
The game is affordable and cheap, which is another great take for an RTS game. It is a war-based game, so if you are sensitive to violence and gore, then the game is not for you. But if you enjoy a somewhat historically accurate version of strategy games, then Sudden Strike 4 makes a good game.
Our Rating: ⭐ (4/5).
You can download Sudden Strike 4 on the Xbox store, PlayStation store, and Steam.
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