Sudden Strike 4
Sudden Strike 4 sends you off on three extensive campaigns set amongst the battlefields of World War II. Commanding the Allied, German or Soviet troops, you will lead over 100 different units into battle; like the German bomber Heinkel He111, the Russian T-34 tank, the British Hawker Typhoon fighter plane and the notorious German Panzerkampfwagen VI "Tiger". In a first for the Sudden Strike series, you can now choose from one of nine individual commanders, such as George Patton or Bernard Montgomery, who will each allow for different approaches to combat and boast unique abilities. Prove your strategic expertise in over 20 demanding singleplayer scenarios, the challenge-focused skirmish mode and the ultra-competitive multiplayer mode via Internet. Exploit the weak spots of tanks, set up an ambush, occupy buildings with infantry, outmaneuver the enemy with clever positioning or unleash devastating air strikes – how you approach each mission is up to you!
Steam User 40
The Underdog of modern RTS games.
I have left a piece of my heart in the single-player campaigns of Sudden Strike 4. I have played almost all of them, including the ones in the DLCs, and logged 113 hours in the game.
Why is this game the perfect underdog? Because it has the heart of a true RTS and all the glitches of an independently developed game.
Forget big graphics. Forget flashy marketing. But also, forget micro-transactions and dumb, repetitive multiplayer experiences.
The single-player campaign is like poetry. It always keeps you off-balance by making you think twice before throwing your soldiers and tanks against a well-defended position.
That's one of the things I love about this game:
You can't clear a building with minimum collateral damage if your sniper is dead.
You can't destroy an enemy heavy tank with minimum losses if your artillery runs out of ammunition.
And you can't outmanoeuvre your opponent if your tanks run out of fuel or into a minefield.
Patience is the greatest skill you have to have in order to win the game. Also, the more you spare your resources while achieving the first objectives, the more strength you can unleash on the final ones.
Another thing I love about the game is the physics of bullets. From small rifles to big artillery guns; their impact is astonishingly realistic for a game that can easily be bought outside of Steam for pocket money, DLCs included.
One time I saw an anti-tank bullet ricocheting on the frontal armour of a tank and hitting the wheels of another tank on its right side. The second tank got stuck and had to wait for a repair truck before continuing the offensive... amazing... !
Finally, what I like about this game is the diversity of tanks, vehicles, uniforms and terrains. But what I really LOVE is the different country perspectives and strategies you experience during the campaigns.
The Japanese, Finnish and Italian campaigns are pure gold.
Thanks for reading and keep gaming the good game!
Steam User 10
As a RTS lover, I already see that the game is excellent and deserves my true recommendation! The mechanics and movement are very reminiscent of Comandos 2 (which is excellent and works as a spiritual successor). So, I haven't picked up the DLCs yet, but if you like strategic games with few commands and many hours of fun, this is your right place!
Steam User 10
First played Sudden Strike back in mid 2000s. It was an awesome experience back then, it still is today!
Steam User 8
It beats Company of Heroes (at least the original version if not the later ones; I only played the first) for the following reasons: Being able to pause the game and look around. Being able to think and plan tactics rather than just trying to beat the clock. A more realistic method of play in terms of supply; instead of running around taking artificial points that produce endless munitions and fuel (as long as they are held), this game has supply trucks and supply dumps. Above all, you have a certain amount of troops that must be used wisely; no running back and forth to HQ to churn out replacements. If you get the DLC (disregard Battle of Kursk unless you are a multiplayer — it's just a PvP map) and together with the sandbox mode, you will have many hours of enjoyment with Sudden Strike 4.
Steam User 6
Fabulous game and Development.
My only suggestion - and it is a good one, is that shell holes created by units firing shells remain during the life of the mission. So the battlefield becomes scarred and has a real feel of a battle having taken place. This used to be a feature of the early Sudden Strike game on PC.
Steam User 7
I played this game since Sudden Strike 1 Demo was released back in day on CDs.
Some players complain to the poor invisibility of the tanks. Well is close realism, tank with no infantry support will be very easy pray. Even now days expensive battle tanks with better visibility and onboard detection still get lost stupidly because of lack of eyes around(infantry units). See losses of tanks because of no infantry support Ukraine, Chechen War, Afghanistan and back to WW2- Stalingrad heavy losses of tanks on German side.
I don't mind the visibility of tanks in SS4 except in open fields where is too exaggerated.
Cons :
1.Infantry units to few.
2.When infantry have grenades and enemy occupies the nearby buildings, they throw the grenades on the roof of the buildings instead thru the windows - very bad.
Grenades thrown in the trenches have very little effect - In reality grenades in small spaces have very powerful effect - Shrapnel, deafening noise, shock, loss of limbs -devs ignored that badly.
3. Artillery too short ranges.
155mm howitzer LongTom shell sometimes have an explosion radius of 76mm HE shell.
4. AA vs infantry very little effect(is a sad joke) - In reality high rate of fire of a 20mm x 4 canons , high velocity + explosive rounds had devastating effect vs infantry.
5. Sounds are not very good.
6. When playing online GPU gets 10 C hotter compared to offline - hashing?
7. I expected to see in this version infantry able to dig trenches and sandbox gun emplacements for MG.Really disappointing.
Pros
1. Good graphics but, it could have been better. Smoke is the worst of the new graphical effects.
2. While the number of units you receive is very low compared to other versions of SStrike, is somewhat still engaging and worth playing.
Steam User 5
A rather simple but fun RTS game with good sound and graphic design. Unlike in most games in the genre, you don't build your units or collect resources, instead you start with a specific number of soldiers and vehicles in each mission and then occasionally get reinforcements.
I recommend getting all DLC's (except Battle of Kursk), there's decent amount of content and large variety of mission types in them.