![]() I don't expect a diesel-powered WW1 era mech to move like a gazelle. I'm not saying Iron Harvest should be Starcraft. But this attritional warfare combined with slow-moving units means matches can drag on incessantly, less build 'n' rush and more build 'n' plod. It's worth noting that the factions are well-balanced, and battles are rarely one-sided affairs. If that mech fails in its objective and is destroyed, you then have to go through the whole rigmarole again. It can take a larger mech five to ten minutes to cross the map, so long that the situation has often changed when it arrives at its destination. Their sluggish speed also slows the late game down to a crawl. Larger mechs are so slow and so powerful that tactics tend to go out the window when they get involved, so fights mainly come down to whoever's got the biggest gun. Only infantry can capture control points, and can also harvest resources from destroyed mechs (both yours and the opponents) enabling you to field new units more quickly.Īll this works well at a smaller scale, but the game's main feature, those massive, city-destroying mechs are arguably the source of Iron Harvest's biggest problem. Lastly, infantry retains a key role when the bigger mechs roll-out. Mechs also take more damage when shot in the rear, encouraging you to flank them or to use infantry to toss explosives behind them.ĭefensive structures like bunkers are extremely useful for stopping your opponent harassing your base with infantry and smaller mechs, while keeping a group of engineers with your mechs enables them to perform repairs in the field and keep them in the fight longer. Flame units of all stripes will absolutely annihilate infantry, but are much less effective against mechs. Alongside anti-infantry mechs, there are anti-mech infantry who pulverise armour with massive cannons. It's a shame the cover-system is a little haphazard because otherwise Iron Harvest's early to mid game has plenty of tactical nuance. The game's main feature, those massive, city-destroying mechs are arguably the source of Iron Harvest's biggest problem. Compounding this is that, when caught out of cover, AI infantry tends to run directly into your line rather than retreat to a defensive position, which can make infantry encounters scrappy and unsatisfying. But the system is spotty about what counts as cover, while the maps aren't really built to engender fire and move mechanics. At infantry level, Iron Harvest employs a cover system much like Company of heroes, with green circles highlighting when your character can hide behind walls. One mission in the middle of the Rusviet campaign includes insta-fail stealth, which is exceptionally frustrating. The variety imbued in the campaign does result in some weaker scenarios, however. One of its more unique examples sees you trying to protect a train filled with supplies as it weaves its way through a Polanian valley, while an early Rusviet mission involves sneaking through St Petersburg, joining up with scattered Rusviet forces as you gradually work your way toward the Winter Palace. In play, the campaign intersperses familiar RTS skirmishes with more character focussed missions, with each gradually building up your unit roster from lone infantry to your full combined forces. It's an impressive endeavour filled with twists and turns that elevate it beyond a straightforward war story, although stock characters and a whiff of cheese about the script hamper its narrative aspirations. It's a surprisingly cinematic experience too, with missions bookended by meticulously directed cutscenes telling the story of the three-way conflict. The Polanian campaign, for example, charts the story of the country's resistance against Rusviet occupation, as young resistance fighter Anna Kos tries to rescue her father from the evil general Zubov. Although they seamlessly conjoin into one story, there are actually three campaigns, each focussing on a different faction. Iron Harvest loves playing with scale, and that goes for its campaign as much as individual matches. I can't decide if the audio designers deserve a medal or a reprimand for creating such a cacophonous hellscape. The sound of Iron Harvest in full swing is tremendous. Shortly afterward, the mechs begin to appear, mainly anti-infantry at first, but soon combat is mech on mech, giant death machines trading massive cannon shots that leave whole sectors scarred with craters and reduce buildings to rubble. Then it layers in more advanced types of infantry-grenadiers who can destroy cover and cripple units with a well-placed grenade, and machine-gunners who can pin enemy units down and create chokepoints on the map. Matches start out small, with squads of rifleman trading potshots from cover as they rush to capture early control points. The spectacle of any given Iron Harvest match is phenomenal.
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