Old time strategy
I’ve always considered myself a HUGE fan of the RTS genre, but when I was asked to review the latest expansion of Iron Harvest 1920 entitled Operation Eagle and found that it was an RTS it gave me sudden pause. Again, as I said in the beginning, I am a fan of the genre, but it had dawned on me that I hadn’t actually really played an RTS since wrapping up StarCraft 2 Legacy of the Void. I mean, I played a few ladder matches, but nothing like when I would spend hours in Brood War, WarCraft 3, and Red Alert 2. I began to think that maybe I am not as big a fan as I once was…but once I booted up Iron Harvest 1920: Operation Eagle I quickly found that love of resource gathering and army building that I thought was gone.
Operation Eagle’s campaign takes place from the perspective of the Usonia, which is this world’s take on America. Having sat out this alternate history’s version of WW1, the American Union of Usonia were able to build up their economy and military might helped by their “Diesel Birds”. They introduce Captain William Mason, as he’s sent to Alaska to remove the Rusviets from damaging American business interests. From the snow-covered hills of Alaska to the deserts of Arabia; for being an expansion Operation Eagle has a stellar campaign and from what I can tell the addition of these aerial units is a game changer.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: PC
The game’s big unit before the warbirds came along, the bi-pedal mechs were the name of the game. Being able to play with these walking behemoths from the very first mission was awesome and quite empowering. But just as in Titanfall 2, you learn that having a ‘mech’ doesn’t make you invincible. Yes, they can take a beating, but if you use them recklessly you will quickly be looking at a flaming pile of junk. For a game whose combat is very cover based, similarly to Company of Heroes, nothing will make enemies scatter like having a mech come stomping over their cover.
Speaking of gameplay, this was one of the better RTS games I’ve played. While I stumbled over the controls for the initial few missions; once I learned the hot keys for things, I felt right at home commanding my army. The standard infantry was particularly awesome as you could change a squad by having them pick up a new weapon. Maybe you find your mechs are on the verge of destruction; well have them become engineers and they can repair your units. Perhaps you need some anti-armor, but you have too many machine gunners. Just have your squad pick up the rocket launcher weapon and they would become anti-armor. These kind of on the fly maneuvers I loved, as it forced me to quickly think up new strategies on the fly. So instead of having to withdraw in failure my little army would end up squeaking out a victory.
As for the biggest addition to the game, the aerial vehicles I found to be a nice addition to the tools at hand. While mechs for sure have the durability to withstand a beating on your front lines, they lack maneuverability to disengage from a fight to regroup. But with the addition of aerial units (all factions receive these, not just the Usonia) you can make quick strafing runs to break lines while your mechs come stomping in with front and rear guns blazing. I usually used my infantry to play clean up or pick off any units who my heavy hitters didn’t get to. All factions received new buildings and defenses as well, namely air defense towers, which is an awesome and welcome addition.
I am extremely happy I was given this game to review. I love this world; the actual battlefields are beautiful upon spawning in. From the lighting to the landscapes the artists on this team have truly given us some spectacular looking playgrounds. Some of the best I’ve seen in an RTS game, sadly by the time the battle is over they will resemble a scarred warzone but still no less beautiful. The characters in the Usonia campaign were very well done, which was helped by excellent cutscenes and voice over artists. I am now playing through the main story in order to fill in some of these holes I have by starting with the DLC campaign, but I am loving every moment of it so far. I am so happy to return to my love of RTS games and found that in my absence the genre has grown and changed in a fantastic and wonderful way. I really hope the developers have more in store for this one, as they definitely have a new fan in me!
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
