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  Cold War Conflicts - Days in the Field 1950 - 1979 review by NeoGeoMurikov from youtube


,,«Powered by Sudden Strike© Technology»
- off the German game cover of «Cold War Conflicts»

What would be the best way to describe «Cold War Conflicts - Days in the Field 1950 - 1979»? Back in its release in 2004 critics labeled the real time strategy game as unofficial spin-off of the Sudden Strike series. Some reviews even went as far calling it a non-free mod for «Sudden Strike 2» or a shameful rip-off.

Originally named «Противостояние: Азия в огне», meaning as much as «Confrontation: Asia on Fire», the game was indeed programmed by former members of Fireglow who worked under the new studio name Red Ice Software.

Looking at the menu, interface and icons, the sound effects and graphics it becomes evident «Cold War Conflicts» indeed is almost identical to «Sudden Strike 2». The biggest difference though is the change of scene from chewed-out WWII into the obscure battlefields of the Korean War and the Yom Kippur War. Indeed not many RTS games have approached these interesting chapters of history, and the more it makes CWC interesting.

«Cold War Conflicts» was one of the very first SS2-engine games to introduce helicopters, jet planes, amphibious APCs and other modern vehicles into the series. In the series' tradition all units have been given voices in their corresponding languages; Israeli paratroopers armed with Uzis speak Hebrew, North Korean political officers report in Korean and Syrian STUG drivers speak Arab (yes, there were indeed German tanks used in the Golan Heights), and so on.

Trying out the Cold War era arsenal is the game's principal charm of course. It's simply a pleasure to drop napalm on enemy bunkers or hammering out tanks with 175mm self-propelled guns. Some details like the rotor blades of helicopters or the swimming amphibious APCs are indeed unsatisfactorily animated, but the for the big part the new units are gorgeous.

The game offers four campaigns: The Israelis with 18 missions, the Egyptians with 9 missions and the American and North Korean campaigns with 5 missions each. Some of the missions one after another are taking place on the same map. For instance during the first North Korean mission your objective is to take over an UN airfield by guerrilla tactics, to capture a British Meteor bomber and to bomb an American tank depot. In the second mission you then have to defend that very captured airfield against a highly outnumbering UN attack.

The mission design is definitely a forte of «Cold War Conflicts». Be it the Landing at Incheon, the Crossing of the Suez Canal or several stealth missions with a very limited number of units; the campaigns are fairly thrilling and a challenge for seasoned Sudden Strike players. Just like in in its unofficial predecessors you need to make good use of reconnaissance, aimed air strikes, terrain, limited ammo resources and a good mix of units. Unplanned human wave attacks are bound to be doomed and whole tank battalions eradicated if used thoughtlessly. This type of RTS gameplay is what made the Sudden Strike series earn the cult it developed over the years.

Interestingly, some of the missions are allowed to be failed by the player. As a consequence the player gets less units, reinforcements or logistical support in the following mission. This comes as quite of a convenience, as some missions (like the Defence of the Golan Heights in the Egypt campaign) are a indeed pain in the ass if not almost impossible to succeed.

Multiplayer and map editor are analogue to Sudden Strike 2 with nothing new to offer. With only five default maps there's not much to expect from CWC. In comparison with «Sudden Strike 2» not many custom maps have been made either.

To put it in a nutshell, «Cold War Conflicts» is in the first place aimed at seasoned Sudden Strike fans who are familiar with the series' gameplay and challenges. It's no wonder some newcomers to the series were quite discouraged by the tough missions and the dated graphics by its time. But if you count yourself among the first group of players, you will definitely enjoy «Cold War Conflicts»,its challenging campaigns and the fresh units.''

The image is from :
mobygames

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