Men of War 2 Quick Summary Review:

Men of War 2 is a game that- while not great- isn’t terrible either. It’s a great singleplayer experience, but the team’s focus is clearly multiplayer. It traded its gritty, semi-realistic appeal for fast-paced, arcade World War 2 action, which doesn’t gel particularly well with the series’ inherent micromanagement. The presentation isn’t great, with outdated graphics and downright terrible sound. The campaigns and operations are, in fact, its saving grace. Is it worth the asking price of $44.99? Depends on what you’re looking for.

• Genre: World War 2/ Real-time Strategy
• Developer: Best Way
• Publisher: Fulqrum Publishing
• Release Date: 15th May, 2024
• Price: $44.99/ 44,99€/ £37.99
• Buy at: Steam
• Reviewed On: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.70 GHz, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA GTX 2080

Also, share this review on social media, email me, or comment down below, and I’ll give away one key for Men of War 2.

The Singleplayer Is Fun

I’ll start with the game’s only saving grace: The single-player modes aren’t terrible at all, and in fact, I would argue the campaigns are well made and the missions are varied enough that they put Homeworld 3 to shame. From desperate defences to the last man, massive assaults across open fields, escort missions and night-time raids, there’s no denying that Men of War 2 three campaigns are fantastic, and its other two operations are equally good. They were also nice enough to add 6 bonus missions. As you can see, there is a lot of content here. Fight on the plains of the Eastern Front and go all the way on D-Day in France, these scenarios are sure to please anyone who enjoys Men of War and is looking for a single-player experience only.

It’s Micromanagement Heavy

Every Men of War game is micromanagement-heavy, and Men of War 2 is no different. Every single aspect of the game can be controlled, every unit has its own inventory, with its weapons, ammunition and utilities. As their commander you can exchange their weapons mid-mission, scavenge for ammo if they’re running low, use your infantryman to carry shells for tanks and artillery pieces and, if you want, you can even exchange your troop’s helmets.

The same can be done with vehicles. Vehicle damaged? Repair them. Out of ammo? Have the crew or your infantry fill it up again. Tank empty? Crew them using your men. Every weapon has different stats and serves a purpose and it’s great to have this flexibility mid-mission. Some missions even depend on that: the first mission of the Allied Operations has you parachuting in Normandy, behind enemy lines, and with a team of 5 airborne folks you’re tasked with taking down two 2cm Flakvierling 38, and a smart tactician will immediately spot an opportunity to quietly take down the crew of the first flak, and then immediately turn it against the second, mincemeating its crew.

This has always been a staple of the Men of War series since the first game had you repairing tanks and laying mines half of the time. However, in Men of War 2…

The AI and Pathfinding Aren’t That Great

The Men of War series has always been rather inconsistent with its pathfinding, which is weird, considering the games are practically all the same and built upon the same engine. Some work great, and the units are very proactive. In Men of War 2 soldiers act like complete morons most of the time, or don’t act at all. When facing enemies that are clearly in range, they won’t shoot, look for cover, or even position to shoot at the enemy, and most of the time they’ll just be there until you move them so they can shoot. Tanks don’t have this problem, but that’s probably because they’re range is so big, they’ll always have targets available without moving to engage.

Add this to the number of things going on at once, and more often than not, you’re not even able to enjoy the small unit tactics to the fullest extent because you’ll need to be constantly babysitting what your units are doing. Also, the game terribly lacks the necessary alarms to let you know your units are being attacked. This is baffling, given that the game is clearly multiplayer-focused. My compliments about the campaigns still stand, but unless you’re willing to micromanage your units to the utmost extent, Men of War 2 isn’t the game for you.

It’s Multiplayer Focused

The multiplayer of Men of War 2 was the clear focus of Best Way since the beginning, and I can respect that. Even though I’m exclusively a single-player kind of guy, I can acknowledge the existence of a massive multiplayer scene for these kinds of games, and, normally, developers want to cater to an audience of pre-dispositioned individuals who are die-hard fans of a massive series. However, here’s what I’m not particularly a fan of: everything in this game is created to funnel players into the multiplayer.

You just finished and won a campaign mission? Congratulations, you just won a new unit you can use… in multiplayer. This isn’t bad, per se, but it’s not something that motivates a single-player kind of guy like me. And because of this progression system…

You Must Be Always Online

Be prepared to have your internet always online whenever you want to play Men of War 2, because the game requires a constant connection, even if you’re playing single-player. In my opinion- and the opinion of every sensible person on the planet who enjoys video games- this should never be the case. The usual suspects came out of the woodwork defending this with the “Well, don’t you have internet?”. To answer this, I’ll put forward my own situation: Yes, yes I do. However, I travel during the week for work with my gaming laptop, and the internet isn’t always a luxury I have available, and it sucks not being able to play because of an arbitrary decision. At least the Men of War 2 team is working on a fix and I commend them for that.

The Presentation Isn’t Great

There are a couple of rare things in the world: gold, diamonds, and a GEM-engine game with a good UI. Even Gates of Hell, that’s in every way visually superior to Men of War 2 has a very crappy user interface. For some reason, the Best Way decided to create some awkward diamond-shaped shape health-bars. Why? What’s the point? How the hell is this better than a simple, straight HP bar? If it works and you’re not able to improve it, just let it be. It’s simple, it’s conventional and universally understood. This is so annoying. If these HP bars were returned to their original shape, things would look a lot better, and you would be able to perceive them a lot more clearly.

Human animations look stiff and outdated, weapons and reload animations are not good at all, and most of the time it’s just a muzzle flash and a soldier wiggling his arm in the air to cock the bolt back and forward. Not a great look for a game in 2024, when its competition visual fidelity is at the top of their game. At least the tanks look sharp and well-animated. I’ve seen some online hate towards the more colorful graphical style and despite what you might be expecting, I actually enjoy it quite a lot. So there’s that plus on the visual department.

Final Score: 6/10

In the World War 2 Real-time strategy genre there are two dominating forces: The Arcade and Hollywoodesque Company of Heroes 3, and the more gritty, and semi-realistic Gates of Hell. Men of War 2 will, inevitably, be compared to these two titles. As of right now, Men of War 2 sits awkwardly in-between, not really excelling at anything: it’s not a great arcade game, as the GEM engine doesn’t lend itself particularly well to it. And it’s not quite at the level of realism that Gates of Hell strives for. To be honest, other than having some really single-player moments- that are undercut by the decision of having it tied to an always online experience- Men of War 2 doesn’t stand out in any particular field, even less so at the price point is going for. Men of War 2 was clearly aimed at the multiplayer crowd, a part of which I am not. If you’re looking for great single-player missions and don’t mind shelling out 40 bucks, then Men of War 2 is the game for you. The reason it’s getting a 6 is only because I sincerely believe that the amount of single-player content is absolutely worth it, and in that department, it’s an 8 or a 9. Everything else, from presentation to the always online stuff, it’s a 3. So we meet in between.

Pros:

1. There’s a lot of content in Men of War 2;
2. Singleplayer campaigns are excellent, varied and fun;
3. The team knows where the problems lie and they’re actively working to fix them;

Cons:

1. Always online;
2. Terrible pathfinding and even worse AI;
3. Outdated visuals and animations;

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