Heroes & Generals review
Heroes & Generalsreview with gameplay video [HD]
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Free to play MMOFPS
The MMOFPS is getting bigger. Gone are the days where you could expect a shooter to be built around community features; today we want massive battlefields, real-time wars and more than six to eight enemies to shoot at. For obvious reasons, these sorts of features are only included in the very top tier titles, like Defiance or Planetside 2, but for those with lower end machines and a penchant to be part of something bigger, Heroes and Generals is a must-play title that will take up next to no space on your computer and will give you a sense of fighting as a small part of a larger battle.
Heroes and Generals Gameplay Video [HD]
Positives
Persistent World – Joining this war means you’re there for the long haul. Although small skirmishes take only about 20-30 minutes, your army is vying for control of the whole of Europe, and that’s not a battle that will be over in a day. You and your fellow soldiers will need to work together if you plan to claim victory, over many months.
Genre-Blend – Although the bulk of Heroes and Generals will be played as a first-person shooter, there’s also another side to the game. When not in battle, you act as a commander, sending troops around a large map of Europe. These extra troops act as respawns for the ground soldiers, and having a good commander behind you will guarantee a better chance in battle. I personally found the feature a little cumbersome, but it makes it as a positive because it’s a nice idea and I know they’re going to build on it to the point where generals can be even more useful/fun to play as.
Vehicular Mayhem – Heroes & Generals contains a variety of different vehicles for you to take charge of. From planes to jeeps, getting from one side of the map to the other, once you master the controls, is easy and smooth. None of that matters though, because never before in any MMO has there been a mount or vehicle as cool as Heroes and Generals’ bicycle. If you’re ever worried you’re wasting your time playing this game, hop on a bicycle, ride around for a few moments and then crash right into a tree. Then get blown up by a tank. It’s hilariously out of place, and I wouldn’t dream of suggesting it’s anything but the best thing ever.
Neutrals
World War II Era Graphics – Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but the graphics for this game aren’t fantastic. Visually things are good enough, but not nearly on the level you’d get from full-client titles and moving around too quickly causes some of the worst screen tearing I’ve seen in a title. With that said, I went in expecting not much more than a browser-based game, and I was pleasantly surprised that things weren’t that bad. If you have a problem with the visual style, this game probably wasn’t made with you in mind. This is one for the people that can’t do much better.
Germany Vs America – I wasn’t expecting a history lesson from Heroes and Generals. I was surprised to learn the sides you can choose from are Germany and America though. Allies Vs Axis, fine. To single out one country from the “bad guys”, and one country from the “good guys” seems a little odd. Maybe it’s just a lifetime of watching WW2 films made by Americans in which they’re the only people who won the war, but it grates every time I see it.
Negatives
Pay-to-Everything – I’ve never seen a game structured quite like Heroes and Generals. To begin with, you get given a very basic, not very useful gun, and this allows you to get your first few lucky kills. As you play more and more, you unlock in-game currency which can be used to improve your gun or to unlock other equipment – a secondary weapon or a knife say. Of course, you could just go ahead and buy some gold, which will then convert into in-game currency. This is a game that defines “Pay-to-Win”
I’m Waiting – Although the matches themselves are a very fair length, the amount of time you might have to wait to get into a game can be very frustrating. There’s only a limited amount of things to do while you wait as well, so you end up getting distracted and looking at something else. With battles happening all over Europe, it’s frustrating having to sit around while everything gets sorted, and it ends up detracting from the idea of your being part of a war.
Conclusion
Heroes and Generals is a good game, with room for improvement. For players that can’t manage bigger, client-based MMOFPS games, this is a no-brainer. It’s the long-time fans who are going to be most rewarded, they’ll get to see the title grow around them, and as it grows, their role in the war will increase.
7/10
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