Matches take on a much different pace than your traditional real-time strategy game. Multiplayer was a solid experience, having spent a lot of time playing it during the open beta. Skills Pay the Bills Infantry provides interesting early and late-game options for players in multiplayer Iron Harvest does a great job of making each level feel unique and catered to telling the story and creating interesting playthroughs. In the Rusviet campaign, I have fond memories of sitting perched up in my base against a Saxony onslaught where my perfectly positioned units laid them to waste. The maps in the campaign are absolutely beautiful, using terrain and height to create some incredible moments. Missions like this really make Iron Harvest stand apart from the typical real-time strategy campaign. One of my personal favorite levels was a stealth mission, where you have to sneak by mechs and then fraternize with the locals to learn of a secret meeting place. None of them felt like you were playing on a discarded multiplayer map. Throughout the campaign, I loved how varied each map’s design felt. The struggle of war is well represented from a psychological and moral perspective, but Iron Harvest does a brilliant job of humanizing the story through its protagonist Anna Kos. While the voice acting felt a little lacking for some characters, each character was enjoyable in their own right, particularly in the Polanian campaign. Starcraft II was the last time I can remember enjoying a real-time strategy campaign for its story. Three sizeable campaigns from all three factions were thoroughly enjoyable. Without a doubt, the campaign is the real meat and potatoes of Iron Harvest. Story-Driven Goodness The campaign includes a wide variety of mission types and task that really lets Iron Harvest shine My only big concern is, despite playing it on a top of the line graphics card and processor, I was still having pretty significant frame issues when a large number of units were on the field. Still, the unique setting coupled with the art style of each faction is what really makes Iron Harvest stand apart visually. While it is an RTS, which aren’t known for their graphics, even much older games in the genre look more refined. Iron Harvest, even on max settings, does look dated graphically. At times, it did feel as if once mechs came into play infantry was an afterthought, but honestly why wouldn't you want to make these beautifully mechanical beasts the sole focus of each match? The downside being if you overextend you might find yourself in a heap of trouble. Each comes with abilities, and the ability to punish your enemy. They are sometimes clunky and over-the-top, but they are absolutely the star of Iron Harvest. Three pseudo-fictional factions (the Polanians, Rusviets, and Saxony) are duking it out after the Great War. What really separates Iron Harvest from the traditional RTS though is the setting. It doesn't differentiate at all from Company of Heroes in this regard, but it does act as a way to focus the combat more throughout a match. From there, each side dukes it out to either destroy each other's base or in some cases fight for victory points gained by capturing and holding these control points. Placing well-positioned defensive structures and utilizing your factions unique abilities and heroes can really turn the tide of the match over an opponent. The variety in mechs makes each game more than a rock, paper, scissors balancing act though. Games, especially in multiplayer, can be more of a real-time chess match than a race. Scoring flanks on your opponent is a quick way to kill mechs, as the game rewards you for hitting armor weak spots. Expect a much slower playstyle, as infantry will need to be placed into cover, and mechs positioning can often win or lose a fight. Resources are placed across the entire map as control points, meaning if you want to build more units you will need to leave the comfort of your base and fight for the resources to build them. Iron Harvest brings a strong Company of Heroes vibe to it, focusing more on combat and controlling the map then resource gathering and base building. Mechs, Mechs Galore Mechs play a huge role throughout the course of Iron Harvest and offer varied styles of play AI, and a plethora of other modes to keep you entertained for the foreseeable long-term. On top of the already impressive campaign, Iron Harvest offers competitive multiplayer, co-op vs. Iron Harvest, based on art created by the Jakub Rozalski and the board game Scythe, looks to deliver one of the most impressive story-driven campaigns for the strategy genre in a long time. Its been a while since we’ve had a massive real-time strategy campaign to play through.
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