Strategic War in Europe

Strategic War in Europe is an excellent strategy game that offers a deep and engaging experience. The game's mechanics are well-balanced, providing both challenge and satisfaction as you navigate through historical scenarios. The AI is competent, making each battle feel dynamic and unpredictable. Additionally, the graphics and interface are clean and intuitive, enhancing the overall gameplay. If you're a fan of WWII strategy games, this one should definitely be on your radar!

This game is a decent strategy gem!

conflict executed with immaculate precision within the confines of the continent of europe

Unlike their previous games this one comes with a tutorial and a manual. So this game probably has potential for a somewhat larger audience compared to the previous games.
I enjoyed this one for what it is. Nothing more can be said about this game that I didn't cover on the earlier ones.
They have a template and just tweek here and there after deciding on a theatre or scenario and that is about it.

Any game that allows me to play as Yugoslavia - I like

Not fun.
Gave it over 20 hours, land combat is tedious, air combat is more tedious, and naval combat is simply broken. No pleasure to be had here for non-masochists.

Seems klunky. No control of how to start research. Obligates you to research you may not want with no way to reduce it. When oponent attacks, moves too quick to see what happened. All you see is results, but not how the results happened. No idea of what you lost, but by trying to recall what you had before battle. Can't combine forces. Kind of like Commander the Great, but not near as comprehensive, & much worse in all ways except graphics. Glad I got my refund, as it took full 2 hours to find out how bad it is.

I've played Hearts Series and alot of other Strategy Games but I Have To Tell You This Game is The Best as far as Being Player friendly. The Graphics are an A+. The Games isnt as complex as say Hearts But sometimes simple is Better!! The Fact That each unit is represented by an original Photo of The actual Unit makes The Game more Historical. The Tutorial is The Best Ever, Its makes The Game Simple To Understand and Enjoy. I Highly Recommend The Tutorial and Then Dive Into Changing or making History. AucTung Ze (something....something) OHH. HI OH Hitler...and Hail The Lord God Rules over us ALL. WOW Great Game Thanks. Another one worth the Fulll Price.

I'm surprised at all the negative reviews. I really like this game. It's my go-to when I can't figure out what I want to play. All that said, I grew up playing Avalon Hill and SPI wargames, so this is certainly not for everyone. And I don't like the naval rules (or maybe I just don't understand them). But then I don't need a navy when I'm encircling Smolensk!

I've had this game for many years (i think i first bought it on Impulse) and played many campaigns. I think that most of the reviewers didn't see what was the intention of this game. It's a light game of WW2 for fast games. The whole war takes only 70 turns to complete. It's not meant to be anything like Hearts of Iron. I am still having fun with it. One of the important aspects is to make sure to upgrade your units.

Great variety in units, solid game mechanics, and decent pacing make this very easy to get absorbed into. A top notch and in depth boardgame style WW2 game; you can be any country from a very long list, or any combination of countries! My only complaint is that your game ends on the real world date every time, regardless of what was actually happening at that time during your campaign. It would be a hands down must buy if not for that, but being forced to stop 2 months before my invasion of Britain was going to start (I took Russia first) really was a kick in the pants. This game is a masterpiece, that I suggest nobody ever play; the forced stop in 1945 is so frustrating that it makes all you've accomplished meaningless and empty, and replay value is an absolute zero. It's a shame, but never buy this game. It's not worth a single penny.

P.S. I give it a thumbs up, but can't suggest buying it. It's confusing, as it is the fact that the game is so great that makes the forced campaign end so upsetting.

A quick and easy to learn grand strategic game of WWII in Europe that can be played in a few hours. It has enough variety of units and technologies to be interesting but not too much to create a micromanagement headache.
It is a fun quick game that is still fun to replay. Especially with the ability to play as either one of the major or minor powers.
Although there is no editor, many of the scenario files are text editable so you can change many aspects of the games, including adding new events.

In short, don't! There is too little content for its price. I can buy two Paradox games of much greater capabilities with the same amount of money. And I suggest you look the other way, as well.

Now, what is it all about? WW2 in Europe, of course. But the title is not quite right, though. From where I stand, the "Strategic" elements in this game are its weakest spot, and you know what is the strongest? Well, the strongest will be the interface. There are not much to do but to build units, send them to direct battles and... idling for more resources. There is a "Diplomacy" button in the hud, yes... but forget about it! It is useless because there is no chance you'll get Diplomacy Points until the point you don't need them already. I mean, there are really exist a possibility to play for no-big countries like Greece or Romania, or even Ireland! But there is not a chance you'll change the course of history by playing one of them.

The game mechanic is quite simple, but that's not so good trait, as you can think (as I thought before buying this lame piece of code). Every country has "Resources" and a counter how fast they restock. Those "resources" in fact a single digital, and it can only be improved by conquering other lands. And if you choose Ireland, well... grab some popcorn, the only button you'll ever need is "End turn". That's a bugger, really, as there are dozen f2p facebook games, where you can actually build up your power, improving digits of manpower, morale, etc... And I'm not talking about "Hearts of Iron" or even "Civilization". This "Strategic War in Europe" in fact is dumber than f2p facebook games!

About changing the course of history there. Let's suppose you're playing for France, and destroyed Nazi for good, defeat Germany in the early 1941. Italy becomes the leader of Axis, you defeat them as well... but at this time, Bulgary joins the Axis and becomes the leader of Axis, after defeat of Italy! Bulgary! Yeah, Very Realistic game mechanic, which reacts properly on every change in alignment. My Back!

I'm not done speaking about mechanics, sorry for my rudeness. So, you have "resources" digit, it will raise with time passing, while you still have some land on your side of border. With those resources you buying units (ground, air and naval), and you can also spend some to hurry the researchers. A vague relate to Paradox titles, those researches are "infantry", "tanks", "air", "subs", "naval" and "nuclear", with tiers from 0 to 5 (although nuke has only 0/1 tier). Now! You have some units from the start, you can build more, you can transport them via railroads or boats from one end of Europe to another... in theory. In fact, you'll probably not ever use railroads or embarkment, unless you'll choose USA or England (neither of them is recommended). Basically, you just get what you have, and march on enemy lines, with some common-knowledge maneuvers, like to cut Maginot line through Belgium, And even there, in the armies basic management, we have a big disadvantage. The map is SMALL! Forget about limitrophes like Estonia! Christ, the POLAND has only 2! cities there, Warsaw and Lvov! And there is an achievement, to defend Warsaw for 5 turns. How?! Germany always start first, so by the time you get the wheel, there are only two white-and-red ground units, so that's impossible to hold even two! rounds for Poles, no matter what you'll do (unless you'll cheat it some weird way).

Okay, let's summarize:

+ easy to start with, mere interface, obvious goals

+ the events in the game goes along with the history books, well, except in a more primitive view. Much more primitive and one-way scripted, really.

- the major strategy is always to build some tanks and rush to enemies cities. No artillery, very basic usage of air forces, almost useless fleets... And forget about spies and diplomacy!

- the only chance to get more resources is to capture some cities, and capturing them feels... no, it doesn't provide any feelings, you're just pointing square A (your tank) above square B (any city). Booring!

- the game is weak as strategy, but the achievements... well, they're the worst thing that game has, if not minding the price. Like to build 1K submarines or infantry units. While game prompts, that it will count that thousand of units along all sessions, in truth, you need to finish that in one session, or the counter will reset. And there is absolutely no chance to have enough resources to build that many. And I'm not even speaking about nukes there... To be frank, there is no legit way to complete achievements. Some use SAM about that game, and I can't really blame them, even if I hate SAM myself.

- and what finished me, is the backup the devs give to the complaints. Just look at the community hub about the game, read some discussions, to make your own impression.

Mark 4.2/10 - "lame". I recommend you to stay with Hearts of Iron and Civilization titles, for way better experience. And if you are up to something different, find two KOEI games: "Operation Europe: Path to Victory" and "PTO: Pacific theater of operation". Despite the fact they were made more than 20 years ago, they a Way deeper as strategies (than this "Strategic War in Europe") and in terms of visuals, well, almost the same thing.

This is a turn based, grand strategic, WWII game that can be played to conclusion over a weekend. If you prefer real time, micro management, or first person shooter games, this one is not for you.

I rate the game 9 / 10.

There are numerous negative reviews about this game and before I purchased the game, I read every single review. Personally, the negaitve reviews are just a big ole bunch of whining. Here's why:

1) The game will crash. So what? Save often or upgrade your PC. FYI autosave happens at the end of every turn.

2) The navigation and unit commands are unusual. So what? Read the manual, its full of useful information. Invest the time to learn how to play the game.

3) The balance of play is unsatisfactory (i.e. USSR tank armies are too strong, German forces are overwhelming). So what? Mod the game to your liking or figure out how to win.


Here's why I LOVE THIS GAME.....

1) It is a labratory of history. What if Operation Sea Lion or Operation Felix were successful? What if Germany developed an atomic weapon? What if the Italians stayed out of Greece? What if Spain entered the war? What if the Warsaw uprising of 1944 held and the city reverted to Allied control in between the German and Red Armies? All of these contingencies can be played out in this game.

2) Great value for the price. Steam just lowered the price too.

3) Takes me back to fond memories of other great grand strategic WWII wargames: Third Reich (AH), Storm Across Europe (C64) and High Command (IBM-DOS). Anybody remember these?

As a fan a WWII strategy games I decided to give SWiE a try. The game has several playable scenarios and you can play as any of the axis or allied countries (or multiple). Overall the game is fun and the ability to play different countries makes playing multiple games interesting. You can also choose to nerf or boost individual countries. The game also incorporates some of the historical treaties and invasions of WWII and prompts a player to follow history or go a different way. Playing a single scenario may take 5-10 hours.

A strength of the game is the number of combinations of land, air, and sea units. Land units can be pne of three: infantry, mechanized, or armor. Air units include fighters, tactical bombers, and stategic bombers. Sea units include three types of the following: subs, cruisers, aircraft carriers, and battle ships. These different types coupled with indiviudal unit strengths, levels, experience, and the ability to assign a handful of historical commanders to some of the units creates a variety of attacking strengths.

The negatives would be the AI, lack of Pacific Theater and network play. The AI is fair adept but after replaying it becomes easier and easier to counter upcoming moves. However, this AI is far superior to the AI in the Hasbro Axis and Allies game. The game would be greatly enhanced if the map were expanded to include the Japanese empire. By far the biggest downfall of the game is the ability to play against others online...you simply can't. The game has a play by email option which is almost laughable. I guess they figured nobody would be willing to find someone to play long enough to finish a scenario. Too bad the game makers didn't break down the scenarios into smaller chunks and add network games.

If you are fan of the Axis and Allies board game and looking for a good strategy game, this is a good choice. I would rate it an 8 out of 10.

This game is very much in need of patches. there is so many little bugs along with some real big one's.

It's almost like it's a half finished beta. If it ever gets fixed it's going to be a outstanding game but for now don't buy it.

Oh and if you do buy it, save your game alot as it crashes,,,,,,,alot.

It is ok. But you should know that you play a turn limited (number or turns like 70 for 1939 to 1945) game if you get this one. I saw there is an 'editor' for this game but I didn't get a working one.

If you seek in depth then play Hearts of Iron II instead.

It is fun at stages.

This is a very strange game, it is somewhat difficult to compare it to many other previous games based on the World War II Europe genre. For example, games like Panzer General, Making history, Axis and Allies or even Diplomacy to name a few. In truth, the closest I could think of to matching this format of game would be the old Avalon Hill tabletop game by the name of Rise and fall of the Third Reich circa 1970s. Although naturally this version is simpler or perhaps even somewhat overly simplified, it is not without its more pleasant charms. For example; the combat system is far less clumsy as well as boasting a production system that is not only fun and innovative but also more than a little challenging.

Before getting to that point however, it must be immediately noted that a patch will be required for anyone running Windows 7 or later. I found the necessary patch on Google, I admit it did take some patience and require no little amount of venting frustration but in the end I am more than pleased with the total game experience. The simple truth is, this is not a game for the arcade player or the typical armchair general.This game will require the player to command at least some knowledge of the second world war in Europe. The A.I.is not overwhelmingly challenging so much as it is historically based. When playing Germany for example, a typical player will most likely be tempted to over-run Poland as quickly as possible in order to focus more quickly on France. What sets this game apart however; is that the allies will not deal with German aggression simply militarily. In fact I have found a refreshing change with this game lies along the channels of diplomacy and containment. In truth the scope is limited only by the imagination and the options available are as broad as one's own individual planning. In short this may be the first wargame set in Europe in which I truly feel that neither side has a clear advantage.

None of this is to say that this particular version is not without its faults or problems. If anything I see it as a "concept game". Innovations in this game may eventually find their way into future ideas.

In conclusion I would recommend this game, if for no other reason, than the price is reasonable and as a "beer and pretzels" concept, it does succeed in delivering what it advertises, no more or less.

With the Pacific theater version, "Storm over the Pacific" now available, I hope to eventually try that one as well for a full war experience.

Hope I was helpful.

Jim

This game is constantly crashing and the tutorial and manual is very vague to the point where I have to guess how to play this bloody game! Don't bother with this game there are far better ones out there, I only wish I knew how to get my money back, I made a huge mistake, don't do the same mates.

A decent entry level strategy game. While not as deep as games such as Hearts of Iron, it offers a fair amount of depth. Things like research and diplomacy are in the game, but not so detailed or timed consumer that they take away from the game. If you are looking for something fun that can be played in a few sittings then consider Strategic war in Europe.

Key points of the game

Unit types:

The types of units include Infantry, Mechanized, Armor, Airborne, Fighters, tactical bombers, strategic Bombers, and a verity of Naval units. Land units (except Airborne which are corps) can be bought as either army or corps. Armies are bigger and thus cost more. Depending on the size and type of unit it will be ready for deployment in 1 - 3 turns.

Research:

Players can research, infantry, armor airplanes, navel, subs and nuclear bombs. Nuclear bombs are only one level (you either have them or you don't) and once you do you gain a bomb every few turns which can be dropped by one of your strategic bombers.
All the others come in five levels (some countries start at higher levels than others) and each level needs 100 points to reach. Players spend production points to increase research effort in the area of their choice. Any area can have up to three investments (represented by light bulbs), the first one cost 200, but the price for future ones goes down as the research gets closer to the 100 mark. For example if you buy all three investments upfront it will cost you 600 (3 * 200); but if you buy the initial 200 and wait a few turns the next investment might only cost 170. I seen it go as low as 30 when it was 87 out of the 100 needed. Of course once 100 is reached that level is unlocked and all the light bulbs go out and the player must start investing again
Nukes work slightly differently, there is only one level that needs 800 point and the initial investment is 1000 production points.
As new levels unlock better units can be bought at an increased price. For example if you ahve 4 levels of infantry unlocked you can buy them at any of those four levels.

Mod support:

While there is not allot of stuff in the workshop yet the game does allow for mods. Want to change something, simply ask the developers on the forums and they will point you in the right direction. They even explain to one user how to remove the turn limit

Scenarios:
There are a great number of scenarios included; ranging from beginning of D-day (13 turns) to full campaign (70 turns). Other options start with Operation Barbarossa and even a what if, that has the Allies fighting the Russians after the fall of Germany

Play as any country or countries:
One thing I really like is the ability to play as multiple countries. Where most games let you only play one, here you can play as many as you like. This really helps in saturations like the invasion of Russia where in many games the players German troops get stuck behind the AI Italian or minor axis allies forces. In fact if you want to play as all the axis, all the allies or as Russia there is even a quick start where you pick a faction and control all the nations in it

Difficulty set by country:

You can set the difficulty level for each country in the game. The different levels adjust how much income the nations receives. This allows you to boost or subtract from nations for some interesting what if. Say the Italian economy was more in line with the other nations, or America was not the economic powerhouse that it turned out to be.

CONS:

Like any game Strategic War in Europe does come with its faults. The two biggest are: Random crashes and achievements not opening up. In both cases the developers are on the forums discussing the issues and are actively working the solution

The game has the feel like the old avalon hill "Rise and Decline of the 3rd Riech" which was an alltime favorite. However, the game is an unfished product. Bugs are pretty common, but also crashes on a regular basis. The naval system, is pretty much broken and or the map data is corrupt. Play wise, I would highly recommend this game, but its still one or two patches away from a finished product. Can't recommend it for that but so close to being a great game.

i like a lot of the mobile device games by these people, but this game is not finished. Some countries the map doesnt load in scenarios. As well as the tutorial doesnt actually explain everything (how to, the why, or even the ability to do). 1 Star, complete fail.

I must agree with others on here. As much as I wanted to like this game I cannot. I read that this game was published in 2012. It is hard to beleive. It really plays like it was made in the late 90's. The tutoral is so bad they actaually tell you that is you get lost and cannot proceed you need to restart the tutoral. The tutoral is just a bunch of pop up windows that you need to read. I also had a problem with the Steam install. I had to uninstall and re-install several times before it would actaully work. I finally started playing my first game and it locked up several turns in. I had to re-boot the PC. That is when I lost interest.

This is not a finished product. Tons of bugs make it impossible to play. For instance the screen will fill all hexes with clouds, so good luck seeing what units are behind them. Sounds on most "clicks" are like squaky doors. Music is terribly bad. UI is counter-intuitive. Map is ugly and sprites are worse.
If you love a good strategy game, don't buy this because it's not stable, it's not good and it's fugly as hell.