Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront

It's a pretty good game. It mixes RTS with the opportunity to control the unit yourself. It's a very cool and well-done game for people who like war games and RTS.

This game is very underrated and a hidden gem. If you like tactics, destructible environments, realistic vehicles and armaments, historically accurate missions (mostly), then buy this game. Every soldier has their own inventory and can find/equip/drive things found on the battlefield.

With mods is even better but base campaigns are great. Highly recommend the Airborne DLC because it's basically Band of Brother's simulator.

Cons: Sometimes very micromanagement heavy although the individual unit control is also best thing about game. There are also a few bugs and AI pathing issues that are highly frustrating.

Great game. Victory will be achieved mostly on a tactical level, but micromanaging my units is so cool!

- Unoptimized on a good computer. Lag spikes. I thought it was my old computer that made it lag but on this I can run Arma3 on top and also Arma reforger and including Stalker2...but NOOO not this game. I had to install it again and was really hoping it was my old computer that couldnt handle it..but no...

Not enjoyable.

The game is overall a lot of fun, and it has a lot of replayability with the conquest mode. Certain aspects of the game can be frustrating, like arty refusing to fire at will at anything unless it's within direct line of sight, and friendly AA guns being insanely inaccurate. I was trying to use a Soviet AA truck to clean up enemy gun placements, but I essentially had to be at point blank range to have a hope of the rounds laying anywhere remotely near them. If someone would make an updated weapon accuracy mod, it'd make the game a lot nicer.

This game combines 2 genres that doesnt realy work with each other, rts and 3rd person shooter, i does a pretty good job at it tho, hoever this game requires enormous amount of micromanagement and punishes you heavily for not paying attention your units die almost instantly in a large amount of scenarios, however this game is very fun in smaller scenarios and in slower paced games id recommend this game for casual play, but competetive is just hell

Easily the best WW2 RTS game out, I recommend getting all the DLC's for the best experience but it's a fantastic game

This game is so awesome. Please buy it if it looks interesting to you. I need these devs to keep cookin.

Perfect game. 10/10

Please make the DLCs affordable and not one KEBAB price... I know there is content to play and dlcs bring happiness, but kebab is kebab.....

Brilliant game i have a lot of the DLCs and they are all great and very fun to play and this is a game where you can play it over and over again without getting bored

This game is hella fun, the only issue i have is the AI is morbidly painful, there seems to be little path finding when you're in a trench if you move up your units decide to get up and out the trench in the line of fire of anything n everything just to jump back into the trench instead of going through the trench itself.

When in direct control mainly 3RD person if you're with the squad when trying to attack the opposition the AI seems to get in your line of fire and more times out of non end up head-shoting your team as they like to take point and stand in front of you.

with the negatives out the way, it is a really enjoyable game, Liberation / Airborn DLC are quite decent the Main missions feel weighty and like you're actually completing it in stages yet its still the same mission.

If you played MOW2 its on the same lines as that, If you're looking for a COH experience this isn't that its worth a try, i would recommend getting it on sale in case you don't like it overall it a decent game, DLC is overpriced though in my opinion but def worth a try 8/10

too many dlcs and not enough base game stuff but amazing game way better than AS2

So I don't have that much hours to give a full review. I didn't touched multiplayer and most of the game modes except campaign and conquest, and I'm still combating learning curve.

However it's a great RTS game with clear love given to it by developers. If you are artistic to WW2 and would like to see the most obscure units and equipment which never appeared in mainstream games and played with them War Thunder by switching to 3rd/1st view, give it a go. I hope the devs will continue in exploring this less known frontiers of WW2.

Other then that, I would love little bit more QOL features for controlling the infantry (maybe I just sucks at it still), expansion on conquest mode and most of them AI which deserves some improvements. Friendly as well, it's little bit funny when your vehicle decide to maneuver around the wooden barrel to not hit it, just to run over your AT emplacement...

this game puts other strategy games to shame, one of the best I have ever played, with the ability to take direct control of each of your units, more RTS games should start doing that, it is the best feature.

CTA GoH Ostfront (Mouthful title that should probably change considering the scope of the game has expanded drastically) is the closest thing you can get to a true Men of War: Assault Squad 2 successor. The game runs relatively well considering whats going on during regular gameplay, its far less jank than its predecessors and the development team consistently delivers quality updates, hotfixes, etc. These people have a good understanding of what they're working with, being comprised mostly of modders.

My only real complaints with the game are some of the lingering AI jank (pathing and general behaviour lacking all common sense) and the fact that the game is only going to match MOWAS 2 in terms of sheer content if you opt to buy all the DLC, which gets expensive fast. I still think the DLC is reasonably priced considering the effort that goes into the extensive research, accurate modelling and general design put into everything (some of the missions in some DLCs do not reflect this though in my opinion) but its definitely something you need to consider with how barren the base game can feel. Workshop support is good as the game retains that healthy modding scene that the other games have seen, and its generally a fun time. Best experienced with friends on PvE with some DLC/Mods and difficulty tuned to your liking. Easily one of the best options for a WW2 RTS game, just wait for a sale as the game sees generous discounts often.

great game!! it's better if you play it in multiplayer with a couple of friends and make a last stand on some of the awesome maps the community has made

It's the Arma of RTS's. Destruction, lighting things on fire and having the fire spread, unit options are huge, direct control of any unit. This blows every other WW2 RTS out of the water and is a true labor of love.

they know how buggy the game is but refuse to fix it.

Gates of Jank: Ostclunk

The controls and AI in this game are fucking terrible, unresponsive and clunky. Trying to control infantry is a nightmare. What a joke.

OK my experience in this game comes both in a good and bad way
Gameplay is fun and all but the FPS is very laggy and loading takes ages, but when u want to experience a game like call of duty mixed with clash of clans than this is the game. But out of all I said u Devs must have ur game work and run functionaly with the systems u say this game works with

This game is great on solo/conquest, also the mod community is insane

turns out game is a blast

400 hours in to this excellent game and I'm still learning some of the intricacies of the whole thing, so much detail, still being improved by the Devs and a good host of Mods to boot. I was looking for a substitute for the classic Sudden Strike series when I purchased this, unlike SS4, I am not disappointed.

Enjoyable game, not incredible graphics but they pass

pretty fun mods are a bit annoying to understand but really fun

Could be a great game if I was constantly crashing or not able to even start the game. What's worse is Steam claims that I can only get a partial refund whilst refusing to address the issues. The few hours I have played uninterrupted or frustrated by the game crashing on not even loading looks like it could be better than company of heroes-shame the developers think so little of their buyers!

its worth getting, especially when its on sale
nowdays there aren't a lot of real time strategy games, and this one goes into the finest neat little details.. despite its few bugs its extremely fun to play, especially with friends in coop

best ww2 RTS ive played. And they continue to update. amazing gameplay options.

the mot beautiful sounds and graphics u will experience in ww2 rts games

you can play it how you want. Want to stay alive with all the soldiers and plan hours how to complete objective? You can. You want just some 20 min quick game, a lot of options to choose, Lots of good mods. Price is a bit much, but if its on sale i recomend to buy all dlcs.

This game truly took me back to those cherished afternoons of my childhood, where I would lose myself in the imaginative play with toy tanks and little soldiers. It captures the essence of creativity and strategic fun that I adored as a child, allowing me to once again orchestrate battles and maneuvers with the same sense of wonder and excitement. A nostalgic and delightful experience that rekindles the joy of youthful imagination.

The conquest feature is a lot of fun. Can feel really tense when you dig yourself in and you are waiting for the first wave of attacks. There's some stuff that is still a bit wanky. I wish there was a way to better understand what certain units do. What is the difference exactly between all the 30 models of tanks?

Picked this up during the sale, and for the 8 bucks I paid I was very happy with it. This is the first men of war experience i had. The only other RTS I really played was CoH2 and the soulstorm ultimate apocalypse mod.
That being said I don't know if I would pay full price for it. Game is fun at first but quickly gets frustrating especially playing any infantry heavy faction (finland my beloved). The pathfinding and AI is so fucking frusturating at times and will frequently rather jump into a lake than take a road, soldiers will refuse to get into their foxholes after building them, or just not all go into a trench so you have to manually move them. HE rounds dont seem to do any damage to tanks despite being direct hits for light vehicles as ive seen a BT42 direct hit a t26 and it just did nothing. Theres a lot of fun qualities about the game but it gets really annoying really quickly having to micro literally EVERYTHING.
I did also want to mention the performance issues are godawful. I have a pretty good PC and I frequently crash or freeze.

Amazing game! Does the FPS/RTS genre justice and we players specifically looking for games that cover this very rare niche are seemingly forever searching... Well no more! This game is just peak. Mods galore and constantly updated it has completely joined my roster of top 10 most favored games no doubt! I recommend you pick up a copy AND one for a pal if you catch it on sale and even check out the first call to arms both offer similar things but differ. This one is better but the 1st one is still awesome in its own right.

Joyless way to develop carpal tunnel.

This review is from perspective of a person who enjoyed Company of Heroes 2 very much and looked for PVP multiplayer experience. I will be comparing both games in some aspects, but it needs to be noted, that they are aiming for different public and are very different. If you, like me, are looking for a great PVP game, taking place on eastern front of WW2, steer clear of this title.

The most painful, the most disturbing issue is the technology fueling this experience.
It doesnt matter how good your PC is when playing multiplayer. If one player in the match is experiencing some FPS problems, the match will be paused for EVERYONE.Yeah, it doesnt matter if you have good machine. If you play with someone, who doesn't, the game will keep pausing every 5 seconds, so the laggy player can stabilize. But they wont. Either you will quit or kick the offender. This is by far the most annoying issue and it will prevent you from having fun. When I try to create a lobby, the games fails to connect to a server I JUST CREATED. It works every second attemp though.

Gates of Hell has steep learning curve. I don't mind that. What grinds my gears is that there are no resources to help you learn. There is no replay system, so good luck learning from your games. I have to commend the community though, there are many friendly people, willing to give new players tips and advice. I can give away the meta right now. Free of charge. Just spam infantry. Don't buy tanks, like ever. Tanks get stunned when hit. Which makes sense in terms of realism, but it makes for very bad gameplay. The tanks get stunlocked and die before you have chance to retreat them or return fire. Infantry does not get stunlocked.
Most tanks die from 2/3 hits from relevant weapons. Different tiers of infantry have different healthpools. Some elite units can tank whole SMG burst and live. Tanks are expensive, have bad stealth and are expensive to replace when killed. Infantry does not suffer those woes. Every game devolves into infantry and arty spam.

The quality of life features are very bad. There is barely any feedback for your actions. There is no alert for your units dying, taking fire, running into the enemy, nothing. You could run your squad into an ambush and never know.
There is a lot of stuff to click. A LOT. Being able to control each squad member sounds fun. But you have to manage their inventory, equipped weapon, running speed, position, cover, rotation, targeting. It gets really exhausting. You need to babysit every infantry unit, every tank, every cannon for them to be effective at all. It is a lot, even for a RTS genre. Pathfinding is bad, units often get clumped or stuck. There is no dedicated button for reversing, so you have to micromanage that as well.

The game can be more fun in singleplayer or COOP, but multiplayer is not enjoyable.

Absolutely terrible. To expand on this. Awful controls. Terrible AI and unfair AI, keep away.

I love this game. Resource point driven but tactical at the same time. steep learning curve but the wermacht didn't wait for the allies to learn.

The original Men of War and its following Assault Squad this is a true predecessor in its own right. Hours and hours of battles, DLC and bug fixes along with continued support the Devs do listen and will keep improving the game the big thing at the moment is the AI can be a bit odd or janky in some scenarios but overall amust buy for any RTS fanatic.

Legit one of the best strategy games out there that has a true dynamic campaign that is multiplayer so you can play with friends fighting for whatever faction u picked against any nation u picked keeping it interesting always any losses u take are shown after every battle so tanks, arty, aa, and anything that got damaged or destroyed and ammo used directly affects ur campaign meaning you'll have to watch everything and be sparing when necessary either way best game i have played in a while

way too unstable in my experience. manages to crash whatever I have open aside from steam each time i try to play it. I don't know how i'd do that intentionally.

its a good game.. WORST AI EVER. seriously.. i can take on 3 AI at a time on heroic. the idea is awesome but the reality sucks. i want to love this game but i cant love it, i just like it. its a good game but not great.

Really want to like this game but the campaign keep having so many annoying bugs and most of which relate to completing the mission!

Call to Arms Ostfront is hands down the best strategy game on the market.

If you have ever played Assault Squad 2, this game is exactly that but better in every way.
The graphics are amazing, the game play is amazing, the effects are amazing, the content is plentiful, many cool mods, constant updates, lively community, actually fun, etc...

Overall, Ostfront has a really bright future ahead and I can't wait to experience the new content that it will have to offer in the future, the devs have stated that they are planning to add many new factions. They are truly talented and devoted to bettering the game.

10/10

this game is great for strategy but i had some issues beating the first campaign

I've bought many copies of this game and DLCs as gifts for friends, hoping that with time it will become the new great GEM game like MoW:AS2 was for example. But even though I personally continue to play it, objectively I just can't recommend this game when after 3 years we have:

- synchronization issues in multiplayer/coop, when one player sees different things to another
- tanks teleporting/instarotating in multiplayer/coop
- very minor things like fences or some trees eating tank shells completely
- visibility/battlefield readability issues ignored even though I came up with multiple mockups
- random hard to diagnose performance degradations (especially at game start)
- a feeling that networking is even worse than in MoW:AS2
- a lot of other small but annoying issues, like inventory contents occasionally vanishing, bugging out, soldier AI being stupid, shells flying in whatever direction etc.

That isn't even mentioning things like Soviet SPGs not having the switchable indirect fire mode that was apparently promised ages ago, and missing armor mechanics that make certain matchups biased, like Panther upper glacis being able to tank endless amount of early IS-2 shots at distance and not giving a damn, even though the armor would've cracked IRL already (and the devs also won't do anything about it). Sometimes, it feels like GoH's engine has more broken things than fixed things compared to the iteration of engine in MoW:AS2, which makes playing a frustrating experience, if you're not a hardcore historism fan.

I was reporting many of the things above that make the experience frustrating, but I feel like my feedback is mostly neglected, so I stopped doing that mostly.

I really want to love this game because I like the idea of a more realistic MoW:AS2, but currently it feels like basic playability is neglected. You can't make up basic playability issues with accuracy to details and a lot of contents. I honestly regret my decision to spend so much money on copies of this game when this is the experience I get after all this time.

I only recommend to buy the base game at discounts and see for yourself if you enjoy or get frustrated. To the credit of devs, the DLCs are not mandatory to have fun and the base game is also updated for free.

Overall, great game and great addition to the franchise if you are a Men of War fan. The scale and ferocity feels much more grander and visceral in this game than AS2 for example. Dynamic Conquest is probably my favorite mode, especially doing it in the early war where small team tactics play a much larger role compared to blasting the ever living hell out of another with long ranged arty. Sound effects, details, gameplay is overall very enjoyable.
As for negatives, having played for 238 hours at the time of writing this, I can certifiably say the AI atrocious at times and uninspired at others. I routinely lose men when they run in front of an enemy machine gun or my tank prioritizes infantry over the much more preeminent threat of another tank 20 meters in front of it. It does pain me to say that given how much I enjoy the game, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't restarted battles in frustration because of it. Also armor ratings are all sorts of whack. I had a recent example of a PAK40 and several other guns/tanks, all at close range, pummeling a KV-1 tank and doing practically nothing to it except dazing the crew and detracking it.
That being said, Ostfront is a solidly built game with some quirks that hopefully will be ironed out as time goes on. If you have friends to play with, I highly recommend as well. Also they have a much more refined personal control mode which makes the game much more immersive. If I had to give it a rating, 7.5/10 is what I would give it, and if one or both of the things I complained about were fixed then it would easily be an 8 or 8.5

the game doesn't support mods with the new update and it erased all achievements

The continuation of what was once Men of War: Assault Squad 2. It is complete. Nothing is missing. The only problem is the spotty servers so make sure you are playing with good hosts and a great connection.

A brilliant game, head and shoulders ahead of the competition in this area. Many maps and game modes, with heaps for the multiplayer and singleplayer gamer. Also, the game has plenty of DLC and updates, and this is an ongoing process.
In addition, I have to say that the very high accuracy and attention to historical detail are really appreciated by a WW2 nut like me. The only downside for me is being confined to the (singleplayer) campaigns and missions, because I don't like playing with any kind of time limit. In particular, I long for my own untimed dynamic campaign; me and a lot of other players. Anyway, without the timer issues I would give this a 10/10; as it is this wonderful game has to score a very high 9/10.

I've had this game on my laptop for quite a while and had never played it. I wasn't sure that the game modes presented were something I wanted to spend time on. But after having spent over 70 hours playing, I have to say that this is one of the best WW2 tactical combat games I've ever played. There is a level of realism, especially with fog of war turned on, that really captures the way it would feel to be on the front lines of a WW2 battlefield. Very highly recommended