If there was a competition for the number of addons and all kinds of add-ons, then the series "Behind Enemy Lines" would definitely take one of the awards. Moreover, add-ons for the first part continued to be released even after the release of the second and its additions. However, after its release in 2008 "Behind Enemy Lines 2: Desert Fox" And "Behind Enemy Lines: Saboteurs 3"(don’t even try to figure out this chronology, your head will spin) the flow seems to have dried up. “Have the developers finally taken on a full-fledged third part?” fans asked hopefully? No matter how it is: in 2011, 5 years (!) after the release of the game itself, another addition was released - .

People and resources

To be fair, it should be noted that these additions almost always introduced something truly new, at least within the framework of the series itself. "Storm"- not an exception. Basically, we are faced with the same game, where the meticulousness and realism characteristic of harsh wargames in the design of units, weapons and equipment, pinpoint damage, the presence different types ammunition for one barrel and other joys of the hardcore are side by side with colorful graphics and a spectacular physical model (almost everything here is susceptible to destruction). In place is the proprietary ability to control subordinates both in the usual strategic mode (selected with a frame and clicked on the destination), and directly, where we ourselves aim, throw grenades and move the character as in an action game.

However, in "Sturme" we fight not so much for the sake of accomplishing some specific tasks(if they exist, they are extremely simple - go to the other side of the bridge, capture the street), but for control points. As a rule, initially we only have a few soldiers at our disposal. You can recruit new ones for points of so-called human resources. They gradually accumulate and are replenished as the battle progresses, but capturing each control point sharply increases the LR. In addition, each such point opens up access to new types of units and special attacks.

One allows you to summon the best assault troops, another - anti-tank guns, mortars and heavy machine guns, the third - the most powerful tanks, the fourth will allow you to request maximum art support, and so on. The most interesting thing is that special heroes and special attacks have appeared, which also open up as control points are captured. Heroes are advanced, “veteran” versions of units, for example, veteran paratroopers or a veteran Tiger tank: they not only have increased power, but are also able to inspire fellow soldiers with their mere presence on the battlefield.

Special attacks are somewhat reminiscent of magic. Having captured the desired point, you will be able to arrange for enemies with a certain periodicity bloodbath- launch, for example, a missile strike from the sea at a specified location or call on crowds of brutal soldiers who shout “For the Motherland!” they run there from all over the map. Approximately the same destructive effect can be achieved using special radio-controlled drones, which can be brought to the enemy’s position and detonated (hello Call of Duty: Black Ops).

So, gradually capturing key areas of the map and receiving regular reinforcements, we must clear the map of enemies. All 15 missions of the single-player campaign boil down to this (three each for the Empire of Japan, Germany, the USA, Britain and the USSR).

The game features more than 170 types of infantry from different countries

War of wear and tear

The same thing happens in multiplayer. Only one mode is not directly related to control points (in “Battle” we earn the resources necessary for hiring units by directly destroying enemies). In Frontline mode, some players try to take key positions, others try to defend them, and then switch roles. And in “Territory Capture,” the winner is the one who quickly captures and holds all control points on the map. Finally, you can master single player campaign in co-op mode.

True, in a network game, reinforcements are called for somewhat differently: you are initially given a fixed number of command points, and you decide for yourself who to buy with them (each combat unit has a certain price). At the same time, the time after which it will be possible to hire one or another unit is counted. The more powerful the troops or equipment, the longer you will have to wait.

All this makes you take a fresh look at the familiar game. IN "Sturme" There is almost no room left for the old fuss with each fighter, and even more so in the direct control mode. There is a different scope and scale of what is happening here. Enemies attack in droves, from several sides at the same time, and constantly put pressure on you: after all, they also receive reinforcements by capturing and holding control points. As a result, battles of entire armies take place here. You have to quickly react to a constantly changing situation and think for two or even three commanders, acting on several fronts at the same time.

Logically, in such a situation it is necessary to simplify as much as possible. game process, so that the player can focus on global management without being distracted by trifles. But the authors, on the contrary, added new details to some aspects of the game. For example, the infantry here is worked out in much more detail than before. Each of the warring sides has new types of infantrymen. Thus, the United States has weak, but very cheap conscripts, much more powerful rangers and mechanized infantry capable of resisting armored vehicles (the same rangers, but in armored vehicles). And Germany now has panzergrenadiers, who quickly turn almost any armored vehicle into a pile of scrap metal. And if they move on self-propelled guns...

Almost all sides have access to paratroopers, assault and regular infantry. There are also detachments of specialists - miners, sappers, flamethrowers, snipers, machine gunners, machine gunners, Marines. You can even call upon individual fighters to perform specific tasks. Compared to other games in the series "Sturme" noticeably more options for vehicles and units.

There is safety in numbers

Winning in a situation where there is so much to consider under heavy fire and constant pressure is not easy. Especially at high difficulty levels, where you literally have to gnaw out every meter of territory with your teeth. But victory brings real satisfaction.

In single player mode, however, the game gets boring pretty quickly. The enemies here are taken not by quality, but by quantity; rarely anything happens on the maps other than the actual capture of control points (there are almost no dialogues, no cutscenes, or unexpected orders). In addition, with such dynamics of the battle, the old problems of the series with controls and interface became even more clearly visible, where it is not so easy to select units or an individual fighter, and trying to get into the inventory and drag shells for an anti-tank gun from a truck takes up too much precious time and nerves .

But single missions are essentially just training before online battles. This is definitely where you won’t be bored. The authors claim that "Storm" just tailored for network game, so balance in multiplayer was tested especially carefully. Although the features of Gamespy, which is not the most convenient and advanced service, create problems. Sometimes you have to spend a lot of time trying to join not just the desired match, but at least any match, and the game itself often freezes due to the fact that the server is trying to synchronize data with one of the players.

An attempt to combine the signature gameplay of “Behind Enemy Lines” with ideas from Company of Heroes and World in Conflict, despite a number of shortcomings (primarily the lack of a full-fledged story campaign) can be called successful. And the authors promised to quickly eliminate the shortcomings with quick patches and, of course, new additions. Well, apparently this game will never end....

In print publications the game is advertised with a large screenshot including several gaming screens one battle. The dotted line marks key events, through which the publisher demonstrates the main capabilities and features of the gameplay. This is a rare case when advertising very clearly and successfully emphasizes the strengths of the project. In reality, the game is as good as in this single screenshot, where everything is laid out on the shelves.

Fiction and reality

It’s nice when a project is created competently, taking into account the mistakes of competitors, from beginning to the very end. And at the beginning we have several training tasks at once, during which mentors teach the player the principles of combat small arms, mastery of grenades, mines and explosives, the intricacies of battle using shelters and fortifications. They also instruct you on how to use equipment, operate a tank, supply it with ammunition and fuel, and repair damage. After all, the game involves not only single pedestrian missions, but also large battles with the storming of enemy positions by soldiers and equipment.

In addition to useful training missions, there are online and single player, with the latter consisting of four campaigns of varying difficulty levels and a dozen individual cards. Unfortunately, the level editor was not found on the disks, but I want to believe that it will appear soon. The game just begs to be put into the capable hands of card makers.

Campaigns (USSR, Germany, USA, England) are built on the principle of a general plot, which develops from level to level and tells some of the stories of the Second World War through the eyes of one of the participating parties. The missions are quite diverse and interesting. I warn you right away that we are not always talking about historically accurate events. The authors quite intricately intertwine fact and fiction, enlisting the support of the famous science fiction writer Alexander Zorich, who had a hand in both the plot and all the in-game dialogues and texts.

In contrast to the fictional plot, the game's weapons, equipment and tactical features strive for realism. Reasonable realism within the game. The situation with realism is in many ways reminiscent of the Blitzkrieg story. There is just as much truth here as is required to make the game interesting. Moreover, play in real time, which is aerobatics for tactics. With all due respect to Silent Storm one cannot help but admit that real time adds battle dynamics to the tactical game, thanks to which the game takes on a completely different look. But at the same time it does not turn into an RTS, fully retaining its tactical charms.

To fight

A pair of Soviet soldiers take a position in a dilapidated house and, taking cover behind stone walls in the very center of a small village, easily repel attacks from superior enemy forces. The German infantry is dying literally before our eyes until a Tiger rushing to the rescue appears on the flank, destroying a seemingly reliable cover with one precise shot. However, there are effective means against enemy heavy equipment. Allied artillery, tanks, and finally, a brave fighter with an anti-tank rifle or grenade and the courage of a suicide. In general, it is very pleasant that the authors paid a lot of attention to the infantry, which is usually forgotten, underestimating its merits on the battlefield.

There is nothing to do in this game without soldiers. Infantry is issued individually and is highly valued. The main thing is to manage it correctly and not expose it to machine gun and armored vehicle bullets. There are no cannon fodder factories typical of RTS, so every unit is worth its weight in gold. Problem number two is ammunition, which is running out at an alarming rate. Storage areas are quite rare, so the corpses of enemies are searched with great care. This is the only way to maintain the squad’s combat effectiveness at the proper level.

The infantry is able not only to use walls and fences as cover, but also to destroy tanks that are formidable in open battle with one grenade. It also has such a useful function as the ability to control equipment. Let's say a tank ideally requires a crew of four people - commander, driver, gunner, gunner. German motorcycles and Russian armored vehicles can accommodate duos - driver, gunner. Equipment, like infantry, needs ammunition that can only be supplied by living people. You also cannot do without a simple ordinary soldier in case of damage. Another thing is that a destroyed wheel cannot be replaced from scratch, so a seriously damaged car will have to be abandoned and a replacement must be looked for. Capturing enemy equipment is encouraged and welcomed.

I'm twisting and turning

Considering that events are developing in real time, and several units are under command at once, the player was entrusted with setting the behavior of the combat crew. You can take full control of the tank you like, driving it like an arcade game, or you can simply set a behavior strategy and watch the maneuvers from a bird's eye view. Both methods can be effective in different situations. After all, it’s impossible to keep an eye on everyone anyway.

The game engine compares favorably with all its predecessors with its three-dimensional image and careful approach to detail. Here you will find realistic shadows from living trees, a point damage system, and an honest account of the terrain. And what explosions are there! It is impossible not to note the decent quality of the models, successful textures and detailed animation of even the simplest infantryman. The game is ready to boast of complete destructibility of objects. Tanks easily cut down birch trees with their tracks, blow up enemy vehicles, leaving craters behind them, mercilessly crush infantry and crash into buildings at full speed, which quite realistically collapse. The picture is at the highest level. Some are static and some are dynamic.

Formally, the camera can rotate, change the tilt angle and image scale. In practice, only rotation is fully implemented, when you can work all 360 degrees. But the scale and angle of inclination change in such tight ranges that the difference is almost not felt. Perhaps, only this circumstance and high system requirements can cause serious complaints about the technical side of the issue.

The sound design also did not disappoint, although for some reason not all the texts were voiced. But the sounds of battle leave a very pleasant impression. Like behavior artificial intelligence. Enemies use all the means available to the player - they rely on hearing, take cover behind walls and in trenches, attack in groups, go around from the flanks, and throw grenades at firing points. Any mistake by the player is instantly and mercilessly punished by the AI.

Certificate of honor

Until now we have had two games of this kind. Blitzkrieg and Confrontation. Today I added to them new tactics real time. Beautiful, interesting, exciting, complex and truly original. It looks like we have another worthy developer capable of creating world-class games.

Pros:

1. Modern engine
2. True real-time tactics
3. Possibility of direct control of units
4. Many missions
5. Good story
6. Adequate opponent

Minuses:

1. Jammed camera
2. High system requirements

Review of a truly high-quality domestic product

November 15, 2005

Unfortunately, despite the dominance of a wide variety of shooters, action games, RPGs and the like filling the shelves in computer game stores, we haven’t seen anything original in the world of Real Time Strategy for quite some time. All the games released on this topic were just clones, successful and not so, of other games with a couple of minor innovations and improvements. Crowds of fans of strategy games, convulsively swallowing saliva, looked at the turn-based Silent Storm engine with its hitherto unprecedented interactivity, secretly hoping that someday they would have the honor of controlling tank columns and infantry in real time in conditions of complete interactivity. Later. for almost a year their dreams came true, and the name of this reality is “Behind Enemy Lines”, known outside the CIS and Russia as Soldiers: Heroes of World War II from the Ukrainian company Best Way, whose creation has every reason to claim the title of “Masterpiece in its genre.” If only I knew which one...

Unfortunately, even I past the game I can't accurately and reliably determine the genre of this game. It just so happens that any game that has in its arsenal such a phenomenon as a camera dangling above the field of action, colloquially called a “top view,” immediately falls into the rank of strategy-tactics and is not subject to appeal.
However, no one thought about a closer study of the gameplay, in which you can find RPG elements and quite pronounced elements... Action. Yes, yes, you heard right, it’s action... But more on that a little later.

It should be noted that the element of strategy is not fundamental here; it is more of a tactics. For clarification, let's look at the dictionary:
Tactics- methods of behavior clearly fixed in their sequence, focused on achieving specific goals, which are links in the implementation of strategic goals.
Strategy- an integral part of the art of war, covering:

• theory and practice of preparing the country and armed forces for war
• planning and conducting war and strategic operations

However, such uncertainty of the genre does not in any way affect the interestingness of the game and the pleasure received from it. Let's look at what's so unique about it next. Well, as we proceed, we will still attribute the game to the RTS genre, we will not be a black sheep.

Before us rare specimen gaming industry, in which the developers not only fulfilled all their promises, but also exceeded them, implementing something that was not even mentioned. First things first.

1. Graphics

Without competition, a realistic, moderately bright picture with dynamic shadows, reflections and quite honest lighting is enchanting. No sprites - everything, including vegetation, is 3D models, but if I missed a couple of sprites, it means that they were made with high quality.
It is necessary to mention the truly Hollywood special effects in scope and quality. This also applies to perfectly drawn explosions, clouds of dust from a destroyed building, and several dozen burning and smoking parts from the exploding Horch with a German officer. There are also such frankly cinematic scenes as a tank skidding when its track was damaged, a motorcycle tumbling after the death of a motorcyclist, and a truck sliding into a ditch and losing control due to damage. All this is combined with excellent physics, without which such high-quality special effects could not be developed. But more on that later…

Let's touch on it right away system requirements. I will not comment on the minimum and recommended ones, I will say one thing - starting from 1GHz/256RAM/32MB video and after certain dances with a tambourine, such as new firewood, manual graphics settings and installation of all the latest patches, the game can be made to work in a playable form. In addition, there is a huge difference in performance when turning texture compression on/off. With compression enabled, performance doubles. For the most comfortable game I would recommend something at least 2GHz/512RAM/and a GeForceFX or RadeOn 9*** class video card.

2. Sound and soundtrack

Have you ever been to the battlefield? No? You are extremely lucky, because you will not hear the whole nightmare that reigns there, but you can well imagine it after playing “Behind Enemy Lines”. The crash of falling trees; the sound of glass shattered by the blast wave; the terrible cry of a tanker engulfed in fire as he leaves his vehicle; the roar of a collapsed building and the deafening explosion of ammunition in a tank - all this was done with a solid five. There is no soundtrack in the game itself, but this only contributes to the game atmosphere and does not distract from the battle. It is impossible not to note the excellent design of game menus and company briefings. Screams of "For the Motherland!!!" and other savory comments from the infantry greatly contribute to the atmosphere of the game.

3. Physics, interactivity, realism and overall gameplay

Yes, yes, from now on such elements are present in strategies. What is the physics at play here? These are not gelatinous ragdolls from shooters, but a system of interaction of objects with the outside world. Everything is just like in life - armor-piercing shells penetrate fences, walls, light equipment, and unwary soldiers. From now on, a stunted tree, a 20-centimeter picket fence or a telegraph pole will not interfere with the flight of an armor-piercing projectile - it will simply break through the obstacle and fly on. The penetration ability of the projectile depends on the distance between the gun and the target.

Recently, heavy tank will not go around a wooden toilet like a toilet, but will demolish it to hell. Moreover, this applies to almost all small buildings. Light equipment such as jeeps, trucks, motorcycles are damaged and destroyed when colliding with something at high speed. The time for comic scenes when the "Tiger" could not overcome a wooden fence is over! The explosion of a large-caliber high-explosive projectile overturns medium and heavy equipment, and a turret or other mechanism flying away from the tank can crush to death an unwary reconnaissance officer looking at the fireworks not far from the explosion. Sometimes it’s easier to destroy an impressive two-story building with a couple of shells than to drive around it in search of an infantryman flashing around the corner.
In terms of interactivity, suffice it to say that almost all objects can be interacted with in some way. Any object - the skeleton of a burnt-out truck, a fragment of a wall from a destroyed house, a massive turret flying off from a tank - anything can serve as cover in a firefight. Without exception, all dead bodies can be searched and any weapons lying around can be taken. Even some tricks are possible, for example, removing a machine gun from a damaged tank or motorcycle, or replacing it with an anti-tank rifle. The blast wave is also worked out perfectly - walls collapse, fences and pillars fall beautifully, objects such as weapons and pebbles scatter throughout the area.
What can be classified as realism? Firstly, this is the first normal damage system for vehicles without a lifebar. Yes, yes, the lifebar, aka “amount of life,” is now absent as a class for equipment. The main components of the tank are: tracks, engine, hull, gun, turret. Failure patterns can be very different, for example, a tank may be left without tracks and an engine, but continue to fire, or only the gun and turret may be damaged and the vehicle can be taken away from the battlefield for repairs. However, not all parts are restored. Damage to the hull, that is, in fact, to the entire tank as a whole, leads to its stop and blocking of the turret rotation mechanism. That is, you can only shoot at the point where the gun is facing. Cars, motorcycles and wheeled armored vehicles have it more difficult - the loss of a wheel cannot be repaired, and it can be lost in different ways - from a grenade to an unsuccessful hit from a bazooka under a vehicle.

Each unit of equipment has ammunition and fuel reserves. Fuel can be carried (transported) in cans and barrels. It can also be drained from another piece of equipment, for example from a damaged tank. One of the gaps is that there is no division into diesel and gasoline tanks, but apparently the developers abandoned this for the sake of gameplay. In addition, this is the first such reliable implementation of fuel in an RTS. By the way, I forgot to warn you that a well-filled tank burns well...

The lifebar remained with the infantry, but this does not make the game a minus. In addition, soldiers also have their own damage system. For example, a well-aimed shot to the head will stop a person much faster than shooting at a body armor.

It should definitely be noted that from now on the infantry is vulnerable even in technology. This primarily applies to trucks, jeeps, motorcycles and open-top armored vehicles. A deadly bullet fired from any weapon pierces the windshield of the cab and kills the driver, leaving the truck untouched. A shell fired from a powerful weapon, passing like a knife through butter through thin armor, takes with it a couple of lives from among the crew. A flammable mixture thrown into the engine area will stop the tank, completely disabling it, and will even burn almost half of the crew if they do not bother to leave the burning vehicle in time. Well, a grenade thrown into an open-top armored personnel carrier as a gift to the infantry sitting there is the most common thing.

What else can be added - the division of shells into high-explosive and armor-piercing, historically reliable characteristics of the equipment, its guns and armor, and samples of weapons of those times, very well embodied in terms of realism. Plus, the division of activities of the tank crew includes the driver, gunner, loader and commander. Of course, the tank can move with one person, but the visibility and rate of fire will be zero. Have you yourself tried to rush from control to gun? No? That's the same...

4. Gameplay

In fact, all the features of the game have already been mentioned above, but there is also one more innovation. This is direct control mode. The End key (by default) switches to manual control of a soldier or a tank, where the arrows on the keyboard move the unit, and the mouse is responsible for rotating the turret and, of course, shooting. It’s scary to think what even an ordinary soldier, equipped with certain equipment and controlled by a person who knows the hot keys perfectly, can turn into.
In general, the entire gameplay of this game is tied to its realism, physics and interactivity, coupled with excellent graphics, so there is no point in retelling the content of the previous paragraph.
Many, of course, will think that the abundance of different teams, modes and actions will turn the game into a boring and uninteresting battle with malicious controls - I can assure you that these people are wrong. All units can be set to certain parameters - for example, retaliatory attack and free movement. If you set commands correctly, you won’t have to do anything more complicated than clicking a mouse. And of course, all commands also have graphic duplication in the interface. Of course, with such a disregard for action, the effectiveness of actions will sharply decrease, but that’s your problem.
The situation with the difficulty of the game is unclear; unfortunately, hopes that the game would have customizable difficulty as in the demo version, in which the difficulty is expressed in the number and quality of the troops opposing you, did not come true. Classic type - difficulty “increases” the armor, accuracy and survivability of opponents, and accordingly reduces yours. However, 99.9% of games have just such a system, so there is nothing to worry about.

5. Plot in the presented campaigns

Warning against astonished exclamations like: “Comrade, what a plot! This is a strategy on the theme of WWII!!” I’ll say right away that there is a plot here. And not one, but four - according to the number of WWII participating countries represented in the game, as well as the number of campaigns - one for each country. All events preceding the start of the mission are commented on and explained, the “storyline” is unpredictable, for example, you start the first mission of the campaign for the USSR - “Chepel” with a tank, an armored car and several soldiers, then you go through the last one with only three. You never know what might await you.
In the German campaign, you will have to command a small group of tanks led by Obersturmführer Michael Wittmann, of course, the presence of Wittmann alive in the game is guaranteed and you can even mock him a little, for example, force him to repair the damaged track of his "Tiger", which was throughout the entire campaign It breaks down and stalls regularly.

5. AI, aka “Artificial Intelligence”

Of course it's not ideal. But perhaps one of the best in this genre. The enemy uses the terrain and environment to conduct combat operations, hiding in the bushes, jumping behind a wall, ducking and lying down during a firefight, throwing grenades, etc. The only and very noticeable BUT. If the enemy does not have grenades, he shoots at the armored vehicles with automatic weapons. The same applies to your own troops left unattended.
A participant in multiplayer battles may also be struck by the fact that the enemy does not turn the hull of the tank towards you, but only points the gun at you, which in principle is an unforgivable mistake, but if I didn’t tell you about it, it’s unlikely that you would even care would take a closer look. Therefore, I suggest not to find fault with trifles and move on.

And it's all?

After completing the game, you begin to realize that something is missing. Multiplayer with the game came only in the form of co-op, which in itself is excellent - but the lack of other modes initially had a bad effect on the game, but after some time a multiplayer addition with many modes was released. More on this later, in a separate part, but for now let’s summarize the single-player part of the game.
Putting aside any preconceptions, we can safely say that the game is virtually devoid of any serious shortcomings. Everything that is negative can be attributed to shortcomings, inaccuracies, etc. A huge number of errors were corrected less than a month after the game was released with a major patch, and now, with the exception of the most “noticeable” glitch with AI, nothing negative can be found in the game.
Now let's try to understand the reasons for the game's slowly growing popularity. And there is only one reason - the game was not advertised a couple of years before its release, they did not promise a hit and a bunch of innovations - it, that is, a hit with a bunch of innovations, was simply quietly made. The lack of PR played a negative role - very little was known about the game, unlike, for example, the much-hyped Codename: Panzers, more famous of course, but in reality it turned out to be a beautiful arcade game and nothing more. However, the situation is gradually improving, the number of single and online modifications is growing, the number of fan sites and clans for the game is increasing, and every day there are more and more online players in GameSpy. What is so new and ingenious that the multiplayer of this wonderful game has in store for us? Let's start describing the multiplayer add-on.

As noted above, at the time of the release of the full version of the game, there was only a cooperative playthrough.
Personally, the promises of full-fledged multiplayer left me in a kind of sad aftertaste, how can multiplayer be implemented when there is no “fog of war” in the game? However, it was created! From this moment on, without unnecessary pathos, we can say that a new era begins in multiplayer games of the RTS genre and the like. If we add pathos to the speech, then “Behind Enemy Lines” is a standard in terms of multiplayer in the genre of tactical and strategic games, which will be relevant for at least one or two years.

One thing can be said, everything you have ever dreamed of is in this game. Have you ever dreamed of attacking German tank columns escorting trucks with valuable cargo, with only infantry in your arsenal? Have you dreamed of launching sabotage activities behind enemy lines to identify, detect enemy artillery and eliminate officers and elite units of troops? Have you dreamed of capturing certain points or defending them? If you dreamed, then your dream has come true!

So, in multiplayer we are presented with 5 game modes in addition to co-op, these are “Combat”, “Assault”, “King of the Hill”, “Victory Banner”, “Convoy” with support for up to 16 people, in addition to co-op. Let's briefly go through each of them.

1. Fight

Classic fight against each other, like with team play, and for myself. The goal is to destroy the enemy. WITH the game is on about 10 maps for this mode, both exclusively infantry and with support for all types of equipment, including artillery and rocket artillery.

2. Assault

This mode involves two teams, a team of defenders and a team of attackers. The task of the attackers is to knock out the defenders from the specified point and hold the point for a certain time specified in the settings.

The task of the defenders is to repel the attacks of the attackers. There are no maps with armored vehicles, only infantry and light vehicles, such as motorcycles.

3. King of the Hill

The main task is to capture and hold an object, for which points are awarded; the main difference from the previous one is that the teams are placed in equal conditions in advance without dividing into attackers and defenders.

Map layout similar to "Assault"

5. Convoy

One of the most original game modes. The convoy team must escort the convoy in the form of a truck from point “a” to point “b”, shooting at the end along the way truly insolent partisans. If the truck is liquidated, you are given a new one; for the partisans it makes sense to search this truck, since there is always a lot of useful stuff there. Unfortunately, there is a serious logical glitch here. The fact is that a new truck is given if the current one is destroyed, but what if it was captured by partisans? In this case, the guards need to find him and destroy him. Although, in order to stop the truck, it must be damaged... Therefore, it would be reasonable to grab the first thing that comes to hand, load it into a motorcycle and hide in an unknown location before several rockets from the enemy, offended by such impudence, fall at the site of the attack.

The partisans' arsenal includes infantry and light motor vehicles.
The convoy has EVERYTHING in its arsenal, including artillery. Feel like a partisan...

Now I would like to dwell on the principles of network play and, in general, a description of how everything happens on the battlefield. Regardless of the mode (except for co-op), the initial balance and infantry points must be established. The initial balance is the amount that is given to you for the purchase of units and infantry.

Infantry points are the qualitative value of each infantry class. For example, a simple tanker with a pistol costs 200 points + one infantry point. And the scout - 1500 units + 6 infantry points.
The game has a fairly wide selection of classes, differing in vision, speed and skills in using certain weapons.

The multiplayer gameplay itself simply evokes a storm of emotions. There is an incomparable feeling when a grenade precisely thrown onto a grate smashes a tank to smithereens, or when a well-thrown knife from the bushes kills an officer, forcing the frightened enemy to take cover behind the tank and throw grenades at all nearby bushes.
There is an element of stealth in the game, and in a very significant form. If you are a "guerrilla" in your playing style, you must master this art perfectly. All units that open fire become visible through the fog of war, with the exception of throwing knives.
Some imbalance in the network game is introduced by obscenely accurate artillery, the accuracy of which up to the maximum distance has an error of plus or minus 2-5 meters, which allows you to cover every infantryman who flashes on the map. There are often cases when players agree before the game not to use artillery.
You can talk about the advantages of this game's multiplayer for a very long time and almost endlessly, so we can sum it up.

What did we get and what awaits us?

What can we say, for fans of the Sudden-Strike, Blitzkrieg, Commandos series - “Behind Enemy Lines” is, of course, best game in terms of multiplayer, and possibly single player. The existing hostility to the game from connoisseurs of the above series is due solely to taste or the lack of technical ability to play VTV.

The second is not a vice, but as for the first, cases are, as a rule, rare and isolated.

The game has enormous potential; the engine can implement any historical events without changes, from the First World War to the Chechen conflict. The size of maps and the number of units can be increased in proportion to the power of computers, which is increasing every day. Personally, I, always wanting and criticizing something, can’t even imagine what else one could want in the tactics-strategy genre. The next “killer” games are also not expected, at least during this year, but the future will tell.

Based on the above, I give the following instructions:
1. Buy a licensed game.
2. Install all patches and fixes.

3. Play and enjoy the game.
Because it simply cannot be otherwise...

I would also like to wish the young company Best Way, which fully lives up to its name, more creative success and ideas, fortunately, these guys have enormous potential.

Check out our Behind Enemy Lines forum! "Behind Enemy Lines" was and remains an all-around cool game. For some reason, for a long time no one thought to combine tactical depth Close Combat And Commandos with wild dynamics Medal of Honor. And only in 2004 a little-known team Best Way from the glorious city of Severodonetsk (Lugansk region, Ukraine) managed to assemble a “smart” blockbuster about the most terrible war of the 20th century from scrap materials. Plus, their game turned out to be fabulously cute - the latest Pentiums and GeForces heated silicon absolutely not in vain.

A full-fledged sequel, released two years later, slightly shocked the large army of Behind Enemy Lines fans. If the first part was more of a successor to Commandos (we rarely had more than six people under our leadership), then the sequel came close to the Close Combat battles. There are fewer stealth operations, the scale has increased significantly, and raids behind enemy lines have been replaced by large-scale combat operations in open areas. The innovations, of course, are controversial - especially if you take into account the “sabotage” name of the game - but, as time has shown, they are quite viable. The long-awaited addon "Behind Enemy Lines 2: Brothers in Arms" did not forget the merits of his ancestor and became even more deeply imbued with the fresh concept of large-scale massacres. On some maps, the number of killed enemies exceeds a thousand, and there is enough mangled equipment to fill a small car dump to the brim.

The interactivity of the world is at its best – even a rusty tractor can become a weapon of victory.

Our war, our victory

Due to universal injustice, “Behind Enemy Lines 2” did not even contain hints of the Soviet campaign. Best Way promised to correct the situation in the addon - and they kept their word. Nine missions, connected by well-staged but terribly drawn story videos, invite us to follow the path of two comrades Alexei Kuznetsov and Viktor Smirnov. Compared to the original, the addon is approximately half as long. Each map takes from forty minutes to an hour and a half - so in total the passage will take about a day. This is provided that this is not the first time you have seen “Behind Enemy Lines”. Otherwise, add more time spent on stupid tactical mistakes and parsing the interface.

We have two heroes, the missions for each alternate and are strikingly different from each other. Kuznetsov went into reconnaissance. His lot is running around with partisans, dashing operations in the rear and petty dirty tricks. In a word - everything that made us love the first “Behind Enemy Lines”. But infantry commander Smirnov prefers completely different methods and scales. A detachment of five people cannot possibly cope with the defense of the approaches to Moscow or the defense of Sevastopol. Here we are dealing with mother-in-law Hollywood a la Company of Heroes(finally, the ability to call for reinforcements has migrated from multiplayer). At the behest of the scripts, hundreds of Krauts rush to our barricades and die ingloriously, like flies in the cold. Guns and tanks spew out flames, planes buzz annoyingly (yes, from now on at medium and high difficulty levels we are free to call in aircraft, just like the enemy), screams and screams can be heard from everywhere. There is a war going on.

And you believe in it easily and naturally. Fortunately, the scenery is in complete order: here you will find the industrial giant Rostselmash, the snowdrifts near Moscow, and even the island of Falster. The game covers the time period from 1941 to 1945, but the main events occur at the beginning and end of the war. No particularly obvious historical mistakes were noticed, except that the NKVD colonel reeks of satire a kilometer away, and for some reason he wears the shoulder straps of an elder. In general, the mission about the penalty box is full of outright farce, inspired by TV series like “Penal Battalion”. It’s a shame that the developers inappropriately diluted the generally patriotic story with a caricature based on dubious domestically produced telenovelas.

Let's evolve!

A slightly improved engine with physics and special effects is an excellent bait for amateurs. They don’t know that playing is still incredibly difficult. The same first mission, where it is necessary to defend Rostselmash, is practically impassable for a beginner at a high level of difficulty. There are too many fascists, few defenders, the enemy is attacking in two directions at once. Every tank, every machine gun, every rusty artillery piece is worth its weight in gold. But this is just the beginning. In Sevastopol the situation is even worse, and to win you constantly have to slow down the speed of the game, and sometimes even switch to direct control of units.

The sabotage attacks are a scrupulous copy of those from the original. We actively use equipment, engage in looting and crawl through the bushes, methodically cutting out superior enemy forces. “Behind Enemy Lines” is the kind of game where even a seedy partisan can destroy heavy equipment and end the lives of several tank crews.

War can be frighteningly romantic.

The interface has changed slightly: now the mini-map can be made transparent, stretched even across the entire screen, reduced to indecent size and placed anywhere. The multiplayer has undergone a very serious overhaul - the developers have “licked” the balance almost perfectly, so playing online has become much more fun. Appeared ranking system Taking into account the player’s experience, it will not be possible to gain points by simply tormenting newcomers. However, as practice shows, inquisitive minds still find easy loopholes into the “Hall of Fame” by creating “dummy” accounts and messing around with an imperfect server organization system. The developers have deprived us of our favorite “Front Line” mode, replacing it with two new ones. The first one – “Valuable Cargo” – did not really catch on with the people. Its meaning is simple: with one single tractor, the team needs to deliver to its base a trailer that appears at random points on the map. But “Banner of Victory,” in which you need to capture and hold a control point, is incredibly popular.

Meanwhile, people are hungry for patches. Some people are asking to patch up the leaky system of rating games, others are missing “Front Line”. The developers are diligently scanning the forums and vowing to release a mega patch soon, including all the main wishes of the fans.

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The campaign and five bonus missions fly by in one breath and leave behind mostly pleasant memories. Plus an exciting multiplayer... in general, our summary is that you should definitely get to know “Brothers in Arms”!

P.S. Meanwhile, information has appeared about the second add-on, which will introduce us to another interesting side - Japan.

" Cynical people will thank American standards and Ubisoft, who did not let the Best Way/1C duo cheat, but we will not be like them. And does it matter what hidden causes and consequences led to the creation of a wonderful game?

Scripts, fog and repair kit

We’ll have to start “for the peace of mind”, because the first date was ruined by a little evil thing. The programmer in charge of the interface sneezed, knocked down a couple of variables, and now we can select and move units by pressing the left mouse button.

News No. 2 was the obligatory “fog of war” for everyone. Yes, gentlemen snipers, the freebie is over. The soldiers suffer from advanced myopia, and “a tank suddenly crawling out from around the corner” is no longer a joke. Or here’s another reason for you to be angry: the repair kit from now on only restores torn tracks. Is the gun jammed? The engine will not start? You've done your part. Thanks to this insidious innovation, capturing enemy equipment is almost impossible. The only gain from a shell-shocked tank was a machine gun and half a kilo of cartridges. The true motives of the developers are hidden in the darkness, because reforms have approximately the same relation to realism as Call of Duty- to the history textbook. Well, what can one person do with a multi-ton “Tiger”, whose only special equipment is an abstract box about a meter and a half long? Unless you grab it on your head.

The filling of the pie is still the same: we still command a tiny detachment carrying out minor sabotage missions. However, the emphasis has changed slightly. The word "squad" received additional weight. The selected units automatically merge into a group, nominate a boss, and then act like a single organism - distributing trophies, covering each other, etc. Having become slightly accustomed to the initiative of subordinates, you begin to extract bits of benefit from it. Still convenient, although I would prefer the “ctrl + number” combination. If you are going to send one “boss” to the job (so that his faithful bodyguards do not follow him) or combine two divisions, you cannot do without shamanism.

Fortunately, our heroes independently select targets, hide behind natural cover, run away from an incoming grenade (I noticed several times attempts to return the deadly package), change weapons depending on the circumstances... Mistakes are inevitable, but they should be attributed to the notorious human factor. In battle, it is difficult to follow formal logic, so do not send to court the bastard who decided to fire a bazooka at the infantry, wasting precious charges, or ran out under machine-gun fire.

The brave impudence has room to turn around. With the exception of a couple of annoying moments (at the Berlin train station I had to wait stupidly for ten minutes until the required number of cars accumulated at the “rendezvous point”), the missions are surprisingly good, and the 100% linearity and dominance of scripts are almost not annoying. The tactical variety is pleasing to the eye. A massive attack on fortified positions, allowing you to feel like a cog in a huge mechanism, or the heroic defense of a hospital in the center of a “no man’s land”; night forays behind the front line or bloody urban battles; destroying a warehouse or mining a road along which a convoy is soon to pass... Entertainment for every taste. But a coherent plot in the spirit Codename Panzers, Phase Two, Unfortunately no. " Behind Enemy Lines 2” offers scattered episodes from the final stages of the war. Today the Ardennes, tomorrow Nijenhagen, and then it’s not far from Berlin. By the way, if you fail the task, do not rush to load the “save”. A description of the global consequences of a loss can be more interesting than a briefing.

It's a pity that after a short meeting with Company of Heroes the picture no longer evokes joyful cries. Everything is too cartoonish. Toy tanks drive through sterile streets, blow up neat houses and smash fragile papier-mâché walls with their bumpers. It’s better not to paint in this color scheme.

But you can write poems about physics. Under the onslaught of an 85mm cannon, wooden cottages and brick townhouses are transformed - ceilings collapse, concrete panels in a cloud of dust fall onto the asphalt broken up by iron tracks, holes appear in the roof that were not taken into account by the architect. " Behind enemy lines"has turned the destruction of material values ​​into art, and the second part strives to match. Tanks with playfully flying turrets became the hallmark of the series. Of course, there was some exotic stuff too. It’s damn nice to set fire to an “inhabited” shed and then admire in fascination how the flaming figure cuts circles at the entrance. Bravo!

As compensation for the luxurious special effects, a simple and forgettable sound canvas was given. Do you want to listen to something really powerful and epic? Play Company of Heroes. You won’t find such juicy shooting and bass explosions in competing RTS during the day.

The war is in detail

Charm " Behind Enemy Lines 2" lies in dozens of important little details that look unexpected for an arcade game. For example, in any decent tank there is not one, but three machine guns - aft, coaxial with the main caliber and anti-aircraft. The differences are in the firing radius: the anti-aircraft gun has the maximum, but the shooter sticking out of the hatch takes a much greater risk.

Two types of ammunition are not a fun detail, but an integral part of the gameplay. Let " Blitzkrieg 2» calculates the filling of the projectile depending on the target. This path is not for us - we need to think in advance. I never cease to admire the opportunity to pour gasoline borrowed from a half-dead donor into my own tank, or to replenish ammunition in a captured warehouse. This is a timeless classic - like uncomfortable rivets on jeans and the pathos of the Allied landing on Omaha Beach. It’s good that Best Way not only honors traditions, but also follows trends gaming fashion: transportation of “warriors” on armor and a floating armored personnel carrier are intended to play the role of a rose on the cake.

On the other hand, the balance is sobering. Our brave men playfully dance a jig in front of the guns, but the equipment cannot withstand even a couple of hits. For the enemy, everything is exactly the opposite: the infantry is dying in batches, the tanks are returning armor-piercing greetings with the dexterity of professional tennis players. Spit in the barrel of the Flaca and throw away the stupid Panzerfaust! The weapon of victory is anti-tank grenades. Against this background, the statements flashing on Internet fences about the “fatigue” of armor look funny (sometimes a projectile does not penetrate the shell, but damages it, and the next shot at the same point can be fatal). I confirm that there is “fatigue”. I myself saw how the “Panther” standing peacefully on a hillock, before giving up the ghost, acquired more than a dozen “sub-caliber” sub-calibers.

Now imagine how many more feats lie ahead! The game 100% lives up to its name - the number of enemies is, in principle, impossible to count. "Respawn"? Where would we be without him? The gates to the magical land of endless Krauts swing open at a trigger signal and slam shut just as suddenly. AI is furious. It’s stupid to attack head-on, and trying to completely “clear” a huge map is also stupid. The enemy skillfully uses the cover that abounds in the destroyed streets of European towns, but does not know how to occupy abandoned guns. This was probably done on purpose, otherwise the battle for a bright future would never have ended at all.

Do you despise conventions? Eternal at your service Close Combat 5 . « Behind Enemy Lines 2“is not a simulator, but rather a “game about war.” There is no point in tormenting yourself with tactical mode; It will not be possible to remake a strategy with elements of vigorous action into a wargame.

The multiplayer part was completely disappointing. The problem is not in boring, extremely standard rules (“a cooperative” with unfamiliar people is not much different from a “single”), but in the ugly brakes that accompany online gatherings. In order not to give any of the participants in the match a “natural” advantage, the rendering speed drops to the level of the weakest computer. The developers have already realized how flawed this approach is, promising to restore order with the very first patch.

I sincerely hope that the treatment of software diseases will not drag on for many months. In general, the game works stably, although there are no fatal “glitches”, and they will add a portion of fragrant manure. At best, you will have to replay a solid chunk, and at worst... For example, I never had a chance to storm the Reichstag, because “ VTV 2» persistently crashed out at the end penultimate mission for the USSR. However, the clumsy Russian beta testing is a separate issue.

Toy Krauts

After a series of monotonous RTS “based on” the greatest conflict of the twentieth century, “ Behind Enemy Lines 2"looks especially attractive. There are no large-scale battles here (at least, you cannot personally command more or less large formations) and no realism. Everything turned out to be simpler and more banal, but no worse. Best Way created an action movie that is fun, bright, patriotic and interesting. Let the experts find fault with the performance of certain aspects and joke about castrated performance characteristics. We know that balance is more important. But the real tactics will be “ World War II" Then we will fight to our heart's content.