The Wargame is a venerable RTS (real-time strategy) franchise that has always featured several campaigns covering different scenarios of the hypothetical Cold War going hot. But new RTS game Regiments is focused on a single possible conflict.
With unrest sparking in Poland and Germany (where you actually get to participate in the action), and then spilling out into a larger war, you alternate between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces from the get-go all the way throughout the game.
Regiments “Operations” mode (its campaigns) are closer to scenario bundles than anything else. Each of these can be of variable size and length, with some only lasting a couple of battles and others taking much longer. You might also fight on the same map several times as you inch towards victory.
If you’re that good of a commander, you can finish operations faster by completing objectives and advancing onto the next stage. However, you do have the option of staying and completing more objectives (read: capturing more zones) if that is what you wish.
Capturing specific zones is how you earn operational authority, the currency of the Regiments campaign. You use that to replace casualties, expand your forces with additional task forces, upgrade the task forces, and increase your deployment limit, call-in use, supply limits, and engineering points.
Operations mode also features unit persistency, so any XP your units earn without getting wiped out on the field carries over. And so do the casualties — you have to play of the replacements. Your core unit pool will always remain the same (minus the attrition), but as you play and replay the campaign, you can tweak it with addition of task forces, which give you two-three new units (and maybe even call ins) to work with.
As you upgrade your task forces (which have three tiers), you’ll most likely improve the unit type (like infantry in BMP-1Ps switching to BMP-2s) and gaining support assets, like mortars and SAM launchers. By taking this task force, you can later upgrade it to ride in BMP-2s and provide artillery strikes with the ultimate upgrade mounting it in BMP-3s and adding a Grad MLRS.
Terrible reserve formations like BTR-152 mounted East German reservists come in larger platoons—ones that have 6 vehicles and nearly 60 (bad) infantry.The reserve formations from KdA Militarbezirk III can put a lot of bodies on the field even with a handful of platoons. A pity those bodies are not very good.
Incidentally, you should know that Regiments doesn’t track infantry replacements. You may have lost all the dudes, but if you retreat your Marders without any of them exploding, they can return to the field with a fresh complement of troopers.
A rock solid, chock full Cold War crisis RTS that’s instantly accessible and worthier than its competition for the ageing single player mil-sim strategist. Actual Tactics without the crazy clickfest, no spambot cheating AI, persistent damage battlefields across multi-phase operations in the campaign(only other RTS with this feature set was Close Combat series as I recall), great graphics especially lighting and explosion effects, lovingly detailed unit models right down to the gas masks on the soldiers.
The game’s sound and music are also top notch and the single best feature? The Pause Button (in addition to time slow options Makes it actually playable and far less frustrating than the Wargame series).
Regiments’ Persistent Operations campaign mode is so well thought out and engaging, can’t wait for expansions for it. Also nice bit of added touch by adding a jaded CIA field agent’s notes and memoirs to the briefings, adds to the world building. Highly recommended for the price and it is an AA+ effort from a very small dev team. So get those gaming PCs ready for action!
SCORE: 8/10