24.1 hours played
Written 20 days ago
Men of War: Assault Squad 2, developed by Digitalmindsoft and released as part of the long-running Men of War series, is a real-time tactics game that straddles the line between brutal battlefield simulation and intricate micromanagement playground. Built on the GEM engine, it offers a uniquely detailed and tactical take on World War II warfare, distinct from traditional RTS games like Company of Heroes by focusing not on base-building and resource management, but on tactical control, individual unit handling, and environmental realism. While not without flaws—both technical and structural—it remains one of the most rewarding and in-depth tactical RTS experiences for players who are willing to engage with its complexity and often-punishing mechanics.
At its core, Assault Squad 2 is all about control—painstaking, granular control. Every soldier, vehicle, and weapon can be individually manipulated. Want to load AP shells instead of HE rounds in your tank's cannon? You can. Want to manually toss a grenade through a window, flank with a sniper, or crew a damaged artillery gun with spare infantrymen? You can. This depth extends to every corner of the battlefield. Tanks aren’t just hit points on treads; they have armor values by angle, exposed crew, and destructible parts. A well-placed shot can blow off a track, disable a turret, or outright kill the driver. Infantry too must be managed carefully, using cover, stance, line of sight, and even inventory items to survive. This microscopic level of realism makes for a sandbox-like battlefield experience that rewards smart tactics and punishes careless play.
The game modes in Assault Squad 2 offer a solid range of options. Skirmishes—playable in single-player or co-op—are the backbone, tasking you with pushing through waves of entrenched enemy forces across a series of capture points. While the AI can sometimes feel repetitive or artificially challenging through sheer numbers, the mode shines when played with friends. Cooperative multiplayer adds layers of coordination and strategy, letting players divide responsibilities—one might handle tanks, another focuses on infantry assaults, and another manages long-range artillery. Competitive multiplayer, on the other hand, is a brutal arena for experienced players, often determined by map control, timing, and mechanical finesse. The community is dedicated and skilled, though newcomers may find the lack of matchmaking and tutorialization daunting.
One of the game’s most impressive elements is its physics and destruction system. Buildings can be reduced to rubble, trees collapse, explosions leave persistent craters, and bodies (and equipment) remain strewn across the battlefield. Line of sight and cover systems are realistic—your troops will lean around corners, crouch in ditches, or hunker behind wreckage. Combined with the game's sharp sound design—booming artillery, the metallic whine of tank treads, shouts and cries of battle—it creates a grounded, immersive experience that few other RTS games offer. These tactile details are more than just aesthetic; they impact tactics and provide emergent gameplay moments, such as clearing a machine gun nest by collapsing the wall it’s firing from behind.
Graphically, Assault Squad 2 looks dated by modern standards, even with the HD textures and mod enhancements available on Steam Workshop. However, it’s functional and clean, and the level of environmental and unit detail remains impressive considering the scope of the battles. The UI, while improved over the original Assault Squad, still suffers from clutter and a steep learning curve. The micromanagement-heavy gameplay, which is the game’s biggest strength, can also become overwhelming without extensive hotkey use and familiarity with the interface. It’s not a game that holds your hand—in fact, it barely introduces itself. Much of the joy (or frustration) comes from learning its many systems through trial, error, and repetition.
Modding support is another of the game’s most enduring qualities. The community around Assault Squad 2 has produced a staggering amount of content: total conversions, new nations, historical campaigns, improved AI mods, and overhauled UI systems. Mods like the RobZ Realism Mod have become essential for many players, improving the AI, refining balance, and deepening the tactical experience. Steam Workshop integration makes modding accessible, and the sheer variety of user-made content has significantly extended the game’s lifespan—keeping it active years after release.
However, Assault Squad 2 is not without serious issues. The AI can be inconsistent: sometimes brilliant in flanking and using cover, other times suicidal and erratic. Pathfinding, especially for vehicles, is notoriously poor. Tanks will get stuck, rotate awkwardly, or expose their weakest armor without player intervention. Infantry can ignore cover or bumble into machine gun fire if not micromanaged. The multiplayer servers have had stability issues historically, and the lack of quality matchmaking or ranking systems makes finding fair games a challenge. Furthermore, the game’s steep learning curve and lack of modern onboarding can be alienating to newer players who don’t already know the Men of War formula.
Despite these shortcomings, Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is a unique and rewarding RTS that caters to a very specific audience—those who enjoy granular control, historical military tactics, and the ability to manage a battlefield down to the bullet. It doesn’t appeal to everyone, but for those who appreciate tactical depth over flashy graphics or streamlined gameplay, it offers a sandbox of destruction, strategy, and emergent storytelling that few games can match. It demands patience, practice, and a tolerance for chaos—but in return, it provides some of the most memorable, hard-earned victories in the real-time strategy genre. Even years after its release, with newer games on the market, Assault Squad 2 still holds a respected place among hardcore strategy fans and remains a cornerstone of realistic tactical warfare simulations.
Rating: 8/10
