Hey ho, let's go! Blitzkrieg 3 released
Shoot 'em in the back now
Real-time tactical World War 2 'em up Blitzkrieg 3 [official site] launched today. It's been a long time coming, as Blitzkrieg 2 came out twelve years ago and 3 has been in early access for two. Blitzkrieg 3 plays through World War 2 from the invasion of Poland to the capture of Berlin across sixty-ish missions, putting players in charge of squads of men, aircraft, tanks, and all that. The war stuff.
So off you go to war, shuffling men, aircraft, tanks, artillery, and whatnot around maps to capture points and shoot the enemy. Developers Nival (who you might also know for making Heroes of Might and Magic V) say it has over 200 units in all. Nival are also pretty proud of their AI, a neural network they've named Boris. Don't mind their claim that Boris is the first RTS neural network (it isn't) but it does look more cunning than many game's AI. Have a peek in this trailer:
Nival seem happy with how early access worked. Their launch announcement says players' historical knowledge has been invaluable, helping them to correct "more than 800 inaccuracies in graphics, characteristics and balance". It's shaped the game too:
"Many innovations, such as trenches, mobile fortifications and various technologies, were implemented based on your requests. These solutions allowed us to preserve the atmosphere of the original series. More than 90 new units have appeared during the early access stage, and most of them were your ideas."
As for how it's turned out in the end, Recent player reviews are pretty mixed so it's a shame Blitzkrieg 3 doesn't have a demo. I suppose Steam refunds do exist but that's hardly the same.
Blitzkrieg 3 is £24.99/29,99€/$29.99 on Steam. Nival offer a 10% discount on their own store.