For nearly a year, the Free2Play shooter called Heroes & Generals has been out of its “Early Access” phase and has been continuously evolving since then. Our guest author Dennis Zühlke has taken a look at the game.
In the last decade, a plethora of games featuring World War II as a setting have emerged. Personally, I played various shooter series back on the Playstation 2, such as “Call of Duty” and “Medal of Honor”. After seeing new installments in these series, it eventually became boring to see games with the same theme.
Since I started gaming on a home computer quite late, I missed some World War II games. Were there perhaps some titles worth checking out?
So I simply checked the Steam charts and discovered Heroes & Generals.
To act strategically or just dive into action?
When you see Heroes & Generals for the first time, you think of a typical shooter, but the game offers a mix of two great genres. After a few initial shooting passages, you can decide whether to jump straight into battle as a hero or oversee the game as a general from the commander’s chair, issuing various commands.
I must honestly say I have rarely seen such a concept with a blend of FPS and RTS (Real-Time Strategy) and despite the clichéd scenario, it brings a fresh breeze to the gaming world.
Shooting or Planning?
For shooter fans, the game offers everything a hardcore gamer needs. You can mow down enemy soldiers with a heavy submachine gun on foot or control various vehicles like tanks or planes. However, you first have to unlock these separately. More on that later.
As a general, you distribute troops and vehicles across the large map, initiating the following battle. When two generals and their troops clash, the fight begins with the provided resources.
The Classes – Shoot away or take a seat in a plane?
Heroes & Generals features several classes. At the beginning of your career, you start with the infantry soldier, who forms the backbone of the entire army. Here you have various options on how to proceed with your soldier. Would you rather shoot from safe cover with a carbine or go hunting for enemies with a submachine gun? There’s something suitable for every playstyle.
- The tank crew operates in their heavy tank, clearing enemy obstacles from their path, but can also be well-equipped to hunt infantry. Remember that as a tank driver, you can become a large target for enemy soldiers, so it’s best to operate from cover, like large bushes or walls, and primarily aim at vehicles.
- There are also pilots who attack from the air with their planes. However, you need some practice to be able to steer the planes correctly. A good pilot can decide a round with their bombs, so practice first in the simulated battles.
- Those who like to surprise enemies and be agile on the map should take a closer look at the paratrooper. This soldier class closely resembles the infantryman but has some unique features. When it comes to landing, you can land anywhere on the map and surprise an enemy in their trench.
- Lastly, we have the scout, the classic sniper who advances behind enemy lines wearing camouflage and takes out key characters deliberately.
The Game Modes – From small trench fights to large battles
Heroes & Generals offers a wide range of different game modes. These are divided into two categories: Firstly, the scripted battles, in which each faction has the same number of resources – such as combat units.
The second category comprises war battles, in which the generals decide how many resources are added to the fight. To unlock the vast battle map, you first have to reach a few levels higher. If you play the shooter for the first time, there’s a small tutorial that shows you the basic mechanics of your soldier.
After that, you gain access to a mode called Encounter, where you fight for a control point on a small map. The team that holds the point the longest wins. This mode plays pretty quickly and is ideal for beginners.
More experience, more battle
Once you reach the second level with your soldier, you can participate in skirmishes. Here the maps are significantly larger compared to the first mode, and battles are fought over three points. On these maps, you also have the opportunity to play with different classes alongside the infantryman.
Additionally, you will drive tanks here, or you can jump from a transport plane with a parachute from great heights. Rounds last around 10-20 minutes, perfect for casual players during their lunch break.
The largest version in the scripted battles is called Assault, in which you must capture all marked objectives on the attacking side. The defenders protect these points and push the attackers back on their line. In Assault, you have access to all classes, and the pilot can finally prove their talent and zip across the map.
War is not for beginners
Once you’ve tried out various modes, war battles become available upon reaching level 10. Here, the generals decide how many combat units and resources are sent into the battle.
Thus, each match is different and can sometimes seem unfair. I strongly recommend playing in the aforementioned modes for a while and equipping your soldiers appropriately because seasoned veterans are often mixed in here. However, this grants you more experience, allowing you to level up faster in the game.
Free2Play or Pay2Win?
Let’s talk about one of the most important points: Is Heroes & Generals fair or not? My answer is YES AND NO. Currently, there are three different currencies in the game. First, there are the credits you earn through active play, and then there’s gold, which can be acquired with real money. While there are some ways to earn gold in the game, they are relatively small. As a third option, there are war resources with which we can purchase combat units, but these only become interesting for generals.
In itself, the game is free to play, and my first rounds went relatively well. However, there comes a time when you need to buy various equipment, such as new weapons or grenades. These can be purchased with credits, but it takes a while for players to gather that amount.
What annoys me significantly: Almost everything you can get as equipment costs credits. Whether they are weapons, tanks, or various modifications for weapons, such as scopes. With the use of real money, you can acquire these things much faster, leading to encounters with soldiers who are well-armed from head to toe and can eliminate you very quickly.
Another point: New classes like the pilot or the scout also cost credits or gold, and those prices can be quite steep in some places. Those who reach into their pockets here have a distinct advantage over Free2Play players.
Conclusion
Heroes & Generals is a good game overall, with cool ideas like the mix of shooter and RTS. Shooting with the weapons is fun, and there’s always something happening on the maps. The game would, however, be even better if they lowered the prices for classes and equipment a bit, making them more appealing for newcomers.
It would also be a good idea to revamp the system so that additional classes cost no money and can only be unlocked at certain ranks.
Besides the “Pay2Win” accusations, it must be said that the shooter runs stable and it’s always fun to take out enemy players. A tip: Join a clan or community and play together via voice chat.
If you’re into a shooter mix set in World War II and don’t mind grinding for equipment, you should definitely take a closer look at this shooter.
You can sign up for Heroes & Generals for free and download the game.
The text is by guest author Dennis Zühlke.
Also interesting: These promising MMOs are coming in 2017 and 2018
