Steel Division Normandy 44 Review - Worthabuy? 

Great review Mack. When a games bad, you don't hold back, and the same is definitely true when the games good. You hit all the points I was wondering about. Thank you !

My fav part of all his reviews is when he opens with "is it worth a buy let's read the words."

Guys I do apologise for the few mistakes in this video, it was a huge deal for me just to get it recorded, IRL is pretty unbearable atm, loads going on and all of it bad. Am taking some time off, I may get Friday 13th done this weekend but I doubt it. Am spending some time with my son until next Thursday when work should resume as normal.

9:48 - The AAA was designed that way intentionally to replicate WW II effectiveness, a kill shot is one in a 1000, Overwhelming fire is needed. The way to take out their Air is with Dog Fighters/ Air Superiority Fighters. AAA is used more for knocking down the aircraft's morale and preventing them from completing their bombing run or to scare them off the tail of your air craft. So, my biggest note to you would be to always place fighters in your decks, upto 4 of them. Whilst you can use bombers to combat aircraft their turning circle will give them a huge disadvantage. All in all, love your stuff Mac, keep'em comin.

Bloody hell mac, a bit early in the morning isn't it!?! Working them late hours again.

Was tempted to buy it when I saw it on the storepage earlier but decided to wait for you to review it. So glad you thumbed it up!

Glad you liked it Mack. Would gladly watch another stream of it, nudge nudge. I have spent 50h playing only skirmish and it's what I usually do with this style of game. I was a huge fan of Eugens old WW2 game called R.U.S.E, which on overall was a simpler game but with some base building and economy. That they've shifted the complexity over to the battle part is probably the right choice for reaching a wider audience, and it lets the game have more complexity there without overloading the player on the whole. (No need for Starcraft level of crazy clicking this and that) I was initially hesitant to bet on this solely on the part of being "another WW2 game based on the Normandy setting", but luckily apart from the maps being constructed from historical reconaissance photos from the area, when you're playing the game it's all about the map area and you'll never feel that you've been there in several games before. Apart from eventually going to miss the Soviets, there's enough variety here to keep one busy for hundreds of hours. So much of learning the game is learning the maps, and that they have several variants of the same map depending on the number of players is another brilliant idea they've implemented. I'm so glad that Eugen is over at Paradox now. Ubisoft killed the support for R.U.S.E which needed just a bit more love to reach its full potential.

Finally a better make of wargame: red dragon with more realistic combat units for the factions set in the WWII era! Just bought it. Thanks for the review Mack.

so its like WARGAME but set in ww2?

Reminds me of World in Conflict, War Game and RUSE all rolled into one

Mack, the AA is wank at killing planes. However, the point of the AA is to force the plane to panic and retreat ideally before it completes its mission. You have to set up a wall of AA. Then to shoot the planes down, you need to deploy a fighter(s), preferably after the enemy plane is in retreat mode. Also, it should be noted that there are units with different levels of veterancy, which means they are better in battle, but you will likely not get as many of them compared to non veteran troops. But your units will achieve veterancy throughout the battle if they get enough kills. Also, there are infantry commanders and tank commanders. And if you put them in proximity to their respective unit types, it makes the units more effective and less likely to rout. It's essentially like given them one level of veterancy plus less chance to rout. Lastly, each battle group has a specific function and unit type. Some battle groups such as the 101st airborne or 6th devils airborne give you elite infantry troops, and are great for phase A. But in phase B and C they might be lacking, particularly in the way of tanks. Or a unit like the 3rd Armored division which gives you standard infantry and is much better in phase B and C because that's when you get awesome tanks. Overall, each battle group seems to have one or more units that are specific to it.

Damn I want World in Conflict 2. Good vid Mack.

As dev already stated on their blog, they designed Anti-Air like that on purpose. AA is there for pin down aircraft. If you want to kill bombers you should use fighters instead.

AA does work but is designed to suppress the aircraft and the Air superiority Fighters are for taking aircraft out. I guess they have looked at this so not to allow AA units alone to take out aircraft. As it was pretty poor in WWII. Ground attack aircraft are more susceptible to it than ASF, as ASF fly higher. Units don't have a health bar as such in this game, unlike previous incarnations of the Wargame series. Units get 'stressed' therefore unable to fight and are subject to getting smashed as a result because they cannot return fire.

Great review Mac. You covered everything I wanted to know and I can now purchase without any doubts!

Been waiting for this! thx for reviewing it :)

Looks like a good game, I might have to give it a try. Thanks for the great video!

All games go "up to 4k" if you have a 4k monitor (excluding really old games). Resolutions are set by the available list provided by your monitor's ini file.

You should make a top ten strategy games you should buy ...I trust your opinions lol

I will have to pick this one up. Reminds me of what I hoped RUSE would be.

Mac maybe you should check out Wargame Red Dragon, it works on the same principle of RTS as this game but you can play as loads of different countries and it is set in the cold war.

Saw this game was on steamsale and stumbled upon this channel. I must say that while i found out this game was not for me. When you said the anti air was quote "wank" i spat out my drink laughing and instantly subbed.

This game looks awesome. It also reminded me that I should really work on finishing the Company of Heroes campaigns already xD

Yet another great review. Thanks, I was waiting for this one ☺️

Since you said WWII strategy games are up your alley, and since you also seem to like hardcore/realistic games, have you ever given the Combat Mission games a shot?

This looks really good-I honestly wish they made another Wargame series with alot of these rules (the A-B units, territory vs unit kill point incomes, better interface etc) incorporated into it. Like a Wargame: Middle East or something.

holding shift to que movements is basic RTS knowledge. As is hot keys and command groups. thanks for the review.

there are 3 phases Mack ABC there isn't a D phase

it goes up to C, Phase A, B, C, and Divisions will have up 36 to 40ap points, and each Division will have its own income for each phase, some divisions will have more income in phase A then others

reminds me of ULTIMATE GENERAL: CIVIL WAR

This seems similar to games like Ruse and WarGame escalation. Definitely interested in this game.

For this game I have two explanations: 1. It's more difficult Company of Heroes 2. It's World War II version of Wargame: (European Escalation or Airland Battle or Red Dragon)

I just wish suppression wasn’t so effective. In a lot of games I often wish it was stronger, but in this it’s too strong. 1 machine gun shouldnt be able to pin down 2 squads of 14 riflemen. Even if a unit is suppressed in a tree line for example, they should still be able to shoot back a little. They’re not just gonna stop shooting altogether unless they’re pinned by like 6 different machine gun squads.

I love and hate these games at the same time. I love them because I love the concept and the complexity around them. I hate them because I can't keep up with pretty much anything going on even at the easiest difficulty. I still find fascinating to watch other people actually play these kinds of games where developers go overkill with the complexity. But the best I can do is playing Age of Empires II and Company of Heroes. At most. Barely. At the easiest difficulty. I got wrecked by the ai in Stellaris. During the tutorial. Fuck me.

I´m not even a gamer, I just like you as a person. Take care!

Why can't all reviewers be this honest , loved the review , gonna give it a go as its cheap

aw, was hoping for an Endless Space 2 review, but I'll take it :)

thanks mack for another great review video,i do look forward to them and i wish i could send a donation to you. but i am out of work and struggling to get buy my self. hope you can keep the channel going. regards

regarding AA, you need to use mass deployment of AA. They work as they should. area denial. This is set in Normandy so no USSR. Maybe in a future expansion. it would also be great to have early war period.

i think the in game tutorial does cover using the shift button to chain movement orders together.

Your profile picture in the game, on a T-Shirt, Worth A Buy

AA is not supposed to shoot down planes. Instead it is area denial units. They can, occasionally, shoot down a plane but mostly they turn incoming planes away. If you want to shoot down enemy planes you need to use your own planes to chase them down,

This looks fabulous. Wishlisted. I especially like the implementation of a full cover system for each unit, I can't think of another strategy game on this scale that provides that many cover options for each individual unit at your command.

Thanks for the review. Answered my question on player vs AI skirmish mode. Plays like Red Dragon it seems.

I held off buying for THIS video. Love your views and reviews.

Enjoyed the stream on this one Mac!

Mack, please review Killers and Thieves. This game looks fun, is actually released, and I have never heard anything about it. The bell must guide...

Thanks for the review!

This reminds me of Wargame series like Red Dragon

Yay i was waiting for that. Thanks for the review

Hey Mac. If I remember right from watching Paradox twitch steams of this, If your infantry is getting pinned and is inside enemy area deep enough or without many friendly units near by, they might surrender rather than try to fall back. Though I have seen some people say the surrendering needs to be tweaked and happens too often.

Reminds me a lot of the Wargame series.

I've been playing in the beta and have been loving it. I haven't been keeping up and didn't notice it released today. I guess Old Meg isn't getting any attention tonight.

Can you tell me more about the trouble you had shooting down aircraft because I like the idea of aircraft being difficult to shoot down. Back in the day it was very difficult shoot down enemy aircraft (without a concentrated effort of ground fire) and planes would absolutely strafe AA positions with success, particularly if one plane was able to draw fire while another went in to attack.

There weren't any Russians in Normandy, save for a few generals sent as observers, and I don't think there were any Italians, despite what 'Allo 'Allo asserted.

will definately buy this nice game, looks fantastic :) a good honest review good sir :)

Looks like my kind of thing and its on offer in Steam, so its in the bag!

an hour for mission is very long? SS4 it took me 2 hrs minimum to complete Germany missions 3 to 7. Even COH has more play time for every mission.

planes are not indestructable, youll just need fighters to bring em down einstein!

That looks great.

Nice one Mac, great job as per usual.

Love the video again mate! Good job

Wargame + RUSE = yes please

Is this like World of Conflict ? in the good old days? but then in WW2 style ?

First few comments are always cancer

I'd say i agree but the problem is that both the campaign and multiplayer have MASSIVE problems. The multiplayer is vacant while the german campaign is are brutal while the brit campaign is literal pain.

RISING STORM GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION IS FREE ON HUMBLE BUNDLE RIGHT NOW

MACK YOU NEED TO PLAY A GAME FOR 500 HOURS BEFORE YOU CAN GIVE A REVIEW! MACK YOU NEED TO GET A CONTROLLER! MACK CONSOLES ARE THE PEEK OF GAMING PERFORMANCE! MACK THIS CHANNEL SHOULD AGREE WITH MY OPINION! MACK I THINK YOUR VIDEOS SHOULD ALWAYS BE THUMBS UP BECAUSE YOURE NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE A BAD REVIEW! MACK WHY DO YOU NOT LIKE DARK SOULS? MACK WHY DO YOU HATE CONSOLES? MACK WHY DONT YOU LIKE THIS SHIT CONSOLE PORT THAT NEEDS A CONTROLLER TO PLAY ON PC? MACK WHY IS THE SKY BLUE? MACK WHY DOES MY DAD NOT LOVE ME? MACK WHY DO I HAVE TO VENT MY FRUSTRATIONS ON THE INTERNET? MACK HAVE YOU GOT ANY ROPE? I think I covered the comment section. Let me know if I missed anything Guysguys :)

Are you going to review Rising Storm 2: Vietnam? I really like it and would love to hear your opinion.

Worth A Buy :: you mentioned that some of the controls are'nt mentioned, in the tutorials, or in the Control panel, 8:23 so how do you find these hidden short cut keys???? Hope you can reply lookin to buy this, Great video by the way, cool and smooth👍🏼

Decent enough strategy-light game. It has its rules and executes them well. Look elsewhere for a deep war simulation however.

Hey Mac, thanks for the great review. Help us take a look at Graviteam Tactics? Seems similar to this game. Need ur honest opinion before buying any games nowadays :)

i agree

Any thoughts on reviewing player unknowns battlegrounds? Seems to be blowing up recently with glowing reviews, wonder what you'd think about it.

What's the name of that old stealth-3rd person old school game you mentioned in a video that I don't remember?

I heard Total Biscuit taking about you today in his Quake champions video, Mack.

i want a game like that what looks like BF1 from above lol. but I'd like the strat. Fan payers can control this map n where we should go as a team what objectived etc. the rest of the game should be like BFbadco2 or bf3 when ya couldn't just only spawn! inside vehicles but they're on the map! realism Smh. but I've always wanted a game like this like back in the original battlefronts were giving me hope&tribes era the games looked like they were going this way! Got excited with hacker &commander mode in bf3or4 & hardline cuz it was a shite version like this but if they flesh it out to this and all the units are real people! So we get an RTS a base raid an FPS type full fledged battle field authentic game for once! but we get 1 niche that to me maybe is cuz i don't play this type of game so i see the UI n graphics n get turned off cuz i want to be able to choose 1 unit and play as that guy. especially want it in space halo wars meets halo lol. meets full on space naval battles with tiny deployment of fighter planes. oh Mack ya gotta check back in on elite dangerous just gotta few new free updates that's actually fixed what was broken in horizon and they added new mission types which are quite buggy I've lost 12million cr in an hrs time! But that games feeling like another game altogether! so ya have to re check the new update its free but adresses most of the issues from that review but its not done still not perfect but its a lot lot better than before patch 2.1 & 2.2+ is great compared to its start been playing for 2or3 weeks every day! n ive never done that in elite until now.

do you have Australian Forces in it?

Is It Harder Than the Original Blitzkrieg by CDV/Nival? nothing could be that challenging today. could it?

This game looks like a WW2 version of Wargame!

Command & Conga!

I wonder which game would be better, steel division or R.U.S.E

Is the difference between this and Wargame only time period? Even Wargame: Red dragon had a strategic campaign map where you could move your armies around.

The problem I had with this game is that it's very hard to break an opponent's defense. All they have to do is have MGs, artillery, AA and some anti tank guns in a spot, and the defending units will shoot down everything that comes within 2 km without ever missing or having any issues whatsoever, other than running out of ammo. Perhaps the only way is to not have lost your artillery early on, and use them along with tanks and infantry in very annoying micro-managed ways that don't make me feel like a division general and more like a company commander wanking around with squads in company of heroes. Entire tank battalions get blown up by a few hidden ATGs, so you can tell this game is very "historical". :P 'Gitting gud' at the game feels like a slog, and the campaign suffers from the typical trap of not being as fun as an ordinary skirmish with AI, by straight jacketing the player to mission objectives that don't demonstrate the full potential of the game (if there is any). Personally, I found that AA was very good, especially in groups of 2 or more. Aircraft would get shot down as soon as they appeared on screen, because the AA had a ton of range. Perhaps it's been buffed since this video was posted? Also, even the airborne division can only fly up to 4 aircraft at once (or that could be a campaign limitation).

Would be awesome if there was a modern war version of this.

Steel Division 2 beta is going live again soon. Will you be apart of it?

They want you to find the little tweaks out yourself

Mack do you Like the TD game fieldrunners?

load up on 88's Mack they'll take care of those pesky planes.

Great game, reminds me of the Close Combat games from the 90s

I've got a lot of Paradox titles and this has got me interested, even tho I much prefer my WW2 titles to be turn based hex fests, your comments about the tutorial being a bit weak is a concern though, is there a PDF manual with the game?

I always dinner watching these videos

Come on Mac, shift clicking to stack stuff is a norm now days.

I swear you crack me up every time you whisper "the words the words.." oh and btw.. You are fucking amazing!

The only thing Im not a fan of in this, HOI and COH is that I get invested in a pocket of action, then meanwhile a separate dettachment gets wiped out offscreen, or the AI walks casually through the line and takes over half the map. I wish I wasnt so dumb :T

Reminds me of World of Conflict

Endless Space 2 next

Mack, please WAB Mirage: Arcane Warfare. It's developed by the Chivalry guys. It just came out, it's awesome, and no body is playing it.

ohh thank god, no stealth aircraft

I LOVE YOU MACK!