thumbs up

This game was great for its time, but I can not recommend buying this game because Assault Squad 2 is better in almost every way. The three things I like better about this game over the sequel are the lighting, the health bars, and the building translucency.

The lighting in the 2nd game is too bright, especially at night, by default where as I find this game's lighting just right and much more immersive. As for the health bars they change colors in this one based on how much damage your guys take starting at green, then moving to yellow, and then finally red where as in the sequel it is just a red bar, gray bar, or green bar in a smaller gray box depending on if it is an enemy, ally, or one of your units. This is personal preference, but it really made units that were close to death stand out more. Lastly, building translucency in the sequel makes buildings and anything in them completely invisible while in this one they are super transparent so you are able to make out objects inside the building that can be used for cover. You are also able to barely see the roof of the building when you get close enough which feels more immersive than having it become completely invisible.

These three things don't really make it worth purchasing this game over the sequel and you would be better off purchasing faces of war if you are looking for fun single player missions. There are also a few missions in here that are not present in the sequels, but most of the missions in this game are super repetitive and not worth getting this game for. The two bonus missions, Christmas and Barbecue, in this game are available as mods for the sequel. Assault Squad 2 also has steam workshop support and even if you factor in this game's mods, most of the older mods have already been ported to the sequel. There are not really any compelling reasons to buy this game unless you are a collector or are wanting to see how far the series has come.