As a veteran of dozens of strategy games, none that I have ever played bring as many factors into play as Steel Divison 2 and in real time at that. Every minute is a contest between asymmetric resource and unit availability, limited information, psychological deception, strategic planning, tactical execution, careful allocation of your attention, and the relentless pressure of time's inexorable march.

Losing is very much Tuesday and the complexities underlying the differences between the hundreds of units available are not easy to grasp, it took me well over a hundred hours to become what you might consider 'barely competent' in the multiplayer space. Don't be fooled by high armour values and big guns, virtually every unit in the game can destroy or disable any other unit, and there are an abundance of ways to 'soft kill' or otherwise eliminate key enemy assets without having to bring out a bigger, more expensive gun. You can't take account of everything that's going on, and every success entails liabilities, the execution of a flawless encirclement or rapid combined arms offensive is orgasmic, but such feats are rare and failure may devolve into a brutal attrition with hundreds dead for a worthless patch of trees.

Very often it won't be one mistake or decision that you made which determines success or failure, but a pattern of behaviour, or even a mentality. Caution and boldness both can spell defeat if executed without finesse and forethought, and almost every game I play there's a window when, had I merely known the enemy disposition and had at least one testicle, I could've swept them from the field. But imperfect information breeds imperfect decisions.

It is beyond a cursory review like this to even dip a toe into how nuanced and wonderfully complex this game can get, but for anyone interested in a kickstart into multiplayer I'd be happy to teach you the ropes if you get in touch.

As a veteran of dozens of strategy games, none that I have ever played bring as many factors into play as Steel Divison 2 and in real time at that. Every minute is a contest between asymmetric resource and unit availability, limited information, psychological deception, strategic planning, tactical execution, careful allocation of your attention, and the relentless pressure of time's inexorable march. Losing is very much Tuesday and the complexities underlying the differences between the hundreds of units available are not easy to grasp, it took me well over a hundred hours to become what you might consider 'barely competent' in the multiplayer space. Don't be fooled by high armour values and big guns, virtually every unit in the game can destroy or disable any other unit, and there are an abundance of ways to 'soft kill' or otherwise eliminate key enemy assets without having to bring out a bigger, more expensive gun. You can't take account of everything that's going on, and every success entails liabilities, the execution of a flawless encirclement or rapid combined arms offensive is orgasmic, but such feats are rare and failure may devolve into a brutal attrition with hundreds dead for a worthless patch of trees. Very often it won't be one mistake or decision that you made which determines success or failure, but a pattern of behaviour, or even a mentality. Caution and boldness both can spell defeat if executed without finesse and forethought, and almost every game I play there's a window when, had I merely known the enemy disposition and had at least one testicle, I could've swept them from the field. But imperfect information breeds imperfect decisions. It is beyond a cursory review like this to even dip a toe into how nuanced and wonderfully complex this game can get, but for anyone interested in a kickstart into multiplayer I'd be happy to teach you the ropes if you get in touch.