Drive on Moscow – Review
Drive on Moscow is a successor to iOS tactical warfare-game Battle of the Bulge. At the same time, it’s also part of Shenandoah Studio’s quartet of Kickstarter endeavours.
I still keep Battle of the Bulge in high regards thanks to its superb tactical gameplay. Suffice to say, it’s sequel makes sure that sport at the top isn’t a lonely one.s
Story
Drive on Moscow simulates the Axis’ assault on Moscow during the Second World War. There’s a whole section of the game dedicated to teaching this part of history, so I won’t dwell on too much, but let’s just say that when I state that the Germans underestimated Russian winters, I’m making quite the understatement.
Commanding officers are accompanied by a short personal profile containing their character and the way they acted out their real-life battles.
Needless to say, the proceedings and outcomes of each scenario depends entirely on your flair for tactical decision-making.
Graphics
Like Battle of the Bulge, Drive on Moscow shows you an overhead map in a Risk-like manner – albeit much more detailed. This time around, though, the scale has soared, showing not only Moscow, but also the surrounding terrain and provinces.
One of this game’s strengths lies in the way it offers a clean and clear view of the battlefield, allowing players to almost instantly pick up on valid tactics for overtaking the victory.
Sound
In line with being based on the Axis’ long, cold march during Eastern European winter, Drive on Moscow traded in Battle of the Bulge’s somewhat hopeful fanfare for more bombastic and dark marching themes.
That’s in between menu’s and scenario’s of course, as the game keeps things serene during combat.
Gameplay
Drive on Moscow employs the exact same mechanics as its predecessor did. You still take part in turn-based battles, either as Soviets or Axis, while managing dozens of units spread across a gigantic battlefield.
Moving battalions around is as simple as pointing and clicking, but actually coming out ahead of your opponent requires a decent amount of insight on the workings of warfare.
The only real gripe I had with Battle of the Bulge, was that it was a tad on the short side. It would have benefited from extra scenario’s in order to add some variety.
Luckily, that’s been taken care off. Not only is Drive on Moscow essentially the second campaign in this series, – also titled Crisis in Command – it also offers a lot more bang for its buck, letting players choose between either playing the full campaign, or dividing the assault into three parts to allow for some shorter bouts when time is precious.
As with their previous game, developer Shenandoah made sure history-junkies aren’t left wanting.
There are plenty of notes to be found on the historic events leading up to and during the Axis invasion of Moscow. While this may cater to a certain niche crowd, this is exactly the kind of content Drive on Moscow needs to offer to set itself apart.
Aside from the standard fights where you and an computer-controlled tactician duke it out, you can also opt to take turns against a friend, or approach the online frontier in order to find willing combatants through the world wide web.
It’s those last two modes that will give you the most satisfaction. Sure, playing against an A.I. Is fun, but after a while, you’ve seen pretty much all it has to offer. Against another human being, however, things don’t always turn out as expected, adding some flavour to spice things up.
Conclusion
Drive on Moscow is a more-than-welcome addition to the iOS-scene. There aren’t many strategy titles of this calibre on App Store, let alone one that’s keen on teaching you about actual historic events. Be warned tough, you’ll need a lot of patience if you want to become really good at this game.
If you liked Battle of the Bulge, you will like this sequel, as it trumps its predecessor in every way. Don’t mind the somewhat steeper price compared to other tablet-games, Drive on Moscow is worth every penny.
Drive on Moscow - Review,
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