Order of Battle: World War II

Order of Battle: World War II is a turn based strategy game that I can easily lose a lot of time in without even noticing. I am moving units across hex based maps, taking objectives and trying to work out the best way to use infantry, tanks, aircraft and ships. It looks fairly simple when I first start playing, but there is a lot more underneath it once I start paying attention to things like supply, terrain, unit strength and positioning. It has that old school wargame feeling without making the controls unnecessarily difficult to understand. The campaign system is one of my favourite parts because my decisions can matter beyond the current battle. In campaigns where unit carryover is available, I can keep experienced units and upgrades from one scenario into another, which makes me much more careful about throwing valuable units into bad situations. There are also commanders that I can attach to units for extra bonuses, along with specialisations that let me shape my force in different ways. With more than 1000 unit types across the wider game, there is a lot of variety in how I can build and manage an army. I really enjoy that feeling of slowly developing a force instead of starting completely from scratch every time. The supply system is where the game gets much more interesting for me. I cannot just send everything forward and hope that having more units will solve the problem. If my forces become isolated or lose their supply, their effectiveness suffers, so I have to think about where I am attacking and whether I can actually support the units I am sending in. Cutting off enemy supply can be just as important as destroying their units, and encirclement can completely change the outcome of a battle. This gives the game a proper sense of planning rather than making every turn about finding the biggest attack number. There is a huge amount of content once I start looking beyond the free section. The base game gives me Boot Camp as well as a taste of the first chapter from the other campaign packs, while the wider collection covers places such as the Pacific, North Africa, Burma, Finland and the Eastern Front. I like that the free version gives me a proper chance to learn the game before spending money, although buying a lot of the campaigns can become expensive. The sheer number of campaigns is great for someone who really gets into this style of strategy, but I would not feel any need to buy everything at once. My main issue is that some battles can become quite long and mentally tiring. I have to keep checking the map, watch my supply lines and think about what the enemy might do on the next turn. A mistake that looks harmless can sometimes cause much bigger problems several turns later. I actually like this most of the time, but there are moments where I just want a quick battle and the game reminds me that it really wants me to slow down and think. The presentation is also fairly dated now, although I think the clear maps and simple interface still work well for the type of game this is. I also get a lot of replay value from the scenario editor and the multiplayer options. I can create my own battles and experiment with different situations instead of only playing the supplied campaigns. There is support for up to four players through hotseat and PBEM, and the different specialisations mean that even similar armies can be developed in different ways. I like having those options because they give me something to do after I have finished the campaigns that interest me most. Overall, Order of Battle: World War II is one of those strategy games that rewards me for taking my time. The supply system, unit progression, commanders and huge selection of forces give the battles much more depth than the straightforward presentation suggests. The long missions and large amount of paid campaign content can be drawbacks, but I think the actual strategy is strong enough to make those problems worth putting up with. I especially like that the free version gives me enough to properly learn the game before deciding how much more I want, and for me this is one of the better choices when I want a serious World War II strategy game without jumping straight into something extremely complicated. Rating: 8/10