Firefight

Release Date: June 8, 2014

Strategy, World War II, RTS, tactics, indie games, singleplayer

87%

Steam

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A tactical real-time strategy set in the realities of World War II, modelled on the cult PC series Close Combat. Despite the relatively simple setting, the production puts great emphasis on realism and is characterized by an advanced physical engine and artificial intelligence of the units.

Mechanics
Technical issues

Released on the PC and iOS platform, Firefight is a real-time tactical strategy embedded in World War II, modelled on the popular PC series Close Combat, launched in 1996 by Atomic Games and Microsoft. The game is a mobile successor to a simple, PC-based production, developed since the late 1990s by the independent creator Sean O'Connor. In 2014 he prepared a mobile version of the title from scratch, and more than two years later, a refined PC version of Firefight also appeared in commercial form on the Steam platform.

Mechanics

The essence of the game in Firefight is a small battles, in which we stand on the side of one of the several countries, taking part in World War II. During the game we direct up to 20 troops of tanks, artillery or infantry, moving along a large map and shooting at enemy positions. If necessary, we can also use artillery fire and smoke or conventional grenades. The aim of the game is to take control of a certain strategic point (e.g. a village, a farm or a hill) and keep it under the pressure of enemy forces.

Despite its simple formula and outstandingly budget production, Firefight puts a lot of emphasis on gameplay realism. All units, equipment and armor available in the game are based on historical sources, and thanks to an advanced physical engine, the behaviour of missiles and armor shrapnel, complex algorithms rule. The artificial intelligence, thanks to which the enemy units are not only thoughtless bots, is also of a high level. Their behaviour may be influenced by the situation on the battlefield, the number of munitions or the level of fatigue. If necessary, our soldiers will ask their companions for cartridges, summon the paramedic to a wounded colleague, and in extreme situations they may also panic and refuse to execute the order.

Technical issues

Technically, the Firefight released on the PC and iOS platform features a relatively simple top-view graphics, and the whole is quite similar to the first installments of the Close Combat series. However, it has to be admitted that when Sean O'Connor decided to make its production available to a wider audience, he did not go for an easy solution and did not limit himself to a simple conversion of the game, in both versions, taking into account the specificity of individual hardware platforms.

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Last updated on August 14, 2015

87%