Old Gamers Never Die: A First Look at 'Unity of Command II'

Screenshot of Unity of Command II's main title page. Graphics © 2019 2X2 Games and Croteam

Hi, there! Welcome to another installment of Old Gamers Never Die, the section in this blog where I talk about computer and video games I either own and play now or owned and played on other platforms or computers.

Today I'll be talking a little about the latest addition to my modest collection of games – Unity of Command II, a brand-new game from Croatia's 2X2 Games and Croteam. It was released on Steam on November 12, and it's the long-awaited sequel to 2X2's 2011 game Unity of Command, a turn-based operational level (as opposed to tactical level) game set during World War II.

I've never played Unity of Command, but from what I've learned from watching the thehistoricalgamer's channel on YouTube, that game is a simulation of the German-Soviet war on the Eastern Front and covers (in the core game, anyway) the campaigns that led up to the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 and 1943. (2X2 Games added expansion packs that cover the Soviet drive to Germany after Stalingrad, as well as a "prequel" campaign that depicts the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941 and the drive to Moscow.)

The Eastern Front doesn't appeal to me much, and in any case, I can play simulations of battles between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in other games, including Strategic Command WWII: World at War. But after watching The Historical Gamer play the pre-release version of Unity of Command II on YouTube, I decided to get a copy on Steam. 

Like most World War II buffs who were born in countries that fought in the war as part of the Western Allies, I tend to favor books, movies, and games about the War in the West. It's not that I ignore the Eastern Front totally; I have several books that delve into the Battle of Stalingrad, the Siege of Leningrad, and the Battle of Berlin, all of which were major engagements between the two totalitarian systems duking it out over which one would dominate the fate of Europe. But I'm American, and even though I am not one of those yahoos who claim that the United States won the war mostly on its own, I feel more comfortable playing games that focus on the Anglo-American alliance.

And Unity of Command II, which was designed by Tomislav Uzelac, is such a game.

The menu page from Unity of Command II. Graphics and indicia © 2019 2X2 Games and Croteam

 
Unity of Command II covers all of the Allied campaigns against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in the West, starting with the final battles in Tunisia (North Africa) in the spring of 1943, proceeding to the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) in July of 1943, which in turn leads to the Anglo-American landings near Salerno, Italy in September of that year.

The first Allied invasion of Europe begins in the Mediterranean! Actual gameplay screenshot from Operation Husky. Graphics and indicia © 2019 2X2 Games and Croteam 

As I said earlier, Unity of Command II is an operational level turn-based strategy game. Unlike, say, the Close Combat series of wargames, Unity of Command II does not depict World War II at the small unit tactical level, in which players give commands to individual combat vehicles, rifle squads, and so on. Here, we're talking taking command of entire armies at once, where the smallest unit you give orders to is a brigade (in the British and Canadian armies) or a regimental combat team/regiment (U.S. corps and armies).

In that regard, Unity of Command II resembles Matrix/Slitlerine Ltd.'s Strategic Command II: World at War. Both games are turn-based and depict war in the Big Picture scale rather than the view from the foxholes and individual small units. Here, you're not playing the role of a lieutenant or a captain tasked with taking a town or holding a hill against the Germans; you're acting as General Dwight D. Eisenhower, giving orders to armies commanded by subordinates such as Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, and Clark.

Unlike Strategic Command WWII, though, the campaigns are not as generic or open-ended. In Unity of Command II, you play scenarios that have victory conditions that you have to meet within a certain number of turns. Depending on the specific scenario, you win a victory if you capture several Primary Objectives (based on the historical objectives the Allies had to achieve during the actual battles) as well as achieving any number of scenario-specific bonus objectives.

For instance, if you play Operation Market-Garden, you win a Decisive Victory if you capture and hold all of the bridges from Eindhoven to Arnhem and manage to beat off the German counterattack before the 13th turn. But you can also win a Brilliant Victory if you go beyond those objectives and drive past the Zuider Zee in Holland. (I've tried this scenario once; I failed miserably!)

The game also delves into other areas of the War in the West that other games either avoid altogether or don't depict well - logistics, the use of behind-the-lines sabotage, and the importance of headquarters in the management of a battle.

First Thoughts

 Now, I have only owned this game since Tuesday afternoon, so this is in no way a review of Unity in Command II. It is one of those games that you simply do not boot up and jump willy-nilly into and expect to perform anywhere close to Eisenhower-level mastery of command. I will have to watch a lot of videos by The Historical Gamer on YouTube and play a few of the scenarios several times before I feel confident enough to review this game.

And if my first bumbling attempts to fight a "real" battle (as opposed to the training scenarios I have completed) are any hint of my prowess, it may be a long while before I do write that review. For now, though, I'll say this:

1. The graphics, which are 3D renderings of Allied and Axis units, are nice. It's World War II eye candy for war buffs
2. The graphic user interface (GUI) is reminiscent of Sid Meier's Civilization VI, although it lacks keyboard commands for basic unit movement
3. The game's artificial intelligence (AI) is merciless. Even at the EASY level, Axis forces fight back hard and do everything possible to ruin your units' day
4. If you love games that are mouse-dependent, Unity of Command II is up your alley; if you're disabled and find that using a mouse is harder than The Historical Gamer makes it look, it may not be your go-to strategy game
5. Unity of Command II is easier to play than Gary Grigsby's War in the West, but harder to master than Strategic Command WWII: World at War
6. Unity of Command II covers most of the Anglo-American campaigns against Hitler and Mussolini, except for Operation Torch