Last week I posted something in regards to an event that shook the entire mankind: World War I. In that post, I also said that we have a surprise for you guys.
Recently, I saw Verdun go on sale on Steam so I thought why not buy it? I had been watching videos about it and reading some reviews about it and the game seemed to be pretty good. Not to mention it’s the only game of its kind, the only one that managed to attract my attention anyway.
Up until this point, I’ve never been so interested in World War I, but I guess I have to put the blame on this game (for being so f***ing awesome). But I’m going off-topic, let’s stick to the real deal.
To start off, the game depicts (if not already obvious and repetitive) an event, well – a battle that took place during World War I, in France. Although the Battle of Verdun happened in 1916, I’m guessing the development team wanted a cool name for their game, but at the same time cover all the war and have a clear path for further additions into the game (hence the 1914-1918 in the banner).
You are a soldier. You are meant to fight for your country and make your nation proud. Victory, or death.
You are are a recruit that’s never seen the face of the enemy and you can’t stop wondering what’s going to happen. You fear for your life, but you’re here to get a job done. You hear the NCO’s whistle. In a split second, everyone’s out of the trench, running towards the enemy positions. Some catch a bullet, some get lucky to find some cover. You however, have to try again since an enemy machine gunner mowed you and your 6 brothers in arms down without even cringing.
My experience with the game (Seb): I remember playing this game on Kongregate a long time ago. Certainly before September 2013, when I still had my old computer. The graphics were bad then. Of course, it was some kind of trial since you had to choose between fewer types of units. The game has improved a lot (especially the graphics), but one thing remained to fulfill my nostalgia needs: everyone asks to change places with you if you are the machinegunner. Yes. I love playing with the MG (even if I do have to squeeze my eyes to see the enemy). Using rifles is fine for me too (they mostly one-shot everyone). The game has more kinds of weapons, including the legendary MP-1918 (belonging to the elite German units). It is a very immersive experience, making you wonder how did the actual combatants of the first World War survive. The beautiful battlefields force you to concentrate a lot in order to spot the enemy, and the trenches are full of bayonet charges. You have to be fast and careful, since good players know how to kill you several times in a row. There is also barbed wire – and lots of it. You have to be careful and avoid it, or, if you manage to get entangled, back off. It wounds you and also slows you down. No wonder why it was used in the actual war!
The cool thing is that you can choose between 2 kinds of squad types (at least!) from several countries: UK (and Commonwealth), France, and Germany. Austrian troops will come too in the future, which is nice.
Basically you do trench warfare. Verdun does a great job simulating that. Luckily, it is not entirely like in real life and there is no stalemate. Based on your efficiency in combat, you recieve several kinds of orders: attack, defend or fight in certain trenches. There are several maps, all with more lines of defense.
Unfortunately, there are still bugs, but not too many. Joining a friend’s squad by Steam was hard at times (the game crashed to the main screen). Here you can see how I managed to fell through one map – but not for much time:
What the game needs: The Eastern Front. Really. I would pay even 30 dollars for a DLC that includes the mountain fights for Transylvania. And, of course, the Brusilov offensive. Russian troops are needed (maybe some Romanian ones added in the distant future). Also, American and Italian ones. Planes. Zeppelins. Night battles. Tanks. There is a lot of stuff that can be included in-game! But hey – lots of it is already planned! Check it out: http://steamcommunity.com/games/242860/announcements/detail/246917585229375624
The servers are well populated: about 300-400 players are playing Verdun simultaneously on the EU server. There are several clusters (NA, EU and such), making the game more enjoyable.
Final opinion (Seb): The game is awesome, and it sums up the realistic trench warfare experience very nicely. It has a few bugs, but those are minor and not game-breaking. Based to how it will improve in the future, it deserves a 9.2 from me.
So, as I (BloodSnow) promised in the title, there’s a giveaway. You might have already guessed it, we’re giving away 3 copies of Verdun, since the developers were kind enough to provide us with Steam codes so we can have our thing. All you have to do is drop a like on their Facebook page and leave a comment down below (this article). Remember to add the following word: „giveaway” (without commas) in your comment if you want a code. The giveaway starts now and will end in 24 hours, so hurry up, get your WordPress account ready if you haven’t already (so you can comment) and GOOD LUCK!
GIVEAWAY APPLICATIONS CLOSED.
Check the game out here:
Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/242860/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VerdunGame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Verdun-Game/119504188113384
