So, I took some time out to write a review kinda of article of the third person shooter meets strategy Heroes & Generals, a free to play WW2 themed title from developers Reto-Moto.

So, you get to play as the three available nations in the game; Germany, Russia and America, and you can play as any of them on the same account, switching between them from game to game and level each character up independently. Each nation has five different characters (six including Generals) that essentially act the same as a class; Infantry, Sniper, Pilot, Paratrooper and Armor Driver, with Infantry being the character everyone starts out with and players having to pay in game (or premium) currency to unlock the others. With this in mind we can see why the game gives you access to all of the nations, in reality most players are only going to level up a specific faction most likely, however, the easy access to any factions low-level unit does seem like it could make cross-faction spying a possibility for competitive gamers and planting an infantry in your clans/guilds opposition army and feeding back information. Hardly game breaking but no doubt a frustration for some people. And almost unlikely.

Acquiring new gear comes with both using items and earning medals/proficiencies which also acts as prerequisite to buying higher level gear. Guns, ammo, and vehicles all work in a similar fashion where you need to use lower level ones in order to acquire higher level (again this might be something you can bypass with premium currency). Acquiring new gear is a little on the slow side and is very linear for early game, the biggest issue being that using your items gives them item degradation and you constantly have to repair them, as well as purchase new consumables, so it is a constant balance of spending currency to keep your current weapons in action whilst at the same time saving up to buy new ones.

The same linear progression also comes into play with the game modes, starting out you only have access to Encounter mode, which is a single map that allows around 15v15 two way battle fighting to capture a single objective. The game automatically puts you into squads, which is cool, so you can move with the same people and talk over squad chat (most unlikely at the beginning but still useful), at least you can try and stick with them and focus on a single target. With no overhead map, or anything more than a single red marker popping up saying "spotted" when an ally sees an enemies last location, you really have to keep your eyes peeled. No floating nameplates or healthbars, if an enemy is sitting in a bush and you run past them, hell, if they're standing out in the open and you're just not paying attention, then you simply won't see them and the first clue you'll have that they're there is a bullet in your dome.

The Encounter is a nice proving ground to get to grips with the game, but having to play that single map over and over until you level up and unlock the next game mode (Skirmish) is a bit of a pain. Assault mode is a big jump, it has all unit types and its a fight over a huge map with multiple capture objectives; the attacking team has to take them all and the defending team has to defend them for a set amount of time. Now the resource system, which essentially gives both teams a set number of resources for Infantry, Armor, Flight, etc. that each time you spawn one of these items (including a player dying and respawning) it uses up your resources. In the "War (Elite)" game mode, which requires account level 10, handling resources on a huge open campaign map becomes a much bigger part of the game.

The Assault game mode is extremely fun, and you can imagine being grouped over voice chat with an organized group would make things even better, jumping in the back of trucks to get around or hopping on a bicycle to get from A to B quickly. As the defending team it is great trying to initially be proactive and push the enemy spawn points, finding yourself on a mission meeting with a bunch of players on a ridge overlooking an outpost and then storming it together. Or during a respawn when you come out onto the street and an enemy truck barrelled it down the street and a bunch of enemy infantry jumped out and the street broke out into a firefight. Little events like this are frequent and always exciting to be part of.

Performance wise is a hit and miss, for the most part you are fine, but the occasional lag spike can make you rubber band around short distances (often taking you out of cover) or makes hitting an enemy that was seemingly having the same issues considerably more difficult. Players’ personal ping is possibly one of the bigger downfalls of the game, but it is more a minor frustration than anything else.