Steel Division 2 - Worthabuy?

[@VulcanHDGaming]

To clarify, campaigns are fully fleshed out Total War like experiences and there is a basic manual if you press "Esc". None of the singleplayer content, except Divisions (doesn't affect campaign, only skirmish), is locked in DLC except from the content down the line which is available in a sort of season pass, or purchasable individually on release. I would say I don't like how much the SD:N44 divisions DLC cost, they dropped the ball there. Otherwise though, over 600 units (900 with DLC), 39 maps (27 of which are unique), 3 game modes, 4 replayable extensive campaigns, 6 historical battles (which are great for co op by the way! Click scenario in multiplayer), satisfyng combat and gameplay. Can't really complain for £35. I think there should have been a basic combat tutorial in the game for sure, but once mastered this game is one of the most satisfying RTS games ever. I'd encourage anyone who purchases to join the community Discord where you can get loads of help toward that aim.

[@Marcusianery]

People do not understand how Eugen work. This is basically an expansion and not a sequel but it is released at one. Bit to often Eugen shoot emself. But then Paradox is on top fo it now too...

[@blacktea65s]

@@Marcusianery it is not an expansion. The it is a huge improvement to SD44. Air, tanks and artillery play totattly differently. The objectives and gamemodes have nothing to do anymore with the playstyle of SD44. Furthermore, the maps are way more diverse and the hardware optimization is really good. SD2 runs smoother and with better FPS than SD44 btw.

[@Marcusianery]

@@blacktea65s Well then, I get that. But Eugens games is often just stand alone expansions. I think Mack is way to hard on this one. Yes the DLC policy is a bit weird. But most players who play SD2, played SD44. Its really nice to see they improved on it! I be looking into buying it. I do enjoy the multiplayer in it at times. Intense and stressful!

[@HoboTango]

@@Marcusianery Paradox interactive have nothing to do with SD2.

[@Marcusianery]

@@HoboTango Thought they still would publish. Huh. well then.

[@potemps]

Mack - with all the respect, you didnt even scratch the surface with this review. Single player this time is made in diffrent way than it was in past wargames. Its like 4 big non linear operations - like it was in Graviteam Tactics games.

[@a05odst62]

Fixed everything that was wrong with the first game, much more like wargame... Love it!

[@DarkSlayer010]

A05 ODST I agree!

[@vulcanjoe8258]

You didn’t talk about the army general mode?

[@peternystrom921]

Army general is superfun

[@Warkip]

Yeah, there arent only 4 missions..... They are 4 campaigns

[@peternystrom921]

@@Warkip Campaigns in itself is why im keeping the game and not refunding. Multiplayer is a lot of fun tho, but i dont have time to "git" gud any more :)

[@vulcanjoe8258]

@@peternystrom921 yeah that's my reason for purchasing too!

[@overkill010]

AND missed out on historical battles. wich are a bit like the missions from SD44. Basically this review doesn't make any sense

[@misterurlauber333]

Wait... did you miss the biggest change to the first Steel Division game, the campaign mode aka Army General? This is like forgetting to put in a comprehensive manual, just sayin

[@Budisgud69]

Typical of him really.

[@willokeefe1135]

Fedora Connoisseur. then why do you watch him enough to know that?

[@n0rmalkid]

@@willokeefe1135 ASMR?

[@darsi8724]

He wouldnt have liked it anyway since its bad af

[@Xogroroth666]

Yer not s'posed to play it, only to buy it.

[@medicgaming7375]

You should remake this review and actually play the Campaign

[@Virtualnerd101]

Shyless It’s still pay to win.

[@dodo19821]

He should actually buy a game, from what i've seen most of these videos he hasn't even played the game he's "reviewing"

[@HoboTango]

@@Virtualnerd101 Its not. The divisions are B rated divisions. They have nothing on all the A rated divisions.

[@NatoRadeX]

Dont sub to this guy.. plz he's terrible. Go watch raptor play these games

[@Virtualnerd101]

@@NatoRadeX Worth a buy is one of the most honest reviewers on KZbin. He's been playing games since the 80s, I think he knows his shit about video games. You disagree with him about one game and you freak out like a corporate shill.

[@Bredaxe]

Does anyone remember the Close Combat series of RTS? I wish they would re release them.

[@billb0313]

Yup. Still have CC2 on CD ROM. Good times. 👍✌️

[@TheGriefmaker]

There is a new cc game coming out soon. Close Combat The Bloody First, it is even using a brand new engine. store.steampowered.com/app/811880/Close_Combat_The_Bloody_First/

[@xmifi]

You can buy them on gog com and even the remade ones are there. And yes cc2 , 3 and 5 was awesome.

[@Bredaxe]

@@xmifi I had them all when the originally came out but could only get invasion Normandy to work on modern systems with the CD. I downloaded CC5 but it would just freeze so I gave up on the series after years of replaying. They were the perfect games I thought, and I like the top down only view.

[@xmifi]

Bredaxe Well the gog version is running on win 10. If you have problems then they would refund your money. I am also a big fan of cc games that’s I would gladly recommend this one and the wargame red dragon.

[@RektemRectums]

Thank god, a video from Mack. Nothing else to watch all weekend!!

[@Outplayedqt]

Rektem Rectums perfect reason to binge on Ranton reviews

[@DrunkenGuitarGuy]

Rektem Rectums might be a sign that you need to get a life!! sorry, just sayin

[@RektemRectums]

@@DrunkenGuitarGuy Oh right I forgot to add sorry, just saying!

[@DrunkenGuitarGuy]

@@RektemRectums i might be a bit mean but i am surely not retarded, nothing wrong with the video but if its the highlight of your weekend.... well, refer to point #1

[@Zakalwe-01]

oooh...blunt stuff, but justified. I love SD2 though. A step up from SD1.

[@WorthABuyreviews]

I missed the campaign tbh

[@Zakalwe-01]

@@WorthABuyreviews And Normandy is just more relatable too. And how often to we get to play Commonwealth armies?

[@Warkip]

@@WorthABuyreviews which is a shame, vecause they really put a lot of work into that

[@potemps]

its bigger and better. Battles are much bigger i think, but in real world eastern front was MUCH bigger than western. Germans had like 20% of their army in france while 80 % on eastern trying to stop russians.

[@Zakalwe-01]

@@WorthABuyreviews isn't that whole Army General thing the new campaign? Can't say I'm totally gripped by it but it's interesting-ish.

[@peternystrom921]

Reading the comments realy shows that you should realy play the Campaign and remake the Review. They realy put a lot of effort on the Campaign.

[@jesperburns]

I'm pretty sure he said "the first of the four "missions" [of the campaign] was the hardest", implying he played the campaign as (as someone else pointed out) those missions are actually the 4 campaigns(?). Also, plenty of idiot fanbois have called him dishonest, which will just make sure Mack is going to dig his heels.

[@peternystrom921]

@@jesperburns in the campaign menu it says clearly they missions is ranked how hard they are with symbols not in the order they are presented. And i dont see much different here then all the other wargame campaigns exept hexes on the map

[@jonhart4563]

@@jesperburns no they said review was dishonest. And you called them idiots kinda same thing, not everyone is a fanboy that's a buzzword. We can differ without the hostility.

[@jesperburns]

@@peternystrom921 And is the first listed missions the hardest according to the symbol? If yes, then my previous comment stands.

[@peternystrom921]

@@jesperburns Why not choise the easiest mission then? There is two with 1 of 3 symobls and the rest is 2-3 i think. But then agian this review is bullshitt. A shame as this channel is usualy fair.

[@emclosuit]

I appreciate the honest review, thanks for being thorough and reviewing the game in it's entirety, faults and all.

[@Arhnuld]

Wargame is where it's at, those three games from 2012-2014 were the developers high point. There's an interesting backstory of the developers being either interns or scandalously under/late paid.

[@suddenxdeath]

Wargame was amazing. Really. I was wishing for another one of them.. It really had potential judging by the ammount of clans made during those releases.

[@princesstinklepanties2720]

Eugen employees were under paid so they went on strike, they also burnt the bridge with focus killing any chance of another wargame.

[@Aquelll]

Yeah and now that you have played the softcore Wargame you can elevate into Combat Mission games. :)

[@Taffy84]

@@Aquelll Sure, when they are on Steam for 40% off.

[@DeltaAssaultGaming]

I thought Act of War was their high point.

[@blastpop]

The four campaigns are playable by both sides and are huge many battles that encompass and are now dynamic unlike the first game. Plus you can also play at a strategic level if you wish. Much more campaign content than the first game if you look at it carefully.

[@azayomi]

It seems like he didn't really look at the campaign length. Thats exactly what I noticed in his review that was wrong as well. Still the game does need a better tutorial.

[@blastpop]

@@azayomino doubt a tutorial is needed. I think this game is a much superior over the first as it captures the sweeping actions of the Eastern Front with a nice broad stroke and not as much micro as the first as you have so many more units to command in a larger war.

[@blastpop]

I like Macs work - tho I think he missed important content with the dynamic campaigns. He is working himself to hard... The tutorial part is spot on tho.

[@TimmacTR]

SD2 is pretty good. You didnt speak about the actual "total war" campaign map and multiplayer pve EDIT: Btw, Mac I agree with the points you mentioned, I think they are mostly valid, not having tutorials is criminal in this game, just saying it's a shame you did'nt spend more time talking about the innovative features that were introduced into the game. Good review otherwise!

[@DarkSlayer010]

TimmacTR I reckon! What a MISS of a review!👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻

[@SEdwards2881]

Damn I was looking foreword to this. Doesn’t each of those campaign missions have a strategic map where you move whole armies around and fight multiple battles from one mission though?

[@lievencappelle1668]

It does and its great! This review doesnt do justice to the game. I like Macks reviews but this game is way more than what he said. The DLCs are annoying but it doesnt matter at all if youre gonna play singleplayer

[@Warkip]

Yeah, they are more like total war campaigns than missions, they really put a lot of work into them. Steel division 2 is so much better than than normandy 44. They should have some tutorials, but that is only in the beginning and there will be video's on youtube. I think he didnt did the game justice

[@princesstinklepanties2720]

@@lievencappelle1668 You dont play this game for single player because Eugene has always been shit with ai, multiplayer is the main focus which is trash compared to RD.

[@lake36]

Didn't you try single player? I mean Army General game mode. That's what this second game is all about. You really cant say much about the game without reviewing that as well ☹️

[@WorthABuyreviews]

I did not like it at all, it felt like they just bolted a half arsed game mode to the game, it played like something from 20 years ago, the ai cheated by hammering anything it sees firing on the battlefield forcing you to play totally different to the main game and above all it was not fluid like the main game RTS. All they had to do was add campaigns like they did in the first game, instead we got 4 missions and Army general mode.

[@KCatalano88]

@@WorthABuyreviews What? It's the campaign from the first two Wargame titles roughly, just with a ton more functionality. Honestly mate this review makes no sense. I think you're just being a whiny Sally because of the lack of tutorial. Mack again I love you but this review is trash.

[@lievencappelle1668]

@@WorthABuyreviews with all respect but this aint a casual game, the SD44 missions where too casuall and the core fans didnt like it at all. The target audience for this game are wargamers, for them SD2 is great. A dev actually listened to its corefans, this should be celebrated. The DLC stuf is stupid, i'll give you that. Since you're not into wargames, you shoudnt review it. You said it multiple times yourself, with racinggames how reviewers suck and therefor unable to review it. For example, youre unaware of youre units abilities and just hope for kills ... , enough said allready.

[@misterurlauber333]

@@WorthABuyreviews but why didn't you mention it in your review, at least briefly? If good or bad this kind of stuff belongs into a WAB in my opinion.

[@jonhart4563]

@@lievencappelle1668 yeah he's got ya there Mac. 😘

[@tekton4044]

The 'Army General Mode' was the main draw for single player portion of the game. Good or not, you should have at least talked about it.

[@mcsquared4319]

As of today, July 2020, the game has a light tutorial. You still have to search the net about some mechanics but it is just a great game, probably the best RTS of all once you know how to play. If you like singleplayer and you don't like the Army General campaigns, there are unlimited skirmish and historical missions. You can build divisions and watch your recorded games and move in 3D in the movie of your battles. A lot of depth and not that difficult to learn. Unfortunately, documentation is lacking as it seems to be the trend these days... Oh! I suggest that you start playing AI skirmish 2v2 on 1v1 maps and use pause regularly to take time to issue orders.

[@tigger2581]

The fact Mack missed alot of the good stuff makes u realize it would be great if games companies would just slice parts off the game and sell them i dividually so we are fully aware of the extra content. Or add a way to open semi-random surprise content which unlocks skins which can be sold for real money just to make it more interesting and keep us playing longer.

[@Fusseljack]

Thx for the review and calling out the developers for keeping content that should be there for everyone behind additional paywalls.

[@mitchverr9330]

The content behind "paywalls" are gifts to people who bought their last game (ie a thank you from the devs which they didnt need to add), a reskin pack, an art pack, an access pass and 2 preorder divisions, the only thing "locked" really is the 2 preorder divisions, the rest is filler fluff. The game was also delayed by a good while, some of this wasnt supposed to be out on day 1, but post release, obviously you cant just keep staff on hold doing nothing so they just did the work they were going to do anyway.

[@jnh8057]

Hey Mack can you do a review on the game kenshi please?

[@Avioto]

Most overlooked game ever

[@recurf7492]

he wont like it, he is too normie

[@Swwatter]

Yeah interested to see what he thinks of it. The game is really badly optimized though so I think he'd tear it apart for that. But, Kenshi is a diamond in the rough, seriously. Epic, epic game and I fucken love it... 500+ hours worth of love.

[@arjanv5664]

I agree that the pre order divisions are Ding! But the the base game has more than enough content to warrent the history pack giving you 3 extra dlc in the future. My advice if you like the look and feel of this game buy the first one on sale (I got it for 7 bucks awhile ago) then if you like what you see buy steel 2. It is better and the general mode is awesome. Plus if you have the first game you get the back to war for free.

[@aaronmcx]

People need to realize how Eugen has evolved. As they have gone from RUSE to SD2, they have become more and more focused on cultivating their niche audience and pushing for streamers and youtubers. This game is a better refinement of the formula when it comes to multiplayer battles, but I agree it somewhat misses the OBVIOUS mark when it comes to the campaign, day 1 dlc and etc... That said, I would agree that it isn’t for a newbie to get. Better if you’re used to Eugen.

[@TexYMatt98]

But they have improved a lot in the campaign aspect of the game from previous games...

[@deletethis7848]

The biggest issue for a good singleplayer skirmish/campaign is how cheesy is the AI. I remember back in Wargame Red Dragon final campaign (the 2nd Korean War) you can just drop JSDF Paratroopers and as much planes as you can into Pyongyang and HODL 2 days to rout half of the North Korean army in a single blow.

[@Blanzalot]

Its better than SD44. Its SD but w Red Dragon customization.

[@georgegorman3970]

Imagine HOI4 campaign with this battle gameplay

[@999Claymore]

Guys the DLC is just the old divisions from the first game which they give to you for FREE if you own the first one.This isn't the same as your typical day one dlc. I'm seeing a lot of people shit on what is a really good game because they don't understand what the dlc is.

[@retrorunner79]

"If you're new to this and didn't own the last one, you're not only gimped you also don't know what the fuck you're doing" **DING** Brilliant review!

[@jphil-mk8bw]

Well here’s a game I’ve waited a long time for and half the game is day one dlc. Thanks for the review

[@lievencappelle1668]

SteelDivision 2 is way better than Sd44. Mack ignored a lot of stuff about the game in this review. You just need to put more effort into it too learn, its true that its lacking a tutorial but singleplayer is way more than just skirmishmode. Its not 4 missions, its 4 big operations in wich you play on the strategical map and tactical matches. Its a lot like graviteam tactics. If you like wargames youre gonna like this, not so much for casual gamers.

[@spellcaster39ify]

It's not really like Graviteam Tactics. Yes the two have a turn-based operations mode followed by real-time tactical battles, but the similarities stop there. SD2 is so fast-paced, with everyone arriving in trucks or APCs, artillery plays a very small role, and the level of micro-management is carpal tunnel syndrome inducing. The bizarre treatment of artillery is what gets me the most, however. How on earth did they develop a game where artillery is reduced to an interdiction and smoke-laying role? Same as in SD'44. I got the Storm in the West mod and it was a bit better but still it was basically impossible to use artillery. Doesn't anyone in Eugen read history books and journals that depict the 30-60 minutes of rolling barrages the Soviets used in Bagration and other operations?

[@AhidoMikaro]

The DLC system seems enough of a reason for it to not be worth a buy.

[@Dregomz02]

greedy dlcs +preorder bonuses + broken all knowing cheating ai = trash game

[@TurKlack]

@@Dregomz02 You sure you aren't just bad?

[@HoboTango]

There is only one DLC. The other are pre order bonuses and a season pass.

[@AhidoMikaro]

@HoboTango talk about being brainwashed.@Dregornz02 are you seriously going to defend bad AI? We all know AI in video games is garbage and something developers barel yspend any proper time on. Instead of making it better they make it cheat. That doesn't mean the player can't handle it just fine. It just mean it is so bad it breaks the game by cheating, otherwise it doesn't present any real threat. But being made to cheat it does exactly that, it breaks the game, because a lot of the game's systems stop mattering. For example not being able to starve the AI in some strategy games, because they will just resources from thin air to be competitive.

[@Dregomz02]

@@TurKlack no, i can see when enemy ai cheats, and in rts games they always do cheat for example total war series with ai having unlimited units out of nowhere after you beat them, dawn of war/age of empires/civ had ai with much more resources than they should have even if you already have 99% of the map ai still gets boost, so why this game would be any different. AI knows exactly where you are and will spam artilery and tanks at you.

[@Tekagi502]

That was an awesome second review of Steel Division 1 :)

[@socialanimalmedia]

When I bought Arma 3 I was in for a big surprise just like this. Quit playing almost immediately after the intro b/c I had no idea how to do anything and the game made zero effort to assist that. Maybe I'm dumb but I dont know...

[@MrKidbatz]

Valid points but please update your review after playing the campaign.

[@xmifi]

The game is excellent . It’s better then the last one for sure. As for the dlc you don’t need it. You can always pick it up later at a discount. If you like wargame series or men of war then I would highly recommend this one.

[@kreyes1126]

More pure scumbaggery from the greedy publishers. Make a full game and then give us 1/2 of it. You have to preorder the deluxe version for an extra 20$ and then buy $30 of day 1 DLC just to get up to 3/4 of the full game. Then it's Microtransactions and a season pass for a year if you want that last 1/4 of the game ! Screw these game companies!!!

[@DarkSlayer010]

Those 4 “missions” are actually campaigns🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️ And no, Steel Division 1 is shit compared this game. Period!!

[@gabrielnieves3972]

AYE!

[@TexYMatt98]

I think this kind of review happens because you rush so much to release the videos. Take your time to make a good analysis of the game you are recommending. I love you mack, but goddamn take your time.

[@rodrigoguimaraes4576]

It´s really short sighted to bash this game mainly because of it´s DLC policy. It´s a complex, niche game, the audience is very restricted, the devs are relatively small but competent, and they have to find ways to make more money and support the game for a long time. This isnt your EA with their money grubbing disgusting cash in schemes, dumbing games down to "appeal to larger audiences". SD2 is a labor of love and a gift to hardcore strategy wargamers, even with some very questionable design decisions such as not including tutorial. I´ll gladly pay 2 or 3x the main game's price in dlcs to support it and you should do it too if you care for the future of harcore gaming.

[@jammiedodger7040]

If I got this game would it be worth buying normality 44 first

[@rijkaard1579]

yes

[@violatorut2003]

Wargame: Red Dragon has the same problem with it being a sequel and having no tutorial. I played European Escalation and even I sucked, I still had fun and understood why I sucked. Red Dragon was so hard though, and I cannot understand why it was harder than the previous game.

[@xXJack159Xx]

Thanks for warning me about this game Mack. I kinda was interested but never played any of the previous titles and since its so beginner unfriendly and greedy I wont bother.

[@HoboTango]

Its only newcomer unfriendly if you cant count to 10. If you made it past grade 2, you should have the intelligence to figure it out.

[@McMonkeyful]

I was really enjoying the Skirmish mode in beta & was REALLY looking forward to the campaign. It's early days but so far I'm not too impressed. #1 There is no way to save during the enemy's turn. I started as the Germans, fought one battle and run out of time before having to go to work (9 hour evening shift finishing at midnight followed by a cheeky 7-3 overtime shift the following day) so I had to leave the PC on for 24 hours! I think the PC was on sleep mode for most of it, though a slight mouse movement will wake it up. I'm not onto the third battle of the AI turn & still can't save. If there's a powercut or the toaster trips my supply I'm going to lose hours worth of gameplay! They really need to sort this aspect out. #2 I can already tell this was completed in a rush & has not been thoroughly play-tested. In my second battle (apparently a meeting engagement, though it looked like breakthrough-defense with me having bunkers etc...) I noted that the Russians had only brought an Artillery Regiment in A Phase then the other two battalions in B, so I push aggressively with my Sturmschutzen and hunted down all their completely undefended artillery. I then set up defenses on all their spawning points. I got a message that the battle would end in 10 seconds as their reinforcements were blocked but nothing happened & I had to wait it out for the almost the entire duration, despite holding all 24 objectives. In the meantime the AI sent it waves of Stormoviks that wore down my 20mm AA but other than that I took only a handful of casualties. This felt very buggy. I hope they can iron out these issues as I really like the game & want it to be awesome.

[@theunhappygamer1744]

Well there is a in game Manuel. Its not as good as a tutorial but its not like they completely didn't tell you how to play the game.

[@str34mln3r]

What a dishonest review, I advise everybody who regularly watches this channel to look into the game for themselves, it will quickly dawn on you that he didn't even mention the major single player components the game features and the game itself might not be to his preferences, but the developers listened a lot to their fanbase. Overall reception is far better than SD1.

[@spellcaster39ify]

What's dishonest about it? He didn't lie about anything. He just said that it's a clickfest that moves too fast, has no tutorial and requires mind-numbing levels of unit card stat reading that does not really enhance the experience. If you like a roaming camera view of a FPS shooter, SD2 is your game. If you're going to call someone dishonest, at least point out what they have been dishonest about. Sure he could have gone into the Operation level gameplay ("single player") a bit more but who has really ever been out-played by the AI on a map? Everything is just like Total War. You min/max, and trap the AI into squandering superior numbers as they try the same predictable tactics. At least if the AI could use off-map artillery, pre-zeroed to major positions and axes of attack, and actually put your units under real pressure from range and cause you to really think about force conservation, you might be right that single player is actually worth considering. But as it is, it's a tactical battle generator with some added features like bombarding and bombing to pin entire units to their starting positions like attacking during the night in Total War locks any reinforcements that don't have a commander with "Night Fighter" traits. Silly gamey stuff that flies in the face of their declarations of being a serious and historically accurate wargame. SD2 is actually fun but in a completely different way than a proper wargame should be.

[@Marcusianery]

@@spellcaster39ify He missed out on there being 4 campaigns and not just 4 scenarios. Since he basically said he do not like the multiplayer it is odd how he could miss it. Is it not?

[@Marcusianery]

@@spellcaster39ify I do not have the game, but to me it sounds like those campaigns are more true to the multiplayer part, which is the CORE part of the Eugen games.

[@spellcaster39ify]

@@Marcusianery The campaigns are single player though?

[@Marcusianery]

@@spellcaster39ify Yes, but thats not what he complained on was it? He prefer coop or singleplayer. Mack misses the point on this game totally. It is a bit like buying Dota 2 and not liking the multiplayer. Essentially Steel Division 2 is a "glorified" expansion that polishes the first game. But Eugen do not work that way sadly. A niche game series, with very peculiar game mechanics that is mostly for old fans. Wargame Red Dragon was the same as Steel Division 2, a polish "sequel" That acted more like an expansion.

[@quixadhal]

You know... if publishers were honest and would just say "Hey, you can buy the starter edition of the game for $60, or the FULL version of the game for $120", many people would probably be more wiling to shell out the $120 if they know they don't have to get nickle-and-dimed again and again. That's also why many adults prefer subscription based MMO games. Paying a flat fee to play the game, and maybe having to purchase an expansion every year or two, is easy to budget for. As much as I love Paradox grand strategy games, their DLC always feels like random pokemon encounters. "A wild DLC appears in the tall grass!"

[@kfirlevy7635]

What's the name of the background soundtrack?

[@JaamesJohnson]

You obviously completely missed the Army General Mode!!! Steel Division 2 is a HUGE leap over the original...

[@keno101]

SD: Normandy 44 is also on sale right now on Steam.

[@lucascadman7116]

The back to war DLC is Normandy 44 ported for free if you bought that game. It's better than Normandy 44 because the campaign is more fleshed out and for a review it is a disaster that they weren't considered. The maps are better as they have more open spaces for tanks to shine. Infantry is stronger than in the last game as they are less squishy. While the Pre-order bonus isn't okay the extra divisions were a last minute gift to try to make up for the delays. It is criminal that there is no tutorial in this game and I respect your opinion and love your content. No hate and I can see why you would give this game a middle thumb. Here's a tip, SMG kill infantry close range so anything with PPSH or MP 40 are good close range.

[@Daimo83]

"Marrster" the bloody northerner has become posh

[@FullMonterey]

Chilled me to the very bone

[@Gaso_Meter]

Absolutely agreed. There's nothing more to say! (remember the manual to jane's simulations? 250 pages tutorial!)

[@blacktea65s]

this game is not rocket science if you are curious enough and watch a few tutorials

[@Gaso_Meter]

@@blacktea65s No, of course it's not. But that is not the point either. Why do I have to rely on the experience of third parties to get guidance for a game? I just don't understand this sloppy and lazy naughtiness of the gaming industry. Maybe you already belong to the generation for whom this behavior is normal and therefore you think that it's no big deal if a game isn't explained.

[@Andy-Kach]

Thank you for your great humor! When I came home after work and watched your videos I was laughing ass off!

[@cajjono2848]

im a new player and jumped straight into sd2,glad i watched vulcangaming instead of this review.

[@riekopo7638]

Does it have a manual?

[@tillytilford2158]

I was looking for something like this game and your advice on being a new player to the game was great and made me chuckle. Thank you.

[@jackbauer7742]

So not all modern games ruin your skills, some challenge them, I guess. :) This is a very niche game, I doubt that many people will buy this, that are not into that kind of stuff. Would have been nice to see more of the campaign mode.

[@Marcusianery]

Mack, the game is basically an expansion! Like all their games but Eugen always done it as weird stand alone games. >.

[@gogista]

Mack it's not a short campaign. It's a surprise early ending.

[@Ednilao1024]

I'm always looking forward to see how the intros are different for every review.

[@AndyP998]

SD1 was very good but armor values were not realistic like on this and i believe they buffed engagement distances up to 2km from previous 1.2km? was it. I like this better

[@prutator6063]

I have cash for only one title. Now, the price tag on both games is very similar. Should I buy the first steel division or this one? I rather play singleplayer.

[@_Makanko_]

I hate it when I miss out on units and gameplay because I did not decide to buy a game upfront on the promise of a good game without having seen anything (pre-order only stuff). And then also those DLC's .. so infuriating. Not only should I have paid this upfront, it's also a lot more expensive then the box-price if you want the full game. Just be honest about these things and sell your game for more instead of chopping it up.

[@ChuckstaGaming]

Gunship! I LOVED that game! I've been waiting for a remake or similar for years upon years!!!!!

[@Garycarlyle]

Games like this can be hard to find friends that will play it with you too and when you play against random hoomans they just slaughter you because they have no life. Although I do enjoy them otherwise.

[@rankyrhoads2415]

I miss reading game manuals on the toilet...those were the days...thought they'd never end...dah dahhhh da dah da dah da dahhh.

[@Subtleknife12367]

Let me guess he missed Army General mode...you had one job....hahahaha

[@les121476]

appreciate this video, just finished watching your video of Normandy 44 as well. bored of all these garbage games as of late and was reminiscing about the days of playing sudden strike with my team sudden strike 2 and sudden strike forever {NAA} Prime, hope you are doing well old man! but am looking to get back into RTS games and wanted to say cheers, going with Normandy 44 for now, thanks Mack!!!!

[@JackassJunior627]

Stupid question but are we ever going to get updates on your gaming channel Mackscorner???

[@Gabriel-of-YouTube]

Mack, we need that 2014 attitude of yours!

[@viperchrisz4]

I played a bit of '44 but yeah I specifically opted not to purchase last minute just because of the ridiculous content pay walls. Will wait for sales, I have a lot of other stuff to play for now

[@oulanos1]

Thanks for that! I was going to buy it but now I might wait a bit... This channel is the only one where I come back after watching the video to check if I forgot to thumb up 👍🏻😂

[@Mrwarspite1]

Hell yeah, gunship with the c64 keyboard overlay!

[@Cheezwizzzzz]

Thank you Mack! I love you.

[@suddenxdeath]

i was banned from their thread discussion for making this comment: Is steel division 2 a dlc to, Steel Division Normandy 44? Same gameplay with a few new gameplay functions such as move orders and ways to tell your units to move. You can also see the LOS (line of sight) of a unit now. Trenches and fighting positions has been added which is actually nice. Same sounds. Many of the same units. (A lot of new ones which is nice) No tutorial or guide for newer players. Same engine. Same graphics (slightest improvement) Exclusive locked divisions behind the ''first game'' Steel division 2 all and all feels like a otherwise patch to an already existing game but instead of a free patch it's an full release, full cost copy. I really enjoyed the wargame series. I also enjoyed the first normandy, mayby not as much as wargame but i still did. Sadly the community died really fast in normandy do to lack of interaction. Wargame also died because of stopped support (New content) and again, interaction. So my question is, Am i the only one who think this should have been in the standard game as an patch? Their reason? i was trolling.

[@zgrillo2004]

censorship of criticism. this is the problem with steam. they dont want their sales to slip. contact a mod or a steam mod and make a complaint

[@mitchverr9330]

@@zgrillo2004 I dont think it was that, I have seen them not banning people for doing this stuff, I suspect there was something more to it, you know, there usually is... Such as insults, swearing, abusive commentary etc.

[@suddenxdeath]

@@mitchverr9330 there wasen't anything more to it, still have the picture of the incident. imgur.com/MHUelE3

[@justsomeguy4517]

Theres too many middle thumbs mack! Just say screw your day 1 DLCs thumbs down!!!!

[@HoboTango]

🙄 The DLC was planned for June 6th to commemorate the memories of soldiers who took part in D-Day. The DLC gives D-Day divisions. Was supposed to release two months after the game but the game had to be pushed back. The DLC team didn't stop working just cause the game was pushed back, understandably. When the DLC was ready, they released it on time for D-Day. Nothing scummy in celebrating our veterans sacrifice against the Nazis.

[@johnytrace5203]

i don't understand why having day one DLC and some exclusive content is problem in game like this, if you buing game for 40 without any additions you still getting 4 full campaign 6 missions (you can play them alone coop or PvP) 25 maps 16 divisions and 600 units and 10 free DLCs There is enough content from the start in most basic edition its fair to pay for anything extra name me some RTS game (not from Eugen) which have more free content than SD2 , you may find few i actually didn't play that many strategy games but SD 2 is definitely far above average.

[@pladimir_vutin]

i can tell if the game is worth a buy or not from mack's view , by the music playing on the background.

[@Swwatter]

Unfortunately he didn't play the game long enough to really get into the meat of it. It isn't 4 missions, it's 4 massive campaigns. I love Mack but he did a half assed review this time around.

[@RuddsReels]

Is this like the Wargame series?

[@backstabbath1979]

Hey Mac, Can you do an updated review on "Foxhole" when you get the time please? It's gotten exponentially better since your last review. It just released a major update 6 days ago which changed everything. Thanks mate!

[@chobbler]

Just checked out Steel Division Normandy 44 on Steam. Turns out it's already in my library but never played it lol. Installing it now :0)

[@SymeonPhronema]

SDN:44 is just okay. It's a good game and all, but SD2 blows 44 out of the water. The devs listened to the players, and while I have been a long time fan of Mack's channel I respectfully disagree with this review here. He didn't hit on a huge portion of the single player, and that's a huge selling point for SD2. Anyhow, hope you're enjoying SDN:44.

[@davegt27]

F for respect for Microprose the gaming giant

[@CheeseAlderman]

You completely missed out army general mode!

[@60FpsGoodness]

Mack, would you do a commentary video about the latest EA and Epic hearing in the UK Parliament. Its pretty hilarious the excuses they give. EA even renamed Loot Boxes to "Surprise Mechanics".. *dink* Source: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/0bf5f000-036e-4cee-be8e-c43c4a0879d4 Your commentary would be epic. :)

[@hunterjhp9273]

Hey Mack You need to review Loria it’s a great game and the developers need some support in getting their game out their

[@corneliaedgerton3595]

Mack you've become soft. Middle thumbs should be avoided.

[@Outplayedqt]

Chengzhi Zhang yep. Guess his viewership and CPM sucks if a review is negative. Seems counterintuitive with the outrage culture that’s dominating this platform but not in these cases

[@corneliaedgerton3595]

@@Outplayedqt I don't know about other people, but I generally enjoy his negative reviews and rants more than when he actually enjoys the game.. He used to have a 'let's call a spade a spade' kind of attitude, but now he's more cautious. I miss the old Mack :(

[@WorthABuyreviews]

I should scrap thumbs all together tbh, they are toxic and mean fuck all, it's what is said in the review that counts.

[@superhans85]

but Mack if you don't thumb up or down how can you be "worth a buy?" so many games reviews channels on youtube. There's a reason your many peoples number 1!

[@bradleysdavis8400]

3:00 in. K, thanks Mac, see you on the next vid (y).

[@coffeefox5703]

Oh no, the campaign isn't short. They just put a lot of the 'campaigns' into DLC.

[@XCROSSBONEX]

I just checked the (undiscounted) price of this and the DLCs. For an uncompleted game, that amount of money would be to much in my opinion. 9:33 'If you've got the first one and you liked it and you want more of the same, then...obviously this is worth a buy' Ehm...it's not. If i got the first one and liked it and want more of the same, i go ******* play the first one!

[@anonymus277]

hate when companies do that, like you have to pay for another half of the game, so yea, thank you for the review, i saved 40€

[@mitchverr9330]

That isnt whats happening though from what I can tell, you have the base game, a 4/8 division gift to people who own the previous game (ie a thank you to them) which will be its own thing in the future i think, a reskin pack, an art pack and a DLC pass. There isnt this "half of the game missing" meme. Also the game was pushed back, some of this wasnt supposed to release till psot game, however due to the game being delayed it was released with it. The only "issue" bit is the 2 divisions requiring preorder but honestly not being that vital.

[@anonymus277]

@@mitchverr9330 i don't have to previous game, so this means i don't get anything for my 40€ just a half game, i mean no tutorial which would be vital to new players, i played previously european escalation which is awesome, the sad thing is, there are no player base left on it, i really like to believe in this game, because ww2 is my favorit theme, but the arty spam which i really hated from the european escalation it still appears + lots of dlcs to get the full game

[@wither2654]

Mack screw the army general mode in this game you really nailed my opinions with this day one dlc bs. Im a new player and it was super disheartening to see I was being punished for not owning the first game.

[@SymeonPhronema]

Not the case if you're referring to single player game play. The stuff they added from the first one was simply something nice they did for the people who owned the first one, and it doesn't give you a leg up *at all* in single player, and would arguably give you a leg up in multiplayer. In reality the divisions that shipped with SD2 are more than capable of dealing with their western front counterparts. I'm certainly no fan of day one DLC, but that particular DLC isn't pay to win, and really is there as a thank you to fans who own both.

[@MrVALENTIUS]

Thank you Mack.. I almost bought the SD2... Will keep playing 44

[@lievencappelle1668]

SD2 is way better, if you play single player then consider that mack left out 75% about it in his review. Its way more than just skirmish.

[@Czecher86]

And where are Surprise Mechanics aka lootboxes?

[@pascals.7481]

Is there a vid about f1 2019 coming when it's official released

[@WorthABuyreviews]

Yeah I was gifted it so expect a review after it releases. I will be doing my usual lap comparison using Monza so you can see all the differences and ofc I can actually drive unlike many reviewers (no names mentioned) :)

[@SpaceJelly45]

You like apples? How do you like them apples!

[@peterkeyes1814]

Army General???

[@winninglikecharlieS]

Dude has a weird grudge against the franchise

[@alexanderB9869]

Not really he loved steel division normandy

[@hejdu4480]

I love the game but if you are new to the series it is very hard to get into. Idk why they dont have a toturial.

[@hejdu4480]

When it comes to sp missions there is a general mode that is really fun.

[@deecsaunders]

You need to be able to set general fallback zones.

[@WhoWouldWantThisName]

Mack just gave a game the middle finger. Okay it was his thumb, but still.

[@LorenTR]

You didn't say if single player AI was any good. That's a huge omission.