Well, this game went of sale for 10 dollars a few days ago, 1/2 price so I thought I would give it a whirl.
It reminds me a LOT of LucasArts "Strike Fleet" from the Commodore 64 days. I really decent "Harpoon" type of sim/RTS but a little easier to play.
You can command all sorts of Fleet units, modern Fighters, tankers, ASW planes like the P8 Posiedon...you get the idea.
There are a number of bugs being worked out, but the dev team is extremely involved in the forums, answering nearly EVERY post I've read (this reminds me of how HTC operated back in the good old days of 1999/2000, when the powers that be spent there time answering questions and talking about the game, not having to instead edit hundreds of posts a week with rule #xyz....yes their community is in its infancy and there aren't any trouble makers yet).
Already in the first couple of weeks the Dev team has answered the community's request for a mission editor...that fast, 2 weeks and Steam released it today, and I've only found ONE bug in it so far...pretty impressive for a first time making a game like this.
The campaigns can be played from both the Russian side or Nato's, and I've spent about 15 hours just getting through the first 1/2 of the Nato Campaign, I'd estimate there is about 35 hours of gaming here if you take your time going through the campaigns. There are also a ton of single missions, and now with the editor the sky is the limit.
You have control over all the sensors on the ships and aircraft, and even control of the SAM systems at the air bases and what not. You can use dipping sonars or sonabouys with the P3/P8/Helos, set altitudes of your fighters and strike packages...there is EW aircraft with different jamming abilities...truly a lot of detail without it being overwhelming or difficult for a new player. I think they have struck a perfect balance for both vets and new players here, and once all the bugs are stamped out it I think we'll have a real Gem of a game with a lot of staying power and modability. There currently is no save feature mid mission, its either complete it or start it over right now, although it does save your spot in the campaign at a mission completed level. Also the main complaint which is plaguing most players who are having trouble is a freezing bug, although with the patch released this morning some progress has been made on this front, and from what I've read in the bug forum, the dev team is on its way to stamping this issue out.
Anyhow, if you liked Strike Fleet back in the day, or Jane's Fleet Command ten years ago as opposed 25 years ago for Strike Fleet, this game is well worth the 20$, or 10$ if it goes on sale again soon.
