Heroes & Generals

Heroes & Generals

Developer(s)	Reto-Moto
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Composer(s)	Jesper Kyd
Engine	Retox
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	July 11, 2014 (open beta)
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, Strategy video game
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
Distribution	Digital download

Heroes & Generals is a combined first-person shooter and strategy video game in a World War II setting. It is being published by Square Enix and developed by independent studio Reto-Moto, which was founded by some of the original founders of IO Interactive and the Hitman series.^[1]^[2] The developers call it a "mass participation game" in contrast to a traditional massively multiplayer online games, where the actions in the FPS-part of the game reflects into the strategy-part.^[3]

Gameplay

Heroes & Generals is an online war game with multiple game modes accessible from multiple platforms. Play the game as the hero on the battlefield, the officer making the tactical decisions to win the battle, the general command devising the grand strategy and everything in between.

Every player’s action has consequences for the war effort.^[4]

The main part of the game is a team based first-person-shooter, but it ties into a persistent game world. Within the strategy-part of the game, players can move resources around on a strategic world map, and when two Assault Teams meet, the battle between them will be played out as FPS-battles. The strategy part of the game feeds resources into the action game.^[5]

There will be three gamemodes for the FPS-part of the game for launch; Assault, Skirmish and Interdiction. Assault is a type of domination gameplay, Skirmish is a regular team-deathmatch, and Interdiction is an attack on supplylines.^[6]

The game includes World War II era tanks, planes, and land vehicles. Infantry units are also a vital gameplay aspect. Tactical decisions made by officers in grand campaigns affect in-game support, reinforcements, and logistics. Players will encounter a variety of terrain, from fields and countryside to large cities.^[7]

Features

Heroes & Generals will also feature unique features that will set it apart from other World War II games. The use of vast terrain vegetation will allow players to hide in brush and tall grass without worry of being spotted by snipers.^[8] It will be a free to play game, but, unlike other f2p online shooters, it will also have a campaign, various vehicles, and various small details which would make it comparable to games such as the Battlefield series or the Call of Duty series. Also, the games command mode will be able to be played using a tablet or smartphone. However, they have a different role in the game, in which they are commanders, or people who move troops and assault teams, call in airstrikes, etc.

Development

Heroes & Generals is being developed using Reto-Moto's own browser based 3d game engine, called "Retox",^[6] and is currently in an early beta-stage. The development-model is referred to as "User Driven Development", and the idea behind it is to show how the game is being made, and in the making the developers hope to get feedback from the players.^[3]

Marketing and release

On October 7, 2011, Reto-Moto released the first teaser trailer for Heroes & Generals as an exclusive video on GameTrailers.^[9]

It is also available on Steam as of July 11, 2014 as pre-release beta, available free to play for anyone with a Steam account.^[10]

References