Padre Playz Top 10 WWII Video Games

One of the most fascinating and devastating conflicts of modern history is the Second World War. The weaponry, the technology, the politics, the uniforms, the hardships, the sorrow, the atrocities have been studied and discussed for the last 7 decades. As humans romanticize war it was no surprise that even before the war ended, films, novels, and comic books told the tales of the brave allies fighting the axis powers. Then when video games became an entertainment medium they too took the backdrop of a war torn France or North African desert. I love video games set during WWII and I wanted to put together my top 10 favourite of all time. Heavily weighted in nostalgia I will look at my favourites that transported me to a battlefield in a foreign land…

10. 1942

I am going to start my list with Capcom's 1984 arcade classic 1942. (Full disclosure I have only played the 1986 Nintendo port). Hop in your P-38 and take on the entire Imperial Japanese Army Air service yourself while trying to take that top high score spot. A solid shooter and tons of fun to play and challenge friends to beat your score 1942 is just plain good old fashion fun.

9. Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far

Released in 1997 the second entry in the Close Combat series A Bridge too far takes place during Operation Market Garden. You are the general commanding troops on the battlefield. Using a bird’s eye view perspective order your Bren Light machine gun team lay suppression fire in the streets of Arnhem or have XXX Corps engage a SS Panzer division at Son. This game is a definite must play if you like WWII games in my opinion.

8. Day of Infamy

Originally an Insurgency mod Day of Infamy is a first-person tactical shooter set around battles on the Western Front. There are several classes to choose from like rifleman or engineer with specific weapons and tools. The game has some superb maps like the snow dusted forest of Bastone or the battered streets of Dunkirk. The big reason this game makes my list is you can play as Canadian Units. Specific units are unlock-able throughout the game. You can play as such heroic Canadian units as Princess Patricia's or the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. As a Canadian gamer it is great to able to play as a Canadian soldier.

7. Wolfenstein 3D

Sometimes I easily forget the godfather of FPS games is set during the Second World War. Released in 1992 by ID and Apogee and designed by the infamous John Romero Wolfenstein is an action-packed adventure. You play as B.J. Blazkowicz as you take on the Nazi Regime by shooting your way through bunkers and castles until you fight Hitler himself (in some kind of mechanized battle suit). Wolfenstein was a smash hit and has been re-released on every single platform you can think of.. Basically if it has a screen you can play Wolfenstein on it.

6. Hidden and Dangerous

My buddy got me this game out of the bargain bin for my birthday. I had really low expectations for the game. It ended up being one of my favourite all-time video games. H&D is a tactical shooter where you manage a team of four SAS soldiers behind enemy lines. Before each mission you pick the trooper you want. Arm them with weapons and equipment, strategize your plan of attack, then start your mission. To be honest at first, I had NO CLUE what to do. I was stuck on the first level for what felt like a decade. Once I beat that first mission it all kind of clicked and I started mastering the game. This is a must play for anyone who is interested in playing a more tactical WWII game.

5. Hearts of Iron IV

I am not much for strategy games as this list probably screams. I am a big run and gun first person shooter kinda fella. Hearts of Iron is not just a strategy game it falls under the GRAND strategy category. Although its not exactly my cup of tea, this game makes my list on how intensely detailed it is. You can take the helm of virtually any country during the conflict. The big players have very special strategy trees with some very interesting objectives. You can play very historically or practically re-write history. I took the Dominion of Canada made it a Communist Nation and abolished the monarchy, it was delicious. This is a game for those hardcore strategists, but also anyone who enjoys the history of that period.

4. Axis & Allies

In the same realm of Hearts of Iron we have Axis & Allies. Axis & Allies is a board game by the Milton Bradley Company first released in the 1980s. It is very similar to risk as you control units on the board and capture territories from your opponents. My friends use to come over to my house and we would play the 1998 PC version for HOURS AND HOURS. It was so fun working together to defeat the Axis powers or we would split up and fight on opposite sides of the war. I still remember the epic battle I had against the computer where I played as the United Kingdom. I defeated Germany in North Africa and led the invasion of Europe from there. Once Germany fell, I ramped up my efforts in the Pacific against the Japanese. Reclaiming fallen British colonies and then controlling the seas. Once I eliminated all the Imperial Japanese warships, I blockaded the Island and waged multiple invasion attempts until the Japanese capitulated. Such a fun game to play with friends. There is a new version of A&A on Steam and there is also a free open-source version that is also really fun called TripleA. With TripleA there are multiple maps you can download like a WWI map and a Lord of the Rings Map.

3. Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad / Rising Storm

I received Red Orchestra 2 as a free give away on steam. I gave it a quick try then shelved it. Maybe a few years later I add a WWII FPS itch I just couldn’t scratch so I thought I would give it another shot. Really glad I did. What an amazing WWII shooter. If you are looking for something with a little more realism then RO2 is what you need to try. It is also set on the Eastern Front where the Soviets fought back the invading German Army. I feel like a lot of the mainstream video games focused more on the Americans involvement in the war so it’s always refreshing to play as different armies with different weapons. RO2 is one of those games where your head needs to on a swivel. One wrong step into the street and a sniper has just added you to his kill list. My biggest beef with shooters is time to kill. I am the kind of guy who usually lands the first shot, but then people start running and jumping and end up killing me even though I had the drop (I know I know “git gud”). R02 is one of those games where you land a good shot to the torso or head then you got yourself a kill. Talking about Red Orchestra is a good segue into my number 2 pick..

2. Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45

First of all, I LOVE LOVE LOVE fan projects, fan mods, anything made by a community who loves their game and wants to continue to breath life into it. DH is a mod of Red Orchestra: Osfront 41-45 which builds on the original game by adding the western front and western allies to the game. Famous battles and locations are added like Foy, Bastogne, Carentan, the beaches of Normandy and much more. Based on the Red Orchestra model you need to keep your head down and use caution or you will be just another KIA on the after-battle report. The game is focused on squad based team work so its important if you are picking a role you understand that role. Meaning do not pick the light machine gunner role if you do not intend to provide covering support. The best part of this game is it’s a mod from 2008; based on a game that came out in 2006, and to this very day it continues to get updates from the community. Outstanding work by the people over at Darklight Games.

1. Enlisted

Now this game is still in open beta so anything about it can change, but I think this is the best WWII game on the market right now if you like a mix of tactical and arcade (so not counting Hell Let Loose or Post Scriptum). Also, for the amount of content and quality you get for a free to play game is just remarkable. There are 4 campaigns (Battle of Moscow, Battle of Berlin, Invasion of Normandy, North Africa Campaign) that you can grind both Axis and Allie factions through to unlock more advanced weapons, tanks, and planes. That’s right, this game is a combined arms game with playable tanks and fighter planes adding an added danger to the battlefield. What I like about this game is the new squad mechanic. You control a squad of AI in the battle. If you die you immediately spawn as the next alive squad member to keep the battle going. I really enjoy it as this game has a realistic time to kill so it kind of acts as a really quick spawn mechanic. As it is F2P there is microtransactions giving you more xp or giving you a maxed out unit; which I know is a sore spot for most people. My opinion has always been if the game is good, gives you lots of free content, is balanced with the advantages of paying, and most of all is fun to play.. then I will spend some real money on it. As it is free to play I strongly encourage everyone to give it a shot if you are a fan of WWII FPS games.

Well that was my list. Let me know what you think. Any in here that you love as well? Any I missed? Is my whole list rubbish? Let me know.

Some material (dates and basic info) obtained by citing Wikipedia.org