Headquarters: Cold War, and then Ardennes, helps its own core game excel
Really four games meshed into two.
Even though we’re still in the Cold War, at least this time… it’s turn based! So I easily jumped on the opportunity to get my hands on Headquarters Cold War. I’ve no clue as to why there’s been such an onslaught of Cold War set games recently. No big deal to me though — a wargame’s a wargame… as long as it’s thoroughly planned out and well constructed. Leave it to Starni and Slitherine to consistently do both.
For a quick Prologue, mostly about Starni games (the developer), as most people already know Slitherine, (the publisher), has been in the wargame business since at least 2019 — with their Strategic Mind Series. Those six games include 3D, WWII, TBS, wonderful battlefields (if such a thing exists) which were all developed and self-published by Starni. From “The Pacific” to “The Spirit of Liberty” (<—Finnish involvement), Starni covered a great deal of WWII. Having said that, let’s go to war with this newer (new-ish?) Headquarters series!
After all that WWII raving, the first one I’ll cover will (once again) be The Cold War… followed by their latest take on WWII, Headquarters: Ardennes. I’ve had a string of Cold War games recently so we may as well continue the pattern. Headquarters: Cold War is just what the army field surgeon ordered for this specific time period. I could instantly tell this was going to be different when the first screen loaded… and the highlight was a helicopter.
One of the main/and extremely fun things I really like about Starni’s games is their camera-zoom. I’m not talking about the one anyone can do, (although that works extremely well), but right after your move… when the camera shows the literal action of what you just did. If you shot, got shot at, ran through a fence, etc., it makes its own little movies, lasting a second or two. Of course you can adjust the frequency of the times the camera zooms in — as each movie lengthens your game — to fit however many times you want to see them.
Headquarters: Cold War, and then Ardennes, helps its own core game excel
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The Cold War, of course, is generally represented by NATO forces vs. Russian armies. That means that your first option is to pick which one of those you would like to play. Of course, you can bounce back and forth between the two, although that’s not highly recommended. But then again, your games, your choices.
The AI has developed and improved with each game Starni has made. (Hopefully, you recall this isn’t their first line of games) and you can really tell that here. Oh — before I forget… there IS a skirmish mode in addition to the campaigns, so you can basically set up any engagement you want (except for Angelina, because I believe she’s taken). By the way, the campaign’s scenarios are gated. I’m not exactly a fan of that, but I [sort of] understand.
My goal here was to play all the way through one, then do the same with the other… starting with the NATO forces. The first scenario for NATO was “Mannheim’s Defense”. Whereas the Russian side starts with “The Fall of the Berlin Wall”. Remember now, we’re in a hypothetical past, present, or future. (Seeing a game start with the Berlin Wall falling was a little shocking, to say the least.)
Each campaign has ten scenarios to plug away through. There are NO ‘easy ones’ to glide through on either side. Just like all of Starni’s creations, you have to earn your way through… especially with the scenarios being gated.
Headquarters: Cold War, and then Ardennes, helps its own core game excel
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Fast forward: Although a victory (for me) for each side, they were by no means easy tasks. They were very fun and sometimes quite daunting. A Blitzkrieg approach from either side, will get you slaughtered. If you ‘get stuck’ anywhere along the way, grow a pair and restart it. I’ve never been a proponent of save-scumming — you never know, that very first move might’ve tanked [pun intended] your entire plans going into the scenario. Your moves need to be meticulous and as assured as possible.
Headquarters: WW II — Ardennes
Back out of the Cold War and into more familiar territories… World War II. We’re not reviewing the entire game, which actually came out before the one I just went over. However, they have made a DLC for their initial foray into this series Headquarters: World War II. In reality, it’s the Ardennes (which I covered in a couple of other games (PC 2’s and Unity of Command’s, not long ago). So, this DLC is technically called Headquarters: World War II – Ardennes… which, by my opinion, is superior (by a hair… or hare) to their first DLC of Market Garden — In itself, still a great DLC.
Any time you play in the Ardennes, you may as well expect some trees. And some winter. And some wintery trees. When you fire this one up, you are tasked with playing as the Germans or Americans (logical). It’s your choice ,just like the Cold War game. Switch back and forth? (again, not recommended) or do one’s campaign then the other’s.
So this one little DLC is damn near two games in one! (As with the Cold War before it) Two different behemoths of WWII lead to two distinct perspectives, vehicles, logistics, approaches, etc. It’s a hell of an addition to what’s turning into a very promising series. My hope is that they focus more on WWII — Kursk [cough, cough] would be a nice next step.
From the German point of view (as well as where I started), your job is to stop the Bulge from ever happening. The Bulge referred to the way the map looked from an overhead perspective, as the American armies’ advance formed a kind of balloon-shaped pattern. The Axis was trying to cut the Allies’ supply lines in half… while both sides were trying to prevent the other from being able to use the port at Antwerp.
Headquarters: Cold War, and then Ardennes, helps its own core game excel
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The first scenario for the Axis is “Battle for Auw”. The German’s main driving force is that they’re pissed about the Americans gloating over making headway in the war, saying it’ll soon be over, etc. The Allies brought four armies into Belgium… assuming all they had to do was some ‘clean-up’. The Nazis proved otherwise… especially while trying to cut the Allied forces in half.
As the American side, you’re tasked with taking over the entire area of the Ardennes involved in the battle. As the American side, you want the Bulge… while also hoping it continues until it ‘pops’ — meaning that if the Bulge keeps growing, that means your advance is working… eventually leading to any Axis stragglers which may be left.
Headquarters: Cold War, and then Ardennes, helps its own core game excel
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The Allies start with “Reconnaissance at Mantelange”. Here your mission is to reach Bastogne and assist the 101st Airborne in order to produce a rear attack to the recent German offensive. If you happened to have played the Axis side of this game first, you’ll know exactly what I’m saying. If not? Orders are orders, regardless of what came before. The Recon part is for Mantelange — to find a more exact way to stop the Axis from reaching Bastogne.
Contrary to history, it is definitely possible to win as the Axis forces. That’s what makes games like these fun! If every soldier, vehicle, bullet was mimicked to exact historical standards, it might be okay once, but then… so what?
To be a Wendy Whiner: There’s one thing that really messes me up by playing all of these wargames. Left-click generally stays the same for selecting a unit. To move though, it could be left-click, right-click, or one of the two buttons which then pulls up a command window. I remember back in the 18… I mean 1990s during the RTS rage. Initially, people were pissed because — between each game there was no consistency. Hence, today’s wargames are suffering the same plight… of not having consistency between games.
