Naval War: Arctic Circle Impressions

The game was released by Turbo Tape Games/Paradox Interactive in April 2012. Long story short it is a real time naval strategy game. A DLC named Operation Tarnhelm was recently released adding some new missions; however some glaring issues have yet to been fixed. While the game is interesting and immersive, it struggles to be anything more than a bargain bin diamond in the ruff.

Several users have reported repeated freezing, although I have not experienced any yet in working through the various interactive tutorials and attempting the first single player mission. However, what I did run into was the patently absurd omission of a save game feature.

It has been reported that Turbo Tape Games was of the following philosophy during the development phase: “…a conflict between realism and gameplay, gameplay will win every time…” Apparently they got that in the wrong order. A save feature is a must in any game which features missions that can take 30 or more minutes to complete (even with time compression).

I really want to like NWAC, but at this point I am approaching it with much caution. Although I do have some time to video game, what I don’t have is extended periods of time to keep a game running in order to come back to and finish a mission. Real life interrupts on a frequent basis, and while I may think I would love to be launching Tomahawks at Russian warships all day long, I also have the laundry to do and groceries to buy.