Pacific Storm: Allies

Pacific Storm Allies is an add-on for the recently released Pacific Storm RTS Game.  Pacific Storm in its own right was loaded with so many variables that you could play the game a multitude of ways.  So many in fact, it was this reviewer’s opinion that most gamers will most likely get comfortable playing one certain style and play that way through and through.  Well I guess the developers are out to prove me wrong by adding more content.  Enough in fact to make my head spin.  Listed below are just some of the many added features I thought those intrigued to the expansion might be interested in. 

New nations allied to the USA and Japan in WWII, including Great Britain, Holland, USSR, and Germany that will interact with the nation controlled by the player and each other both in terms of peace and war.  Great Britain becomes the 3^rd playable faction with its own unique units and homeland bases.  There are also several new locations for establishing bases and combat including Indochina.  Because of the introduction of new allied units, there are more variants to compiling tactical missions. 

There are now hundreds of new technology upgrades that allow designing new historically accurate and unique weapons and units.  Army, Navy, Air, and Engineering Academies can be constructed to train personnel and increase their experience.

40 new aircraft and 20 new ships have been added along with a better damage model and hit location that is effected by combat and poor weather conditions.  AI and player controlled units better split their fire on suitable targets.  My favorite addition to the game is that you can now control ships in a 3D person view.  You can set speed, direction, order fire to main caliber, anti air artillery, and launch torpedoes separately.  You can also control aircraft with a mouse.

Visually the game also has a few noticeable enhancements.  Some added post effects like blur and glow, and environmental effects like waves, clouds and birds intensify the overall realism.

The Multiplayer system has been improved with 3 modes.  Battle Planner, Dogfight, and Historical games will surely challenge those who dare to wage war via LAN or over the Internet.

This is one expansion or add-on that I can honestly say a lot of effort has went into.  Pacific Storm in my opinion is a title that has so much detail to every perspective of game play that most players will not play the game to its fullest.  Now there is already an add-on that has a ton more features that again most will never pursue.  HOWEVER, for those WWII strategy fans that live and breathe micro managing down to literally controlling one specific unit this add-on will surely compliment an already well-developed game.