Order of Battle: Burma Road DLC

Haven't finished it yet, but so far so good, I think it's a great addition! I hope they continue to expland this game for other campaign in WWII, from the Middle-East/North Africa/Meditrtanean (1940-1942 period), and Allied campaigns in Europe.

This is one of the worst excuses for a strategy game I have ever seen. I have only made it halfway through the campaign, and already I can make a final judgement. IT'S SHIT!!! DO NOT BUY THIS!!! Why? Well, let's do a step by step review of the five battles I've played so far. The first battle: Operation Krohcol Actually, this battle is fairly good. All the first battles are at least decent. Three pronged assault on Thailand/Japanese controlled Malaya. Smash some strategically located cliffsides to cut off a road for a few months and kill some Thai and Japanese people. Good British fun! You control your core army in the center, a group of Australians to the right who arrive about 2 or 3 turns in, and then there is a group of Indian troops to your left. You can't control them. Their AI is incredibly dimwitted, by they can usually seize the Thai Checkpoint they've been assigned to capture. That said, it's a close call and you'll probably have to bail them out a bit. This is a small taste of the hell to come with your incompetent Indian troops. It doesn't seem so bad in this level, but I can assure you, you will come to hate the people of India by Sittang Bridge. But in all seriousness, if I were and Indian, I would feel insulted by my nation's portrayal in this pile of shit. Second Battle: Task Force Z Ah, more naval crap. This game doesn't do Navies very well. That said, this is really more of an Air Mission. The Royal Navy cannot be controlled, instead, you have to dispatch a large amount of aircraft (mostly fighters) to save what's left of Task Force Z from complete annihilation at the hands of the Japanese Army's aircraft. The battleships are scripted to sink, this was a major setback for the UK after all. But then there are the destroyers. Four to start with and two others that arrive later. Your job is to protect them. Which wouldn't be so bad, if the AI didn't get the bright idea to leave the air cover you've provided for them and sail under the Japanese planes that are trying to kill them. The worst part is that the Navy gets their move after you but before the Japanese. Meaning, that when the destroyers move there is absolutely nothing you can do. I can fight the enemy well enough, but my own retarded allies are another story. If they can't get the AI to work, then they should make the Navy units playable in this scenario, but that would involve this game being made by someone competent. Hell, just have the destroyers stay where they are, just don't have them actively sail to the Japanese like they wish to commit suicide. Mission 3: The Fall of Singapore This level is the greatest historical defeat the British suffered in the Pacific Theater. It is somewhat frustrating, in the sense that you get overrun and outflanked. Once again, it actually happened so I can't complain. And yet, in practice this is one of the least frustrating levels because at least you get to control the Australians that are guarding your flanks. Without having to deal with bad allied AI, you can manage well enough for the most part. Still, you're going to take some casualties, and I wish that this game would allow for that by giving you more resources to work with. But I digress. Mission 4: Kawkareik Pass This is where my entire campaign fell apart (read, I took too many casualties and the game didn't give me nearly enough resources to rebuild my poor battered army). You have to defend a City with an optional (but highly recommended) option to extend your defensive line into a hilly area outside town to really give the Japanese a bloody nose. Alas, it then turns out that the Armies at your flanks have been routed and you have to retreat to avoid encirclement. This wouldn't be so bad if the non-controllable Indian AI that are defending your Army's flanks haven't been defeated, thus forcing you to withdraw and abandon your fortified city to recapture a town to the Northwest. On one hand, this failure of the Indians is practically scripted. But the Indian defenders in the city are still awful and make this battle harder for all the wrong reasons. But you won't hate Indians until the next battle. Mission 5: Sittang Bridge This battle seems fairly straightforward. Quickly retake the city of Sittang and it's rail bridge and help a group of Indian fighers escape. Except, once again you can't control the Indian unit (a whopping one unit of Colonial Infantry, the cheap cannon fodder unit your army uses). Said Indian unit starts out downright suicidal rushing at the Japanese defensive lines with reckless abandon. And if it dies, you lose. Because how could the Empire survive losing a small group of cannon fodder? Worse, the Indians go from suicidal to start with, to overly cautious and slow when they actually get near the rail bridge. Which is to say they won't cross unless you take the bridge yourself, even if it's undefended and the Indians could easily take it with some of their earlier aggression. You also have to seize some of the area across the bridge in order to form a line to the escape point. Earlier, they try and join the fight when I just want them to evacuate already. WHY CAN'T I CONTROL THIS STUPID UNIT. WHY DOES THE RETARDED AI HAVE TO CONTROL THESE GUYS. ACCORDING TO THE STORY, I AM THEIR COMMANDER. JUST LET ME CONTROL THIS UNIT. WHICH IDIOT THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA. Make the mission harder if you think it's too easy. Don't just force me to use awful AI to arbitrarily increase the difficulty. And once you save them, another group of Indian stragglers arrives and needs to be rescued. Just as the Japanese launch a massive assault that cuts off Sittang from your starting point. Those Indians are basically dead. Now that I know this I might be able to plan my strategy more effectively and help shepherd the second group of Indians to safety. But still, the Empire is lost because I lost a handful of expendable troops? The British just give up in Asia altogether because of some Indian troops getting caught by the Japanese? Seriously, why can't I just blow the rail bridge and run away? Why MUST I save a small group of low quality troops? I just cannot get into this scenario. It is just too stupid and is only difficult because you have to babysit a unit of suicidal idiots. At this point, I am done with the Burma Road campaign. We were promised Chindits and Australian displays of might and valor. We got Suicidal Indians and Suicidal Royal Navy Destroyers. The Australians are merely OK and only sometimes available. The special forces units are still fragile and gimmicky and require 10 resources to attack in a way that isn't completely terrible. I thought this would be like Morning Sun, the only DLC that I haven't regretted buying, and the only good campaign set in the Pacific Theater. But no, it's the US Marines DLC with the crappy amphibious element replaced with crappy escort missions instead. This game seems to just get worse with each new additions. Order of Battle World War 2 peaked over a year ago with Morning Sun and hasn't been worth your money ever since.

Took a while to get used to this dlc but ended up being one of my favourites A few annoying bugs like some "upgraded units" actually being worthless and worse then the units they would replace EG hobarts funnies abd some aircraft But overall has a good mix of missions and units suffers from the curse of having too many non core units eating all your supplies some missions but well worth a buy

Very good variety of maps and game play. Not a standard hex strategy campaign where you slowly march units across field. Many infantry maps are focused on doing specific thing and then getting to another point without having to hold until end of scenario.

A pretty enjoyable and occasionally creative campaign that gives you an opportunity to wage smaller-scale warfare with British units and equipment. The opening scenario is one of the stronger ones due to its interesting 3-way battle premise --British-Commonwealth units clash with the Japanese vanguard in Thailand with neutral Thai police units caught in the middle -- and it sets a good tone for the rest of the campaign. There are several scenarios with unique designs; suppressing worker revolts and capturing Gandhi, working behind enemy lines with airdropped supply as the Chindits, and a few 'controlled retreat' scenarios that all offer an interesting experience. I will note that you are nearly required to use allied and auxiliary units in several scenarios (and some allied units have abysmally poor AI...) which might be a dealbreaker for those who enjoy metagaming their core, but I enjoyed the variety. The Japanese opponents in this campaign are very numerous, powerful, and frequently accompanied by strong air support. Burma Road does a good job of making you feel like the underdog, relying on the quality of your troops as well as your own tactical prowess to overcome each challenge, and you are given a lot of rough terrain to use to your advantage. This is possibly the most light infantry/commando friendly campaign I have played, with copious amounts of harsh jungle terrain for them to utilise. The already fearsome Gurkha infantry are particularly at home in the protective jungles of this campaign, along with the SAS and Chindits, should you choose to use them. If I had criticisms, it would be that the creativity of the campaign falls off a bit near the end as you go on multiple routine offensives, including the final run on Rangoon. The peak of the campaign is the Imphal scenario, which features a massive clash of arms and men, and the follow-up offensives feel kind of bland in comparison. I also noticed that you are given quite a lot of RP... possibly so you can field a smaller, higher quality army to fit in your limited CP budget (one of the few campaigns where I would consider paratroopers worth their cost), but near the end of the campaign I had such a large stockpile of RP that losing was no longer possible. Burma Road ended up being a pleasant surprise; I expected it to be brutally difficult in order to reflect your underdog status, but it ended up being one of the more gentle, 'fun' campaigns I've played. It also goes pretty late into the war, giving you some high-tech British units to play around with... as well as the resources to field them. It's an easy recommendation from me.

I liked it except the last mission which feels like a trolling attempt by the devs. The AI has easily more planes then the player has units in total. Historical accuracy my ass.

Well, i am torn. On one hand, the British army roster is pretty interesting, with nigh-unkillable, but slow Matilda tanks and powerful Gurkha infantry, but on the other hand... you get to fight Japan, and Japanese AI is downright suicidal, and will often attack your full-hp regiments with 1-2hp units, doing no damage and getting killed in the process, not saying about the usual "Lets attack your entreched heavy-infantry platoon with a recon unit, what can ever go wrong" - stuff. Which also doesn't bode too well, considering that most of the Japanese tanks are paper and can easily be killed even by regular infantry, with your own tanks just tearing them apart. Being able to use heavily-armoured tank like Matilda to fight those honestly feels like cheating. The devs try to compensate it by giving your enemy a TON of units (absolutely absurd amounts of units right from the first missions, easily dwarfing every other campaign in this game), but even though you mostly are supposed to defend, it is still far too easy to completely rout the enemy and chase their remnants around the map just for fun, with your air units also being as strong as the armoured ones, with also having large air capacity to deploy a lot of those. Did i mention that the turn limits are also pretty high, allowing you to farm resource points for upgrading your core force? With that said, the missions themselves are pretty fun, even if a bit too easy: Air battles above the sinking Z-Force; classic defend-and-counterattack scenarios; a fighting retreat from Rangoon, destroying the leftower supplies, so the enemy won't get em; estabilishing a safe area so your battered comrades can retreat while you hold some impressive amounts of units from breaking through; rounding up the rioting Indians in Bombay... This DLC really tries to give the player a bit of everything, so he won't get bored from repetitiveness... Yet i still found myself getting bored somewhere after mission 6 because of a lack of actual challenge, even on highest difficulities. Ah, i should also mention, that the British army has an absolutely great soundtrack, which is another thing that makes me keep playing this campaign. So, the most important part: Do i recommend this DLC? -If you are an OoB veteran who gets the kicks from walking the razor's edge at a constant threat from being overwhelmed, then [b] NO [/b], this DLC will be far too easy for you -If you just love the game for the atmosphere with an occasional tactical challenge every now and then and like to see gorgeous-looking ww2-units duking it out, then [b] YES [/b], this DLC feels and sounds pretty good, with humongous amounts of enemy units all over the map giving a certain sense of dread -If you are British, or just like British ww2 history, then by all means [b] YES [/b], the units look and sound great, even if they feel a bit too powerful at times Personal rating: 7/10, solid, but OoB has a lot of better-made DLC's

------------------Recommended BUT with many deep reservations! -------------------- P.S. Steam whats with the hours played? I have played 3 full campaigns, 1 mod and several demo maps/scenarios !? My Game list shows 200 hrs? As with other DLCs some times fun sometime partially historical but then sometimes "Oh Boy what were the DEVs thinking!!!" Best example in this DLC is at Rangoon, Rangoon mind you! expect Japanese equivalent of SS panzer Division with the cream of all their fantasy tech. Japanese Super Heavy Tanks, Imported Tiger I pzVI, Japanese Panthers, Japanese me262s, Japanese super Fortress, Japanese Elefant, Nashhorn, 251's, more more and more ...... more AA than Berlin, more numbers and more effective Arty than XXX corps, more Bunkers than Iwo Jima.....!!!!! This is Rangoon!!!!!!!!! RANGOON!!! ?????? Most of these were Japanese "projects" never often completed let alone fielded. The only Tiger they ever bought never got to Japan and only tested in Germany by Japanese tank engineers. The Japanese fielded armour was almost never up to the quality of a standard medium tank such as the Sherman. Plus for a supplies starved army at this point where would they have found the petrol and then the ships to move all this stuff ? !? I believe the Devs thought they were being imaginative, worried players would get bored! Weak excuse if one at all. Meanwhile player struggles to find resources to keep units up to date, introduce more units and balance forces sensibly. Someone misread the old adage of 6:1 force ratio ..... NO Dev's the attacker is advised to try to achieve that, not the defender. Such a shame, it can be quite fun to play but it makes one gag with embarrassment at the Devs sense of historical accuracy shown throughout all the DLC. Stonkers such as Midway having the Lexington, attacking from the South West. No access to Buying Light Cruisers for no apparent reason, a cornerstone unit of the USN. FAIL at history, FAIL at research, FAIL to make the most of their own game! Poorly optimised graphics, heavy on PC! for such simple graphics. Yet not many options to help reduce load but general ones when it seems it is most a few animations and FXs that grind computer to a stutter when large numbers of units are involved. However: Anyhow forget buying DLCs at full price, expect to laugh or cry with with derision at many many of the game developers choices but if you want a easy going fun turn based WW2 ahistoric tactical wargame, then go for it you will enjoy it most of the time. Try out the base game your self for free with scenarios in each theatre. ...... But still "God what were they thinking"

I found "Burma Road" to be a very interesting campaign - an do strongly recommend it to friends of this series! To me it appears well balanced and somewhat more forgiving than campaigns like "Winter War" or "Panzerkrieg". You'll get your chance to build up a strong air element and you will be able to fight for air superiority in every scenario from "Z Force", the second one, on. There are also enough ressources provided to assemble formations up to the CP limit while maintaining the experience levels. And you'll be deployed in operations, that won't confront you with the most intense combat - so some recovery is possible during the campaign. I liked the storyline of the campaign very much. You'll start out with a small British force while Imperial Japan launches an overwhelming offensive in the region. For years you'll fight in operational delaying actions against the Japanese, evacuating Commonwealth troops as effective as the situation allows, while losing Singapore, losing Rangoon, falling back towards the Indian border. You'll be instrumental as the "Quit India" movement is supressed, which may be marking a moral low in a way, but serves to firm your force for early offensive attempts in 1943. You'll experience some long range reconnaissance/infiltration operation with Orde Wingate and the Chindits in Central Burma, before you can establish a sufficient logistical base to launch a full conventional offensive to cross the Irrawaddy River and reconquer Rangoon. I'd like to discuss two scenarios I had to restart once...also read in the forums that other players saw them controversely, too. One ist the last one, where Rangoon is retaken. Like other players I found that it affected the immersion. You're confronted with a superior mechanized force, including several prototype armored regiments. This force is defending RANGOON in the spring of 1945...and, used offensively, would suffice to force your corps out of Burma. That appears strange at this time in this setting. Nevertheless this can safely be won. The key is to isolate RANGOON city from the surrounding region, use aerial reconnaissance to detect the mechanized troop concentrations that will be used for counterthrusts - and to to destroy all of them them piecemeal. Finally a pincer move via the eastern and western road bridges is possible to assault the city center. Then the Japanese supply situation and combat efficiency will be so dire, that you won't encounter much resistance. Another scenario, "Operation Longcloth", appears more problematic. In fact I won it by engaging a Japanese pursuing force in a rearguard action with half of the Chindit formations. The Japanese crossed a riverline, where it was possible to destroy them in a mainly static defense with infantry and AT support. That secured the own supply base which would've been overrun else - and would've put own forces out off supply, immobilized them, rendered them unready for combat, etc. But I strongly felt that this must've been a strange approach to that kind of operation. Would've expected that I was to evade the pursuing force, force march, do hit-and-run style actions, and so on. Anyway, the Chindit scenario is a good and a very interesting idea! - That concept should be developed further for this series. I'd like it, if commando actions, long range penetration and raids were depicted in coming DLCs. I do also think that the necessary mechanics are already available to solve this better than in "Longcloth". Maybe extended unit supply stashes could be the key. Perhaps they could be refilled when airdrop zones are reached. That way supply stashes could provide units with a limited time window to perform combat actions and reach another LZ to resupply (all while being cut off from a regular source, simulating a situation in which airdrops are the only means). That would force the player to carefully plan a time schedule, achieve his goals swiftly, limit combat to the necessary, move fast, evade pursuing forces. I'd personally like something like that very much. Overall "Burma Road" is a great design and a rewarding experience.

This campaign feels different from the other DLC. It's set in a period where your army has low supplies, is outnumbered, or simply isn't that great. The game bounces around in Southeast Asia and India, with missions ranging from offensives against Japan, tactical withdrawals, and rounding up rioting Indian factory workers (you read that right). Most missions consist of a small but increasingly battle-hardened force of British troops and some air support. By the end I had a number of 5-star tanks, recon vehicles, and infantry - and I needed them with all my supply problems. 13 missions at a $15 price point is pretty good. I ended up with 20+ hours on the DLC, probably closer to 25. I'm a deliberate player so that may account for some of it. The first few missions are really fun - you have to head the Japanese off at the pass in one, dogfight above the sinking Prince of Wales in another, and generally try not to get your supply lines cut off during tactical retreats. There's a great mission with the Fall of Singapore where I managed to totally envelop one Japanese flanking attack and defeat it, but the attrition at the front and right flank slowly pushed me back. The low point of this DLC (imo) comes with the Sittang River and Quit India Denied Missions. Sittang River sees what should be a fun map (divided in two by a river with a point you need to hold) sort of ruined by escort missions of slow Indian troops. The mission is repetitive, as once one Indian unit makes it to the retreat point, another miraculously appears. The first one was fine, the second was an unexpected move, but adding a third felt overdone and boring. The Quit India mission is a cool idea but seems too much of a break from the campaign - you have military police and some regular troops and basically try not to kill factory workers and rioters, eventually surrounding Gandhi. It's a little off the mark, but I appreciate the devs trying something new. After that, though, the missions are good fun. Operation Cannibal makes up for the sins of the Quit India mission in itself, so I don't have any qualms in recommending this one. It's fun to have Australian and Indian troops to add variety, even if the Indian troops are largely useless. 7/10 - Good variety of exciting missions in a new setting, but two silly missions (possibly 3) reduce the score.