Iron Harvest is a real time strategy game based on an alternate history world, which combines powerful storytelling elements interspersed with distinctive combat mechanics. The base game was well received by critics and users alike, which meant King Art Games had enough incentive for a full-fledged DLC – Operation Eagle.
Operation Eagle introduces a new faction to fans of the single player campaign, the American Union of Usonia (modeled after the United States) with perks unique to air combat. The faction also has a new American hero, Admiral Mason, who commands a flying ‘colossal battleship’ that will completely change gameplay elements – for better or for worse.
Although Usonia has plenty of interesting units in the field, air combat could have been more exciting. Once you have established your air presence, you can easily mow down land troops and mechs. In a game that focuses heavily on ground-focused fighting, air based combat completely throws off the equilibrium.
This means you can’t seek cover behind walls anymore because factions can just drop their units anywhere they like.
Total Play Time – 8 Hours
The DLC expands on the original campaign with 7 new missions, single player or co-op, and 25 minutes of well crafted animated sequences. Stepping into this new world will be a considerable challenge as players will be required to rely on stealth and avoiding detection by enemy patrols to complete missions.
In total, it would take you around 7 to 8 hours to complete all the missions. The varied missions, complex map layouts, and new enemy units make for a tense, nail biting experience that will test your skills.
It’s Not All Fun and Games
Players may be disappointed with the game’s ending (which is par for the course when it comes to this genre). Without spoiling anything, the story of Arabia and Usonia didn’t have a real conclusion. Another downside is that a single conversation may include characters who speak different languages, so you’ll have one speaking English, another speaking German, and a third one speaking Arabic.
Without someone acting as a translator in these conversations, it can be hard to understand what’s going on. With that said, none of this affects the gameplay at all.
In terms of music, Iron Harvest holds up pretty well to games in the RTS genre. From the voice acting to the mission design and soundtrack to the actual gameplay elements itself – everything falls perfectly in to place.
With the Iron Harvest DLC, Operation Eagle has cemented its position in the RTS genre, and while it’s not ground breaking or innovative, it presents a beacon of hope for old-school real time strategy games.
So Should You Buy Iron Harvest: Operation Eagle?
Iron Harvest: Operation Eagle provides players of the base game with a nice change of pace from the main campaign factions. They may lack early stage tech, but Usonia becomes increasingly powerful later on in the game and gets into some visually intensive fights, especially when it rolls out the Stark assault mech with its big, intimidating flamethrower.
The story campaign is almost flawless (minus the abrupt ending, of course) and the combat never gets tiring.
If you’re a fan of the RTS genre and want something that takes you back to the days of Company of Heroes and Command & Conquer, then you should give this title a shot. Don’t go expecting anything out of the ordinary though, Iron Harvest doesn’t reinvent the genre but pays homage to it – and that’s what makes this so alluring.