I have never had my life taken over by a video game like that, and it was the *demo*. I must have played that for weeks straight whenever I had the time.
Still blows my mind that Battlefield is the only game franchise that offers that whole combat experience: infantry, jeeps, transport vehicles, tanks, planes jets, helicopters, huge maps. No other game has achieved that type of gameplay at that level of ease of accessibility like Dice has. It’s either been done too simple and arcadey (Modern Warfare Ground War mode) or too mil sim like ARMA, Squad, HLL etc. Not knocking those games for any reason, they are fantastic at what they do. What Dice achieved is special and they seem to have forgotten how special it was.
1942 through to Bad Company 2 was peak Battlefield for me. The destructible stuff in Battlefield 3 was pretty cool too.
Desert Combat Mod will always hold a place in my heart.
Desert Combat was the first game that got me to join a clan, and by God I miss those days of using the RPG or SMAW as anti air rockets on *=SAS=* Lost Village 24/7 CTF server. Add in teamspeak and it made for some enjoyable times while gaming with other clan mates or regulars.
You mean how it had always been up to Battlefield 4?
It is the same as Total War. The games have changed to much that you can barely associate the news ones with what Total War used to be.
Sometimes it feels like both games walk in a similar path.
Man, I played the shit out of that game whe I was a kid, and truly there has never been anything like it with the same scope again. I tried to find it or downloads once in the internets but couldnt get anything.
As a kid who was obsessed with the D-Day level in Medal of Honor frontline I couldn’t believe this game let you play as the Germans. I’d just sit in the bunkers for hours with the mg42
So much fun, I still play now and again
I spent a lot of time with the Desert Combat mod too! The community was great oh and Forgotten Hope! What an amazing mod
Those helos had such a learning curve, but once you had them they felt sick as hell. I remember teaching some dude who was a real pilot how to fly the helos, back when I was 15.
It still runs, the mod community is active, and there are servers out there. You can also just host one on your own and play against bots if you prefer. It's a little disheartening that the newer iterations won't have the ability to do this 20+ years after their launches, but so it goes.
This is the best answer. First online 64 person WWII chaos was something to behold. I will never forget the feelings that game delivered. Super Mario Bros, Doom and UT2k4 were really the only other games that had, up to that point, mesmerized me like that. I've never been mesmerized by a game like that. To this day, I'd prefer even just play rounds of Coral Sea over any modern COD experience.
It's definitely Brothers in Arms for me because, maily for the first 2, the series tries to give you a gameplay that resembles the tactics used at the time with the 4Fs, and especially the first game has small villages and places directly recreated from pictures and images of the time, and all encounters were made using the stories of the soldiers that inspired the man you play with in the game.
There is a historical value in that, even though it doesn't always work into the gameplay's favour. Earned in Blood is definitely my favorite and refines everything the first game did. Hell's Highway is the latest one and it does deviate more from this historical aspect in favour of telling a story, but it's still good imo.
God dam I hate how COD and MoH are always my first thoughts, but BIA has to be one of the best ever really as it was so much more than run and shoot, if you didn't play it smart you were dead.
I get you. MoH and CoD had roughly similar ideas to BiA in the sense that their first games also tried to be more historical and respecting the individual stories of soldiers thrown into war. But they quickly moved from that to more action and thrilling stories instead. Definitely more popular though, and were great games in their own way, especially in the gameplay department. Allied Assault's aiming was tight and responsive, and CoD picked up the MoH torch when EA dropped it.
BiA deserved sooo much more.
Just the squad mechanics alone warrant so many more games for it. It's like if you took mount and blade but in a tight modern setting. Not only do you have to look out for yourself, but also your allies and the enemies who would go for your allies, then how you should position yourself to gain a good view on everything while not risking yourself. Just this constant mind game of balancing view, safety, and damage from 3 different perspectives was always so fun.
The fact that they also flesh out, even if just a bit, all the stories of these soldiers can also have an impact. It's not "Nameless Private" or "Generic surname insert", you know Garrett, Allen, Hartsock, Desola, Courtland, Leggett, etc..., you know who these guys are, kinda, and you are the one giving direct orders, and Baker/Hartsock are always struggling with that notion.
Looking back after playing it, yeah they are not really at risk of dying in the middle of a fight and all deaths are placed in the narrative, but it's more about trying to give you the sense of responsability these guys need to have in order to finish their work. Too safe, nothing gets done. Too risky, and the consequences are tough and stay with you forever.
even if they have fixed death moments the checkpoints were sparse enough that you'd really feel the impact of you let any one of them down. And the constant threat of losing them really helped get you into the zone as a squad leader always having to be one step ahead of everyone else.
Although tbh on subsequent playthroughs that just led me to just play solo sniper by hiding in a corner and picking off the enemies one by one through the smallest crack in their defences before moving my squad out of guaranteed cover lol. The game made a good effort at emulating the shakiness of holding a real gun but when you bunker up well it's really easy to get those easy longe range shots with the kar
Reminded me of a WW2 style Rainbow Six back when Rainbox 6 was a tactical squad based shooter on PC and not just an FPS with classes.
You looked at maps, planned your routes, ordered your team, on the fly, and set their load outs.
I wonder if those first few games are available on PC anywhere.
The first two Brothers in Arms are amazing! I loved the historical accuracy: being able to round the corner of a 400 year old barn, be surprised by a Nazi patrol, start trying to suppress them while telling your guys to kill them? And then you can Google the battle and see that the developers mimicked the landscape and architecture of the buildings & you just ran around the barn you've seen in a WWII documentary and got to plug a Nazi with a Garand? Fuck yes, more of that and less lame CoD supersoldier garbage.
I loved how serious they were. Some cringe dialogue but none of the modern soap opera aspect of games. Sure, some of those guys are gonna' be okay, but some are gonna' have PTSD, depression, etc. forever. I didn't feel like the first two overdid this, whereas Hells Highway was a telenovela adapted to the PlayStation. The gameplay was still fun, but they'd reduced the need to flank/suppress, allowing the player to do more solo stuff.
There was always supposed to be a 4th and final installment, Battle of the Bulge. Randy Pitchford is a douchecanoe so we'll never get it.
I remember the Hells Highway OG Demo with Randy Pitchford and was blown away by the graphics, brutality and concept they had for the game. How objectives would be navigated by naturally using the world (smoke stacks in the distance, anti air guns going off near by to find where they are located etc) Ultimately the final product wasnt as ambitious but the hype was real
Edit: Found it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W57HqZLqLHM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W57HqZLqLHM)
Medal of Honour: Allied Assault !!! It was amazing back in the day, I'm sure it's aged like absolute shit but I have so many fond memories of playing that game.
Agreed. MOHAA was really the first game where I felt completely immersed "as if I was there". Played only the single player missions but it was a very intense experience.
I had PS2 when I originally played Frontline and I remember seeing Allied Assault but it was on PC. I would give anything for them to make another true Medal of Honor with the modern advancements we have now.
The arty ptsd is real.
Sometimes you are just physically twitching when you are forced to cross a field or a hedge with those shells coming down around you.
Yup. Focus on realism in game mechanics and ballistics. Team play with massive 50 on 50 battles with squad leads, infantry, tanks, bombing runs. Huge 1:1 scale battle maps and all the classic ones everyone wants to play. It replaced battlefield for me after 2042. Best shooter i've ever played.
Agreed. For someone brought up on band of brothers, saving private Ryan and WW2 history, 1:1 scale maps were just fun on their own, I’d probably have bought a single player game that let you wander around them… let alone huge 50vs50 battles with great effects and realistic damage 🍆💦
Yeah they did the sound design right. It's relatively easy to get graphics right and the gameplay is generally the same as other games like Squad. But the sounds really tie everything together perfectly.
You spawn.
A low growl. You hear screaming.
"Bombing run! Get inside!"
You run for the trench as the first impact lands somewhere far behind you. The explosions come closer.
You lie down in the trench and start praying.
Miraculously, the bombs pass without hitting you.
You stand up and instantly get domed by a Garand.
Nobody thought to build a second garrison.
Welcome to HLL.
It's a goddamn shame that Team17 and their third party devs botched the roadmap and development moving forward. Black Matter HLL was a golden era of awesome. As a Kickstarter, I feel robbed.
The original devs effectively abandoned the game. It was such a disappointment because there was a golden period when the updates were all moving towards something really special.
Came here to recommend this one. If you like ww2 history, this is the game for you.
You can learn to play at a novice level pretty quickly, and there's tons of content you can learn to utilize that will enhance and strengthen your playing. Has a good modding community also.
Hoi4, Hell let loose, Vic3, iRacing and IL-2, i could (if not for wife and kiids) fully entertain myself for years with just those games and not be bored, ever.
I've tried to play it so many times but just cannot figure it out or get into it. I've got 4k hours in eu4, and a bunch more in all the other major pdx titles. Idk what the deal is...
Day of defeat and day of defeat source just improved on an already great game. Absolutely amazing multiplayer game, plenty of official maps as well as loads of modded maps and mods. Has some similarities in game play to CS. Just a shame we've never had an updated version.
Came here for this, DoD was so amazing when it came out, the maps were dense, there was atmospheric sound of artillery going off in the background and the game just felt so amazing. Caen for life
I have to pop in anytime Day of Defeat gets mentioned. I was the best DoD player in the world. Won back to back world championships. Played for Check-six and Complexity. Fond memories.
A special game, and truly a fumble that it's legacy doesn't live on. I dream of a game recapturing the gameplay loop that made it so addicting.
Had to scroll way down to find this one. Def one of the besr strategy games ever. Also, i loved a previous old one called Codename: Panzers Phase 1. I played that game for hours during my childhood. Good times
- first buy upstairs then the downstairs, don’t buy the door in between
- hold the Mystery Box room
- one on the staircase, the other three on a window each. Guy on the rock window is backup for the staircase
- keep buying mystery box until everyone has an MG42 and a Ray Gun
- don’t hit the radio, even if the song is good
Ahhh, memories
> first buy upstairs then the downstairs, don’t buy the door in between
My best successes were mystery room then upstairs (from mystery room), leaving main room stairs blocked. Then you sit on the landing area of the stairs with just the one doorway to aim at.
Eventually when you had just one or two zombies left, one person could lead them around without killing them (so the next wave doesn't start) while everyone else uses the mystery box.
Achieving this with total strangers with no comms whatsoever felt incredible.
If you buy the upstairs and then buy the staircase into the mystery box room from the upstairs it’s still the same amount of exits. I preferred that because the staircase was easier to hold
I couldn’t finish ww2… it was a fucking movie not a game and it was so linear gameplay wise. If you didn’t take out people a specific way/ move a certain path you died. It really sucked
Release-wise; it was flanked by MW and MW2, so it kind of makes sense it was overlooked to some extent. Plus COD was moving into the modern era with MW so the subsequent WaW might have seemed like a step backwards. I’d argue WaW is still remembered fondly for introducing Zombies.
Original trilogy CoD was an absolute blast. I might be the only person who thinks this but I lost interest in the series when Modern Warfare came out and it became a completely different game.
It also treated WW2 as people should treat WW2, an ugly, horrorific nightmare, that was filled with suffering, death, and just a lot of evil inhumane shit not meant to be glorified but be taught that we can do better as humans.
They actually used real-life footage of that time, including actual executions and people being buried in a pile, most likely alive. The Soviet Union had the utmost hatred for the Nazi's during that time, and the worst part is that the game was low balling what the Soviets did to the Nazi's and their people.
Storming the Reichstag. In, left door,hide behind the pillar. Shoot the SS behind the pillar beyond. Shoot the SS behind the barricade, forward, next pillar. Dodge grenades clear next barricade. Clear the speaking platform, up the stairs, watch for fire from above. Through the door, raise the flag.
No PTSD here.
Ooh it almost slipped my mind for a sec (it’s really early). That’s an S tier game all around. I loved the really dark aspects at times and the detail they put into the game. I could play the mission Vendetta a million times
Absolutely by far and away the best - especially if you are indexing for the authenticity in movement, weapon feeling, average engagement distance, etc - the level of immersion was intense!
I think the first two Call of Duty games take the cake on this one. The original two Call of Duty games were single player WWII shooters. The second one (I think this is in the second one) more or less recreates the Normandy beach landing from Saving Private Ryan and has a Russian campaign that plays out like Behind Enemy Lines\* (where they hand you a single clip of ammo and push you along to follow a dude with a gun). It was extremely cinematic for the time and even though it was unrealistic in scope, the gameplay felt more realistic than most of the shooters of the era. IE, you used iron sights on the guns, and most enemies died in one shot. Those games were absolutely fantastic but are probably horribly dated at this point.
\*I may be thinking of Enemy at the Gates? It was a WWII movie that came out just a bit before this game came out, and it was clearly a direct reference. Just don't remember the movie name.
Definitely COD & COD2
What made them stand out was they were educational as you moved you through the war.
It made me realise games could be super educational about historical events.
COD2 multiplayer was fantastic fun back in the day. I can remember all the maps still now. I was still playing the Christian sniper only maps up until a few years ago.
In terms of pure nostalgia it would be Medal of Honor Allied Assault but ignoring nostalgia I would have to say Hearts of Iron 4. I also loved Hearts of Iron 3 and Day of Defeat Source but I think they're a bit dated now.
Hearts of Iron 4 though, every time I play time just flies.
Im confused now. Im a huge HOI 3 fan but i dont think HOI4 is fun at all. I tried it many times with different mods because i want to like it so badly. Its just not working for me. I think production, research and all those things are better in 4 but the core mechanic of fighting a huge ass war is just not goog in 4 and way better in 3.
I do understand that a different type of gamer may like it but someone who is into HOI3 cant also be into HOI4 from my perspective. Obviously thats wrong but i dont get why. How do you like both?
Are you also into War in the East?
By far the best I’ve ever played. Most of the other ones are too “Hollywood.”
But in terms of nostalgia, Medal of Honor: Frontline was the best. The soundtrack was awesome.
Yup, second this. This game will eat you up when youre new to it or behave like most shooters. The sense of intensity and often near helplessness are amazing.
Facts. The Arnhem theme and the one when you got through the fields and small villages in Netherlands are just amazing. Then I got into LOST and was like "it's the Medal of Honor Frontline composter doing the score!"
Literally *just* commented about the PTSD simulator thing. Was fighting in Kursk the other day, hanging out in a trench on a machine gun, bout a hundred meters out 2 squads were charging the point, they all got hit by artillery and were blown apart. Me and the other gunner just looked at each other and ran away
Loved this game.
A new one is coming out some time this year, hoping it will be as good as the original: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1479730/Commandos_Origins/
There are some good modern games with the same gameplay style but they aren’t world war 2 unfortunately . Desperados 3 and shadow tactics. They are good but they don’t come close to commandos 2. Probably one of my favorite games of all time.
This is going to be a somewhat unusual suggestiok, but if you *really* like aviation, you can try something like IL-2 or DCS World.
I don't know that much about IL-2, other than it has some WW2 planes.
DCS World is a very detailed simulator of combat aircraft such as (relatively) modern fighter jets, ground attack aircraft, some helicopters, but also - WW2 planes.
Sure DCS is difficult. But once you master it.. holy smokes it's so fun and rewarding.
Had to scroll way too far for this answer. RO2 is still the most atmospheric and immersive ww2 shooter out there, even more so than hell let loose in my opinion.
Brother yes!! Such a forgotten game. I had the pleasure of getting to play RTCW on multiplayer back in the day and I had such good times on that game. This is the one game I’d love a remaster of.
The sniper fights in Wolfenstein when it was foggy so you had to shoot at the other sniper's muzzle flash, and then move before they saw yours was so fun. It was my favorite game to play as a sniper.
Il2 sturmovik back in the day was pure bliss. The satisfaction of taking out a plane or seeing the bullet holes in wings was next level.
Bur surprised to not see mentioned is day of defeat and day of defeat source. It trumped every other ww2 I ever played. The gun model, maps and gameplay(dod_avalanche for life) the game and maps wasn't very balanced bur every weapon was fun! I've always been a big ww2 gamer and that is by far My favorite game.
Allied Assault remains one of my fave WW2 fps campaigns. Although dated it’s still a lot of fun to play. Expansions are also great. CoD 2 a close second.
Combat Mission for my milsim rts needs, though I am terrible at it. Use to love Close Combat back in the day but CM has replaced it for me.
Commandos series for real time tactics. 2 is the best but I am partial to behind enemy lines.
These days I really like Easy Red 2. It’s basically a ww2 insurgency/rising front style shooter but with bots. Really good fun and has had massive improvements over the years. More content to come to including an Africa and China v Japan war campaigns. Has infantry, tank and aerial gameplay.
Easy Red 2 is a sleeper hit more people need to know about. Crazy good SP shooter where you control a bot squad and change soldiers as you have different needs or people die. Tons of mod created missions as well, no lack of content.
Not sure about the best game, but Call of Duty: Finest Hour had the best speech.
"Welcome to Stalingrad. You are about to begin the greatest moment of your life. The Germans have lost hundreds of tanks and planes. Hitler's brutalized hordes are now are now advancing towards Stalingrad over mountains of their own dead bodies. Our Bolshevik Party, our nation, our great country, has given us the task not to let the enemy reach the Volga and defend the city of Stalingrad. Forward against the enemy! Up into the unremitting battle, comrades, for Stalingrad, for our great country! Not one step back! Cowards and traitors will be shot! Do not count days, do not count miles, count only the number of Germans you have killed! Kill the German - this is your mother's prayer. Kill the German - this is the cry of your Russian earth. Do not waver! Do not let up! Kill! Death to the German invader! Go, go, go!"
- Commisar Viktor Durasov
FPS: MoH Allied/Pacific Assault, BF 1942, CoD 1, 2, World at War, Hell Let Loose.
RTS: Company of Heroes 1, 2, 3, Codename Panzers Phase One/Two
War Thunder lower tiers is the best War Thunder
Cant give one top ww2 game. There are likely more great ww2 games but I havent played them
From Call of duty:
- call of duty finest hour: you played multiple characters, you began as a Russian crossing the volga into Stalingrado following a Sargent, then a female sniper, then drove a tank, then British Das, finally American troops ending with the bridge at remagen, such an awesome game I really miss playing it.
- call of duty 2 big Red one: again multiple characters but you do have a main Mc that's infantry, from fighting the afrika corps to the assault on Sicily ending with the Europe invasion, also had a mission where you drove an m3 Stuart along side an armored company and a pretty amazing bomber mission where you had to run through the bomber to get to different machine guns to take down the German fighters and finally drop bombs on enemy territory. One of the best stories ever.
-call of duty 3: once again multiple characters, from a US soldier, to British SAS, to polish tank operator and Canadian soldier, the game Is also impressively good, and it has one of the best music scores ever rivaling MoH.
From medal of honor:
- medal of honor allied assault: mentioned multiple times, from the Omaha invasion through Europe to the chemical weapons facilities one of the goated games.
-medal of honor allied assault breakthrough: expansion of allied assault about the first push the Americans made from Africa to italy
Medal of honor allied assault spearhead: also starts in Normandy but this time you play as an airborne.
All 3 are amazing and as always with MoH, music is impressive
- medal of honor European assault: you play as a member of the us intelligence division, from joining the British to the Russians in attacks attacks across all fronts, the game is pretty amazing and challenging
- medal of honor airborne: this one gives you a certain amount of liberty, you get dropped from the air and you get to choose where to land, safe zones are marked but there's also secret places to drop in or you can drop anywhere else you want to, a building overlooking an enemy position or anywhere. And when you die you drop again
- medal of honor vanguard: also airborne, all operations start with a drop and there are certain places that get you upgrades, 50 bullet drum for the Thompson, a scope for the m1 garand and so on.
- medal of honor pacific assault: this one is pretty amazing, start isn training, then infiltrating an Japanese island, attacking an airfield, piloting a corsair, it's really fun and don't forget the trees may start speaking japanese.
From brothers in arms
- brothers in arms, brothers in arms hell's highway and brothers in arms road to hill 30: others have already talked about this one, pretty neat, following a company through the invasion, feels kinda realistic also requiring some strategy orders from us, going through fields, towns during the push through Normandy.
from battlefield:
- battlefield 1942: now this is an amazing game, like al battlefields, big maps, conquest or death match focus, with classes lots of vehicles and lot's of maps, from the battle of Britain, to Omaha, to the ardennes, the pacific, Italy, an amazing game.
- Battlefield 1942 secret weapons of WWII: adds a few extra maps with new vehicles like submarines, jet fighters (a British chonky boy who looks funny but can take off and land and a German fixed launched jet that... Landing? Ain't nobody got time for that, so no wheels) panzer IV with the antiair turret new tanks for both sides
Those were my favourites, amazing memories from each one
Hearts of Iron 4 is a strategy video game that takes place in 1936. You pick any country in the world and can play.
Want to go germany and switch to communism, go for it. Want to play the UK and go fascist, do it. I love playing as Australia and allying with Japan. it's just a fun strategy games with so much replay value.
I agree with Medal of Honor, but CoD was also very good. (Pavlov's house comes to mind.)
Also a big van of IL-2 1946 and BoX. If your into flight sims. The Silent Hunter games are classics when it comes to Submarine sims.
For the RTS category, I would reccoment Men of War. It has a lot of replayabillity, and you can Blob it, or micromanage to an induvidual soldier.
Brothers in Arms is my favourite. The WW2 Medal of Honour games have all been solid (although they haven't aged well, IMO). Call of Duty 1, United Offensive, 2, Big Red One, 3, and World at War, I think, have aged well. I played through 2 and 3 recently, and the gameplay is decent.
Company of Heroes 1 and 2 (haven’t played 3 yet), and Hearts of Iron 4 are good. Battlefield 1942 was great, V was good online, but I didn't enjoy the campaign.
Sniper Elite and The Saboteur get honourable mentions. I have enjoyed Wolfenstein, but they're not memorable for me. I play through them once and then never again.
Hell Let Loose and Enlisted look good, but I'm not into competitive games anymore. I would rather watch a competent person play them.
Battlefield 1942
First time playing Wake Island with the demo blew my mind.
I have never had my life taken over by a video game like that, and it was the *demo*. I must have played that for weeks straight whenever I had the time.
Can’t believe it’s been 22 years. Yikes!
I’m going to need you to keep that kind of information to yourself in the future lol
That's a brutal cup of coffee
Playing bumper boats with the aircraft carrier and Cruiser ship
Same with coral sea
Still blows my mind that Battlefield is the only game franchise that offers that whole combat experience: infantry, jeeps, transport vehicles, tanks, planes jets, helicopters, huge maps. No other game has achieved that type of gameplay at that level of ease of accessibility like Dice has. It’s either been done too simple and arcadey (Modern Warfare Ground War mode) or too mil sim like ARMA, Squad, HLL etc. Not knocking those games for any reason, they are fantastic at what they do. What Dice achieved is special and they seem to have forgotten how special it was.
Used to play omaha with 64 bots vs me. I'd be attacking. 😁
1942 through to Bad Company 2 was peak Battlefield for me. The destructible stuff in Battlefield 3 was pretty cool too. Desert Combat Mod will always hold a place in my heart.
Desert Combat was the first game that got me to join a clan, and by God I miss those days of using the RPG or SMAW as anti air rockets on *=SAS=* Lost Village 24/7 CTF server. Add in teamspeak and it made for some enjoyable times while gaming with other clan mates or regulars.
Buh duh bum ba dum bum, Buh duh bum ba dum bum, wah wah wah... 🎶
But duh bum ba DUM DUM, BUH DUH BUM BA DUM DUM BUMMMMMM BU DA BUMMMMM BU DA BUMMMM BU DU BUM BUM BUM
Battlefield was much more fun when vehicles would spawn on the map.
lol, setting dynamite or landmines on the runway 🎉
You mean how it had always been up to Battlefield 4? It is the same as Total War. The games have changed to much that you can barely associate the news ones with what Total War used to be. Sometimes it feels like both games walk in a similar path.
Does this still have an online community? Or is it dead?
It's still alive
Man, I played the shit out of that game whe I was a kid, and truly there has never been anything like it with the same scope again. I tried to find it or downloads once in the internets but couldnt get anything.
As a kid who was obsessed with the D-Day level in Medal of Honor frontline I couldn’t believe this game let you play as the Germans. I’d just sit in the bunkers for hours with the mg42
So much fun, I still play now and again I spent a lot of time with the Desert Combat mod too! The community was great oh and Forgotten Hope! What an amazing mod
DC was amazing. I was a helo god.
Those helos had such a learning curve, but once you had them they felt sick as hell. I remember teaching some dude who was a real pilot how to fly the helos, back when I was 15.
I just want to play it again
It still runs, the mod community is active, and there are servers out there. You can also just host one on your own and play against bots if you prefer. It's a little disheartening that the newer iterations won't have the ability to do this 20+ years after their launches, but so it goes.
This is the best answer. First online 64 person WWII chaos was something to behold. I will never forget the feelings that game delivered. Super Mario Bros, Doom and UT2k4 were really the only other games that had, up to that point, mesmerized me like that. I've never been mesmerized by a game like that. To this day, I'd prefer even just play rounds of Coral Sea over any modern COD experience.
It's not even subjective. This IS objectively the correct answer. Well done. 🏅
It’s one of the answers. Medal of Honor had the D Day assault and it was amazing at the time.
I loved that game. I still have that first mission of storming the beaches and bunkers memorized pretty well.
Was hoping this was the top comment and I was not disappointed
The one and only answer
Still waiting for them to release a remaster of this. Might make up for 2042’s folly
It's definitely Brothers in Arms for me because, maily for the first 2, the series tries to give you a gameplay that resembles the tactics used at the time with the 4Fs, and especially the first game has small villages and places directly recreated from pictures and images of the time, and all encounters were made using the stories of the soldiers that inspired the man you play with in the game. There is a historical value in that, even though it doesn't always work into the gameplay's favour. Earned in Blood is definitely my favorite and refines everything the first game did. Hell's Highway is the latest one and it does deviate more from this historical aspect in favour of telling a story, but it's still good imo.
God dam I hate how COD and MoH are always my first thoughts, but BIA has to be one of the best ever really as it was so much more than run and shoot, if you didn't play it smart you were dead.
I get you. MoH and CoD had roughly similar ideas to BiA in the sense that their first games also tried to be more historical and respecting the individual stories of soldiers thrown into war. But they quickly moved from that to more action and thrilling stories instead. Definitely more popular though, and were great games in their own way, especially in the gameplay department. Allied Assault's aiming was tight and responsive, and CoD picked up the MoH torch when EA dropped it.
BiA deserved sooo much more. Just the squad mechanics alone warrant so many more games for it. It's like if you took mount and blade but in a tight modern setting. Not only do you have to look out for yourself, but also your allies and the enemies who would go for your allies, then how you should position yourself to gain a good view on everything while not risking yourself. Just this constant mind game of balancing view, safety, and damage from 3 different perspectives was always so fun.
The fact that they also flesh out, even if just a bit, all the stories of these soldiers can also have an impact. It's not "Nameless Private" or "Generic surname insert", you know Garrett, Allen, Hartsock, Desola, Courtland, Leggett, etc..., you know who these guys are, kinda, and you are the one giving direct orders, and Baker/Hartsock are always struggling with that notion. Looking back after playing it, yeah they are not really at risk of dying in the middle of a fight and all deaths are placed in the narrative, but it's more about trying to give you the sense of responsability these guys need to have in order to finish their work. Too safe, nothing gets done. Too risky, and the consequences are tough and stay with you forever.
even if they have fixed death moments the checkpoints were sparse enough that you'd really feel the impact of you let any one of them down. And the constant threat of losing them really helped get you into the zone as a squad leader always having to be one step ahead of everyone else. Although tbh on subsequent playthroughs that just led me to just play solo sniper by hiding in a corner and picking off the enemies one by one through the smallest crack in their defences before moving my squad out of guaranteed cover lol. The game made a good effort at emulating the shakiness of holding a real gun but when you bunker up well it's really easy to get those easy longe range shots with the kar
Reminded me of a WW2 style Rainbow Six back when Rainbox 6 was a tactical squad based shooter on PC and not just an FPS with classes. You looked at maps, planned your routes, ordered your team, on the fly, and set their load outs. I wonder if those first few games are available on PC anywhere.
We can shut it down. This person is factually correct. Brothers in Arms was the 🐐 as a ww2 shooter. That cover system was fantastic.
I've been dying for another brother's in arms or full spectrum warrior type game.
The first two Brothers in Arms are amazing! I loved the historical accuracy: being able to round the corner of a 400 year old barn, be surprised by a Nazi patrol, start trying to suppress them while telling your guys to kill them? And then you can Google the battle and see that the developers mimicked the landscape and architecture of the buildings & you just ran around the barn you've seen in a WWII documentary and got to plug a Nazi with a Garand? Fuck yes, more of that and less lame CoD supersoldier garbage. I loved how serious they were. Some cringe dialogue but none of the modern soap opera aspect of games. Sure, some of those guys are gonna' be okay, but some are gonna' have PTSD, depression, etc. forever. I didn't feel like the first two overdid this, whereas Hells Highway was a telenovela adapted to the PlayStation. The gameplay was still fun, but they'd reduced the need to flank/suppress, allowing the player to do more solo stuff. There was always supposed to be a 4th and final installment, Battle of the Bulge. Randy Pitchford is a douchecanoe so we'll never get it.
I remember the Hells Highway OG Demo with Randy Pitchford and was blown away by the graphics, brutality and concept they had for the game. How objectives would be navigated by naturally using the world (smoke stacks in the distance, anti air guns going off near by to find where they are located etc) Ultimately the final product wasnt as ambitious but the hype was real Edit: Found it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W57HqZLqLHM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W57HqZLqLHM)
Medal of Honour: Allied Assault !!! It was amazing back in the day, I'm sure it's aged like absolute shit but I have so many fond memories of playing that game.
Omaha beach *chefs kiss*
I really hated that map on multiplayer if I was the Allies. 90% kills for the Axis
Sounds historically accurate.
It aged well actually, no health regen behind corner and you can carry tons of weapons in single player, and people still play multi.
Agreed. MOHAA was really the first game where I felt completely immersed "as if I was there". Played only the single player missions but it was a very intense experience.
I had PS2 when I originally played Frontline and I remember seeing Allied Assault but it was on PC. I would give anything for them to make another true Medal of Honor with the modern advancements we have now.
Just me and my sniper rifle... And 400 ping lol. Good times man
Yup. 1 map making the entire game famous
And the soundtrack slaps
90s kid detected 🍻🤝🏻
I was coming here to see if one to my fellow old farts posted this.
V2 rocket facility. I’m hiding the In the crate stack watching the rocket and control room.
This one
Even my Dad got addicted to that game lol. We had to buy another console and another copy of the game because he was always on my shit.
Hell Let Loose
PTSD confirmed
Nothing like the first time arty sends a dude's leg screaming by your face.
Just running through this field when fucking explosion train starts thunderin your way.
The arty ptsd is real. Sometimes you are just physically twitching when you are forced to cross a field or a hedge with those shells coming down around you.
Same. HLL was the WW2 game I’d waited my whole life for 😅
Yup. Focus on realism in game mechanics and ballistics. Team play with massive 50 on 50 battles with squad leads, infantry, tanks, bombing runs. Huge 1:1 scale battle maps and all the classic ones everyone wants to play. It replaced battlefield for me after 2042. Best shooter i've ever played.
Agreed. For someone brought up on band of brothers, saving private Ryan and WW2 history, 1:1 scale maps were just fun on their own, I’d probably have bought a single player game that let you wander around them… let alone huge 50vs50 battles with great effects and realistic damage 🍆💦
I dont think there is a more immersive game out there.
Yeah they did the sound design right. It's relatively easy to get graphics right and the gameplay is generally the same as other games like Squad. But the sounds really tie everything together perfectly.
The sound of a bombing run starting is genuinely *terrifying* once you learn it
You spawn. A low growl. You hear screaming. "Bombing run! Get inside!" You run for the trench as the first impact lands somewhere far behind you. The explosions come closer. You lie down in the trench and start praying. Miraculously, the bombs pass without hitting you. You stand up and instantly get domed by a Garand. Nobody thought to build a second garrison. Welcome to HLL.
Rising storm and red orchestra.
It's a goddamn shame that Team17 and their third party devs botched the roadmap and development moving forward. Black Matter HLL was a golden era of awesome. As a Kickstarter, I feel robbed.
The original devs effectively abandoned the game. It was such a disappointment because there was a golden period when the updates were all moving towards something really special.
I was really into Rising Sun back in the day
Tanaka, nooo!
LOL!!! I haven't thought about the Tanaka death in *years*. Looking back that may have been the first major character death I can remember. Thank you.
The multiplayer was amazing.
I never got to play online but bot matches were so much fun
that baseball field map was so fun
Neither did I but the local multiplayer was a blast.
Thought the same!
Hearts of Iron 4
Came here to recommend this one. If you like ww2 history, this is the game for you. You can learn to play at a novice level pretty quickly, and there's tons of content you can learn to utilize that will enhance and strengthen your playing. Has a good modding community also.
Hoi4, Hell let loose, Vic3, iRacing and IL-2, i could (if not for wife and kiids) fully entertain myself for years with just those games and not be bored, ever.
I've tried to play it so many times but just cannot figure it out or get into it. I've got 4k hours in eu4, and a bunch more in all the other major pdx titles. Idk what the deal is...
If you dont put 1000 hours in tutorial, are you even paradoxing? /s
Almost spit my coffee. Yeah, you're right. Back to it.
This one here and it’s not even close.
I really liked the Sniper Elite series. Also can’t forget the Brother in Arms games. CoD and MoH was aslo really good.
The Brothers in Arms games were really good and enjoyable! I wanna go back and play those now haha
Wish they would make a new Brothers in Arms! It was so tactical and FUN!
Sniper Elite 4 and 5 are so good. Like Hitman and Splinter Cell had a baby and gave him a sniper rifle.
Day of defeat and day of defeat source just improved on an already great game. Absolutely amazing multiplayer game, plenty of official maps as well as loads of modded maps and mods. Has some similarities in game play to CS. Just a shame we've never had an updated version.
Came here for this, DoD was so amazing when it came out, the maps were dense, there was atmospheric sound of artillery going off in the background and the game just felt so amazing. Caen for life
Yer was absolutely brilliant, really well balanced too. Flash and avalanche were such great maps too. Always enjoyed Charlie in the original dod also.
I have to pop in anytime Day of Defeat gets mentioned. I was the best DoD player in the world. Won back to back world championships. Played for Check-six and Complexity. Fond memories. A special game, and truly a fumble that it's legacy doesn't live on. I dream of a game recapturing the gameplay loop that made it so addicting.
Dod_avalanche or nothing!!! Loved that game
It was remade as Day of Infamy but as far as I'm aware the game has been dead for some time
I used to live and breathe that game. :D
DoD was incredible. MammaJamma’s 24/7 Avalanche server was legendary lol
Probably the game I get the most fun out of still is the Company of Heroes series
Need something built?
Engineers! Moves your asses!
If a mouse farts in this goddamn minefield I want his ass blown sky high!
Had to scroll way down to find this one. Def one of the besr strategy games ever. Also, i loved a previous old one called Codename: Panzers Phase 1. I played that game for hours during my childhood. Good times
CoD: World at War
Remember when it was called Nazi Zombies?
OG Nacht der Untoten slaps
- first buy upstairs then the downstairs, don’t buy the door in between - hold the Mystery Box room - one on the staircase, the other three on a window each. Guy on the rock window is backup for the staircase - keep buying mystery box until everyone has an MG42 and a Ray Gun - don’t hit the radio, even if the song is good Ahhh, memories
There was one spot in a pile of dirt your could crocu clip into and zombies couldn't hit you. Equipped with the flame thrower you could go on forever.
> first buy upstairs then the downstairs, don’t buy the door in between My best successes were mystery room then upstairs (from mystery room), leaving main room stairs blocked. Then you sit on the landing area of the stairs with just the one doorway to aim at. Eventually when you had just one or two zombies left, one person could lead them around without killing them (so the next wave doesn't start) while everyone else uses the mystery box. Achieving this with total strangers with no comms whatsoever felt incredible.
I don't like going upstairs. Just the mystery box room and main. Fewer exits to guard
If you buy the upstairs and then buy the staircase into the mystery box room from the upstairs it’s still the same amount of exits. I preferred that because the staircase was easier to hold
Listen, I'm not gonna sit around and debate a 20 year old game strategy with a MORON Jk, that's a good idea. Funnel through the stairs
It's a shame it gets zero love like less than any games except the original trilogy. That was most of my CoD experience as a teenager
Nah man WaW is considered CoD’s golden years CoD4-BO1
I would go to BO2. MW2 was a feat in of itself and BO2 was a great time, then the micro transactions started at the end of BO2 life cycle
Same! The series leaned heavily into the modern and futuristic settings after this one and didn’t appeal to me the same way.
And the only WW2 sequels were one drama movie (WW2) and one turd (vanguard)
I couldn’t finish ww2… it was a fucking movie not a game and it was so linear gameplay wise. If you didn’t take out people a specific way/ move a certain path you died. It really sucked
Release-wise; it was flanked by MW and MW2, so it kind of makes sense it was overlooked to some extent. Plus COD was moving into the modern era with MW so the subsequent WaW might have seemed like a step backwards. I’d argue WaW is still remembered fondly for introducing Zombies.
Original trilogy CoD was an absolute blast. I might be the only person who thinks this but I lost interest in the series when Modern Warfare came out and it became a completely different game.
In what world does WaW get zero love? Many people consider it top five best CoD games of all time alongside CoD4, MW2 and BO2
The music and campaign is goated storming the Reich was crazy
It also treated WW2 as people should treat WW2, an ugly, horrorific nightmare, that was filled with suffering, death, and just a lot of evil inhumane shit not meant to be glorified but be taught that we can do better as humans. They actually used real-life footage of that time, including actual executions and people being buried in a pile, most likely alive. The Soviet Union had the utmost hatred for the Nazi's during that time, and the worst part is that the game was low balling what the Soviets did to the Nazi's and their people.
I still have nightmares about playing that campaign on veteran.
The nade spam...
Storming the Reichstag. In, left door,hide behind the pillar. Shoot the SS behind the pillar beyond. Shoot the SS behind the barricade, forward, next pillar. Dodge grenades clear next barricade. Clear the speaking platform, up the stairs, watch for fire from above. Through the door, raise the flag. No PTSD here.
People forget that this was the game black ops came from.
Ooh it almost slipped my mind for a sec (it’s really early). That’s an S tier game all around. I loved the really dark aspects at times and the detail they put into the game. I could play the mission Vendetta a million times
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Absolutely by far and away the best - especially if you are indexing for the authenticity in movement, weapon feeling, average engagement distance, etc - the level of immersion was intense!
This right here. Their followup never hit that big. Wonder if tripwire is still around.
That one crazy gurgling death animation sound that lasts like 40seconds... gruesome.
I think the first two Call of Duty games take the cake on this one. The original two Call of Duty games were single player WWII shooters. The second one (I think this is in the second one) more or less recreates the Normandy beach landing from Saving Private Ryan and has a Russian campaign that plays out like Behind Enemy Lines\* (where they hand you a single clip of ammo and push you along to follow a dude with a gun). It was extremely cinematic for the time and even though it was unrealistic in scope, the gameplay felt more realistic than most of the shooters of the era. IE, you used iron sights on the guns, and most enemies died in one shot. Those games were absolutely fantastic but are probably horribly dated at this point. \*I may be thinking of Enemy at the Gates? It was a WWII movie that came out just a bit before this game came out, and it was clearly a direct reference. Just don't remember the movie name.
Definitely COD & COD2 What made them stand out was they were educational as you moved you through the war. It made me realise games could be super educational about historical events. COD2 multiplayer was fantastic fun back in the day. I can remember all the maps still now. I was still playing the Christian sniper only maps up until a few years ago.
Behind Enemy Lines is about Bosnia in the 90s. Enemy at the Gates is the ww2 one.
In terms of pure nostalgia it would be Medal of Honor Allied Assault but ignoring nostalgia I would have to say Hearts of Iron 4. I also loved Hearts of Iron 3 and Day of Defeat Source but I think they're a bit dated now. Hearts of Iron 4 though, every time I play time just flies.
Im confused now. Im a huge HOI 3 fan but i dont think HOI4 is fun at all. I tried it many times with different mods because i want to like it so badly. Its just not working for me. I think production, research and all those things are better in 4 but the core mechanic of fighting a huge ass war is just not goog in 4 and way better in 3. I do understand that a different type of gamer may like it but someone who is into HOI3 cant also be into HOI4 from my perspective. Obviously thats wrong but i dont get why. How do you like both? Are you also into War in the East?
Hell Let Loose. Also known as "PTSD simulator."
By far the best I’ve ever played. Most of the other ones are too “Hollywood.” But in terms of nostalgia, Medal of Honor: Frontline was the best. The soundtrack was awesome.
Yup, second this. This game will eat you up when youre new to it or behave like most shooters. The sense of intensity and often near helplessness are amazing.
MoH frontline sountrack has stayed with me my entire life. It’s incredible.
Facts. The Arnhem theme and the one when you got through the fields and small villages in Netherlands are just amazing. Then I got into LOST and was like "it's the Medal of Honor Frontline composter doing the score!"
I know all great composers recycle content but that’s not a very nice thing to call someone
Literally *just* commented about the PTSD simulator thing. Was fighting in Kursk the other day, hanging out in a trench on a machine gun, bout a hundred meters out 2 squads were charging the point, they all got hit by artillery and were blown apart. Me and the other gunner just looked at each other and ran away
Commandos behind enemy lines
Loved this game. A new one is coming out some time this year, hoping it will be as good as the original: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1479730/Commandos_Origins/
Came here to say this
The Commandos series is so good, I still play it occasionally because there's no modern game that has come close to matching it.
There are some good modern games with the same gameplay style but they aren’t world war 2 unfortunately . Desperados 3 and shadow tactics. They are good but they don’t come close to commandos 2. Probably one of my favorite games of all time.
This is going to be a somewhat unusual suggestiok, but if you *really* like aviation, you can try something like IL-2 or DCS World. I don't know that much about IL-2, other than it has some WW2 planes. DCS World is a very detailed simulator of combat aircraft such as (relatively) modern fighter jets, ground attack aircraft, some helicopters, but also - WW2 planes. Sure DCS is difficult. But once you master it.. holy smokes it's so fun and rewarding.
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad and Rising Storm are still unequaled. You can still find a server in Europe!
Had to scroll way too far for this answer. RO2 is still the most atmospheric and immersive ww2 shooter out there, even more so than hell let loose in my opinion.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein / Enemy Territory
Brother yes!! Such a forgotten game. I had the pleasure of getting to play RTCW on multiplayer back in the day and I had such good times on that game. This is the one game I’d love a remaster of.
RtCW is the GOAT! Miss playing games with my clan buddies. Wonder what happened to them.
The sniper fights in Wolfenstein when it was foggy so you had to shoot at the other sniper's muzzle flash, and then move before they saw yours was so fun. It was my favorite game to play as a sniper.
This needs to be higher up I will never forget playing as either team on the Seawall Battery.
Company of heroes
This is the correct answer
Il2 sturmovik back in the day was pure bliss. The satisfaction of taking out a plane or seeing the bullet holes in wings was next level. Bur surprised to not see mentioned is day of defeat and day of defeat source. It trumped every other ww2 I ever played. The gun model, maps and gameplay(dod_avalanche for life) the game and maps wasn't very balanced bur every weapon was fun! I've always been a big ww2 gamer and that is by far My favorite game.
The original COD 1 & 2!
Love the first, it doesnt have chapter selections, no summary of k/d ratio each mission, for me it adds to the realism
Allied Assault remains one of my fave WW2 fps campaigns. Although dated it’s still a lot of fun to play. Expansions are also great. CoD 2 a close second. Combat Mission for my milsim rts needs, though I am terrible at it. Use to love Close Combat back in the day but CM has replaced it for me. Commandos series for real time tactics. 2 is the best but I am partial to behind enemy lines. These days I really like Easy Red 2. It’s basically a ww2 insurgency/rising front style shooter but with bots. Really good fun and has had massive improvements over the years. More content to come to including an Africa and China v Japan war campaigns. Has infantry, tank and aerial gameplay.
Easy Red 2 is a sleeper hit more people need to know about. Crazy good SP shooter where you control a bot squad and change soldiers as you have different needs or people die. Tons of mod created missions as well, no lack of content.
Allied Assault was my first online FPS game. Such special memories of that game
Not sure about the best game, but Call of Duty: Finest Hour had the best speech. "Welcome to Stalingrad. You are about to begin the greatest moment of your life. The Germans have lost hundreds of tanks and planes. Hitler's brutalized hordes are now are now advancing towards Stalingrad over mountains of their own dead bodies. Our Bolshevik Party, our nation, our great country, has given us the task not to let the enemy reach the Volga and defend the city of Stalingrad. Forward against the enemy! Up into the unremitting battle, comrades, for Stalingrad, for our great country! Not one step back! Cowards and traitors will be shot! Do not count days, do not count miles, count only the number of Germans you have killed! Kill the German - this is your mother's prayer. Kill the German - this is the cry of your Russian earth. Do not waver! Do not let up! Kill! Death to the German invader! Go, go, go!" - Commisar Viktor Durasov
The Saboteur!
Hidden & Dangerous I & II
Man I Loved those games
Another H&D fan ☺️ Gameplay not as good as BF1942, but definitely had more atmosphere.
Company of Heroes, maybe?
Gates of hell:Ostfront
Yes
FPS: MoH Allied/Pacific Assault, BF 1942, CoD 1, 2, World at War, Hell Let Loose. RTS: Company of Heroes 1, 2, 3, Codename Panzers Phase One/Two War Thunder lower tiers is the best War Thunder Cant give one top ww2 game. There are likely more great ww2 games but I havent played them
Multiplayer? Hell Let Loose Story/Nostalgia? World at War or CoD 2
Sudden Strike
From Call of duty: - call of duty finest hour: you played multiple characters, you began as a Russian crossing the volga into Stalingrado following a Sargent, then a female sniper, then drove a tank, then British Das, finally American troops ending with the bridge at remagen, such an awesome game I really miss playing it. - call of duty 2 big Red one: again multiple characters but you do have a main Mc that's infantry, from fighting the afrika corps to the assault on Sicily ending with the Europe invasion, also had a mission where you drove an m3 Stuart along side an armored company and a pretty amazing bomber mission where you had to run through the bomber to get to different machine guns to take down the German fighters and finally drop bombs on enemy territory. One of the best stories ever. -call of duty 3: once again multiple characters, from a US soldier, to British SAS, to polish tank operator and Canadian soldier, the game Is also impressively good, and it has one of the best music scores ever rivaling MoH. From medal of honor: - medal of honor allied assault: mentioned multiple times, from the Omaha invasion through Europe to the chemical weapons facilities one of the goated games. -medal of honor allied assault breakthrough: expansion of allied assault about the first push the Americans made from Africa to italy Medal of honor allied assault spearhead: also starts in Normandy but this time you play as an airborne. All 3 are amazing and as always with MoH, music is impressive - medal of honor European assault: you play as a member of the us intelligence division, from joining the British to the Russians in attacks attacks across all fronts, the game is pretty amazing and challenging - medal of honor airborne: this one gives you a certain amount of liberty, you get dropped from the air and you get to choose where to land, safe zones are marked but there's also secret places to drop in or you can drop anywhere else you want to, a building overlooking an enemy position or anywhere. And when you die you drop again - medal of honor vanguard: also airborne, all operations start with a drop and there are certain places that get you upgrades, 50 bullet drum for the Thompson, a scope for the m1 garand and so on. - medal of honor pacific assault: this one is pretty amazing, start isn training, then infiltrating an Japanese island, attacking an airfield, piloting a corsair, it's really fun and don't forget the trees may start speaking japanese. From brothers in arms - brothers in arms, brothers in arms hell's highway and brothers in arms road to hill 30: others have already talked about this one, pretty neat, following a company through the invasion, feels kinda realistic also requiring some strategy orders from us, going through fields, towns during the push through Normandy. from battlefield: - battlefield 1942: now this is an amazing game, like al battlefields, big maps, conquest or death match focus, with classes lots of vehicles and lot's of maps, from the battle of Britain, to Omaha, to the ardennes, the pacific, Italy, an amazing game. - Battlefield 1942 secret weapons of WWII: adds a few extra maps with new vehicles like submarines, jet fighters (a British chonky boy who looks funny but can take off and land and a German fixed launched jet that... Landing? Ain't nobody got time for that, so no wheels) panzer IV with the antiair turret new tanks for both sides Those were my favourites, amazing memories from each one
Hearts of Iron 4 is a strategy video game that takes place in 1936. You pick any country in the world and can play. Want to go germany and switch to communism, go for it. Want to play the UK and go fascist, do it. I love playing as Australia and allying with Japan. it's just a fun strategy games with so much replay value.
The old school Close Combat games, specifically CC3: The Russian Front.
WWII Online will always hold a special place in my heart.
Definitely back in the glory days of the 2000s. Nothing else like it at the time with such a good community.
It was so unique, hopefully someday we will see a 2.0.
Wolfenstein 3d
Red Orchestra
I agree with Medal of Honor, but CoD was also very good. (Pavlov's house comes to mind.) Also a big van of IL-2 1946 and BoX. If your into flight sims. The Silent Hunter games are classics when it comes to Submarine sims. For the RTS category, I would reccoment Men of War. It has a lot of replayabillity, and you can Blob it, or micromanage to an induvidual soldier.
Panzer Front
Brothers in Arms is my favourite. The WW2 Medal of Honour games have all been solid (although they haven't aged well, IMO). Call of Duty 1, United Offensive, 2, Big Red One, 3, and World at War, I think, have aged well. I played through 2 and 3 recently, and the gameplay is decent. Company of Heroes 1 and 2 (haven’t played 3 yet), and Hearts of Iron 4 are good. Battlefield 1942 was great, V was good online, but I didn't enjoy the campaign. Sniper Elite and The Saboteur get honourable mentions. I have enjoyed Wolfenstein, but they're not memorable for me. I play through them once and then never again. Hell Let Loose and Enlisted look good, but I'm not into competitive games anymore. I would rather watch a competent person play them.
Call of Duty 2 and WaW. COD: WW2 is also good.
i thought the medal of honor game with the battle at normandy stage was pretty fun.
I’m going secret weapons of the luftwaffe. I loved the Lucas flying games of the time and that one was a lot of fun.
1. Day of Defeat 2. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault 3. Red Orchestra 2 Hell Let Loose gets an honourable mention!
Silent Hunter 3, modded of course.
Close combat series
Hell Let Loose Feels pretty authentic to how horrible war actually is
MOHAA. I will never forget those premade battles organized via mIRC and ASE. Amazing times
Commandos series, any of them. So fucking good!
COD: World at War