Haven't posted in this site in years, and I'm so glad to see it keeps running, especially the beta-testing section. Hats off to you all
Ok, now for my review:
I played it in Vet mode, with standard settings in my profile (skillFriendly=0.750000;skillEnemy=0.750000;precisionFriendly=0.750000;precisionEnemy=0.750000;).
OverviewGood idea, I'd say the pic' itself could be worked a little bit more.
IntroMy gripe is that the custom voices fail to create a real atmosphere. I suggest some music in the background, close shots on faces, and I'd remove the shot on enemy forces, as there's no reason why BLUFOR should get that sort of information (unless there's an FO hidden somewhere). I think the idea is to get the player to identify with someone in the platoon, and the camera should help by adopting their point of view.
BriefingThere's a "Notes Section" feel to the first two paragraphs. I'd inject some impersonal military data into it.
No weapons selection, no typos. I lead three men, an expert, a vet, and rookie.
MissionI position my men hidden in a small yard, a voice tells me about incoming arty, and indeed arty's incoming. I see explosions not too far away and decide to make a move around the village anyway. Find a spot scan horizon and oops? What do I see? A 30-odd flock of enemy loons 300m. South of the village, standing there in this unique way BIS loons have.
Then there's the voice message, the savegame, and obviously, the loons start to run towards the village. Smells like sinch'ed WP a little bit too much for me, tbh.
Then there's the fighting, which is real fun, I focus on the Southern and Eastern fronts, trying to mount MGs but to no avail, I get the message about them sending another comapny, us needing to hold fast because there's backup on the way, but eh! i know better, it's the army, so I keep on fighting, huge explosion behind me up North, but I stay hidden behind my sandbags, killing enemies, then I make a move to that soldier with a PK 25m. away, go back to my previous hiding position and then the shredding starts... but not for long, because the enemy is announced to be retreating. I don't know where the CO got that info from, though, because at that precise moment, an enemy soldier (walks through) jumps over the sandbags, tries to flank me...
The next part of the mission was a walk in the park, with occasional stray infantries in the open, two unreactive machine guns and the four arty guns.
Duration: 19 minutes
Score: 22120 (five stars), 45 infantries and three D-30s.
My opinionI found the difficulty of the mission overall well-balanced. If you are cautious, you can survive and put up a great firefight. I'd say the strength of the "Last Hope" formula is in its simplicity and efficiency. If you're up for some quick hold-your-position mission, then 'Last Hope' is for you.
Good job, Cheetah!