Hammer and Sickle is a tactical RPG from CDV, following in the footsteps of Silent Storm.

Hammer and Sickle is set in the spring of 1949, and places the player in the shoes of a Soviet spy, on duty in the British-American controlled sector of Germany during the early years of the budding Cold War. To quote the press release:

“In a world where no one is quite who they appear to be, the player is trapped in a hellish plot that could trigger a third world war, this time between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective nuclear arsenals. Gamers will have to navigate a web of intrigue and make decisions that could determine the fate of the world.”

The intrigue, and freedom of the game is both its greatest feature and its downfall.

In the early stages of the game, it is difficult to figure out exactly what is happening, and why. Then, by the time enough has been revealed about your character, and the world around him, you end up starting to lose interest again because you are completely lost. This game offers a lot of freedom, so much you end up wandering around having no idea what to do half the time.

Players that like that kind of thing will relish this game - there is a lot of freedom in terms of objectives, and how you accomplish the missions.

As an example - this game has a unique night and day cycle - I say unique because unlike most games, the time of day affects more than just your own ability to see. If you want to do a stealth mission, wait until night time - it will be a lot easier.

The RPG aspects of the game (standing with other NPCs, specialisation of character, etc) are well done, but the flow of the game, and the dialogue, felt choppy and broke the immersion on several occasions. Especially in the early stages of the game you are interrupted for small pieces of dialogue, delivered in a rather exaggerated accent, and often sounding snappy or poorly worded.

The game uses the standard action points and turn based combat system, so accomplished RPG gamers should feel at home straight away. The interface is also pretty standard.

In terms of missions, there are a lot of them, and they differ enough from eachother that you should never feel that you are repeating the same task needlessly. There is plenty of content to the game, and it is clear that there has been thought put into it.

The plot is not as sweeping or exciting as it might first seem, which is unfortunate. I won’t reveal what happens, as I don’t believe in spoilers, but do not expect to be changing world history.

To conclude, this is a decent tactical RPG, with plenty of missions to keep you entertained. Its only flaw is in the delivery - a free-roaming game is a great promise, and technically they have delivered, all it needs is a helping hand to keep the people who want to stick to the beaten path from getting lost.

Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 7/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Longevity: 6/10
Overall: 6/10