by Peter Robbins, 23 September 2024
Before you read this very quick first impression of the Market Garden DLC, you should review the following Dev Diaries, which honestly, point out what the DLC provides a bit more directly than just our handful of hours with the first mission or two. Head to these articles first before reading this impression article. I’ve also supplied the STEAM Store page, which you should read the ‘About This Content’ section of:
- Dev Diary On New Units
- Dev Diary On New Locations
- Dev Diary On New Buildings
- STEAM Store Page (Read The About This Content Section)
click images to enlarge
Overview
“With all of the above developer provided information crammed into your head, I will lead with a very cursory evaluation of what is provided: awesomeness.” (Gratuitous Self-Quote, Me, Just Now)
I will caveat that blanket statement with the fact that I’ve only played the content for about four hours of game-time, with the other fact that I’m generally prone to seeking out British content for WW2 games.
I will squarely say, from zoomed down low to way up high, the sheer quality of the graphics of this game are bar none. Also, with this particular Market Garden DLC, you can tell they just put a lot of love into it. I think part of that may be that the developers and the publisher were not nearly under as much pressure to release the content as they were likely under the gun for during the release of the original core game (as all development projects fall into*).
I’m not saying Slitherine pushed them to release a bad quality wargame, as on the contrary; I felt like the original core game is and remains outstanding in quality. It has held up very well in replay value even without this DLC, and then now I’ve been just very pleasantly surprised that it is coming out well ahead of the holidays. I think it was smart to provide this well-done content to players far ahead of the rush of other offerings towards the end-of-year holidays.
I specifically love British content just in that it is not covered nearly as much as American or German, as we are either very patriotic in our personal love for playing as America (I do love my country and its service-persons), or we lean toward a subconscious desire to replay historical wargames as “the enemy” of the conflict; which in our collective minds for WW2 are squarely the Germans, or more specifically, the forces of the now properly extinguished Nazi Regime. In having strong familial connections to my Anglo-Irish roots, I’m also just partial to my British and Irish cousins across the pond.
That said, let’s dive in a tiny bit. We wanted to get this first impression up very quickly so as to get ahead of its release on September 25th! Yes, that’s right, it’s out very soon! Get it when it drops.
That is my gratuitous plug for the new content. If you enjoy the core game, this is a no brainer purchase. Get it.
What’s In The Box?
Here is the TL;DR of what you get, in case you were a lazy sod and didn’t read the content I provided at the beginning of this first impression.
NEW CONTENT SUMMARY
- 8 mission-long campaigns with storytelling elements that will challenge your tactical skill.
- 10 new units to use in both campaign and skirmish/multiplayer
- 3 new British heroes
- Lots of new visual assets create mesmerizing locations of the WW2-period Netherlands.
UNITS LIST
- New UK units:
- AEC Mk III
- A30 Challenger
- BL 5.5-inch medium gun
- M7 Priest
- Staghound Tulip
- New USA units:
- Sherman Calliope
- G.M.C. M12
- New German units:
- Nashorn
- Panzer IIL
- Hummel
SCENARIOS LIST
- Road to Valkenswaard
- Liberation of Eindhoven
- Liberation of Nijmegen
- The Battle of Son
- The Waal Crossing
- The Elst Assault
- The Battle of Highway 69
- Operation Berlin (Arnhem)
SPOILER ALERT
We are about to show significant content from the DLC, so if you want to just take my blanket judgment above that it’s worth owning, then stick to that and be pleasantly surprised by how good it is when you purchase it.
END SPOILER ALERT
We’ll start with a few shots from the 1st mission, then we’ll follow it up with a few from the second, just as a teaser of how this beauty looks and plays out.
Mission 1, Road to Valkenswaard
The first mission has a great variety of action in it, and you have to plan things out carefully, or you will get your rump handed to you, like I did on my first couple playthroughs. Don’t forget to use smoke where and when you can. Also make great use of your two scout teams, and the “Scout” action, which will show you all of the enemy units within a certain radius regardless of line of sight. Also, make good use of your Air Recon, and your Low Level Bombers to clear out and look for additional enemy unit lines ahead of your objective areas. This first mission was well designed.
You have to use all of your available forces and support to get through to its end successfully. This is a well done opener to the DLC.
Mission 2, Liberation Of Eindhoven
Ok, we’ll only jump real quick-like into the second mission with a set of screens, as I haven’t had time to finish this ahead of the full impending release of the DLC. Also, honestly, this is likely just as well so I don’t spoil things too much. I’ll just take us up through first contact and detections by scouts and snipers.
This is tight in city fighting, so a very different experience than the core HQ2 WW2 game experience thus far, and its even unique compared to Mission 1. So, bravo on variety factor to the devs. Enjoy the shots, and enjoy the DLC. It’s definitely worth a purchase.
Great variety and attention to details throughout the content provided, at least for the two missions I’ve dug into so far.
Headquarters: WWII – Market Garden DLC releases on 25 September, and you can get it from Matrix Games or through their Steam page
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Well, the two “castles” on the railway bridge in Nijmegen look a lot like the real thing. As does the Belvedère and the Kruittoren, also in Nijmegen. And having to fight through a small city street, which was, in 1944, the “major” highway in Eindhoven, is also more or less historically correct. But the major hill, next to the bridge in Nijmegen, the one the Belvedère is standing on, and which dominates the bridge position, is completely missing…. And as I live in Nijmegen, I should know.
It might be possible that this game plays more historically then it looks, but the maps are not really looking like anything I know, or recognize. And I do realise that, in order to have it balanced, some liberties have to be taken, but this isn’t anything like what I see now, nor what was there in 1944.
I played a lot of Close Combat Market Garden, and eventhough those maps are also approximations of the real terrain, for most of the battles they were recognizable enough and are far less divested from reality than the maps I have seen in this game.