Wargame: Red Dragon

Wargame: Red Dragon
Developer(s)	Eugen Systems
Publisher(s)	Focus Home Interactive
Engine	IRISZOOM engine v4.0
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, OS/X, Linux
Release date(s)	April 17, 2014
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player and Multiplayer

Wargame: Red Dragon is a real-time strategy video game developed by Eugen Systems and published by Focus Home Interactive, released on April 17, 2014. It is the sequel to the 2013 Wargame: AirLand Battle.

Gameplay

Wargame: Red Dragon includes 19 nations. Naval and amphibious warfare were introduced in this game.^[1] As of the last DLC update, there are currently 1,797 units in game.

Campaigns

The campaigns are centered on a series of fictional conflicts taken from real scenarios that could have led to war between each respective party involved.

South Korea, USA VS North Korea – Busan Pocket – 1987

Protests are sparked all across South Korea demanding democratic reforms following the decision by Chun Doo Hwan, the South Korean dictator to announce a successor to his leadership, overstepping any electoral process currently available in South Korea. North Korea watches with interest, and aggravates the situation by inserting agents into the protests to increase discontent. The U.S. forces present in South Korea are confined to their posts, whilst riot police and the South Korean military are deployed to the streets to quell the riots. North Korea seizes this opportunity and invades the South, with great success apparently similar to that in the early stages of the Korean War. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, the exhausted South Korean forces retreats to Busan, a vital Port city that must be held at all costs until U.S. reinforcements arrive by sea.

China, North Korea VS USSR – Bear vs Dragon – 1979

Aimed at containing Chinese influence, Vietnam invades and occupies Cambodia, one of China's allies. In response, the Chinese terminates the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, whilst simultaneously invading Vietnam and warning the USSR to not interfere. Nevertheless, the Soviets increase their naval presence in Vietnamese waters, and masses troops on its border into China in an attempt to intimidate the Chinese into withdrawing. The Sino-Vietnamese War begins to bog down amidst the fighting, and the Chinese Politburo realises that it must curtail the threat and launches a surprise attack against the incomplete buildup of Soviet forces around the supply base at Vladivostok.

UK, ANZAC, Canada VS China – Pearl of the Orient – 1984

Flushed with success following the Falklands War in 1982, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is at the peak of her popularity as a victorious leader. But on a scheduled visit to Beijing, her wish for China to renew the lease of Hong Kong to Britain is declined by the Chinese, Deng Xiaoping boldly stating China's determination to recover all current territories still under foreign administration. Negotiations drag on for a year with no end in sight. When they reach a deadlock, the Chinese Premier declares that he could take Hong Kong in one afternoon. Influenced by her reputation gained in the Falklands, Thatcher meets this new threat by reinforcing the Hong Kong garrison, as well as rallying the support of the Commonwealth nations to Britain. China retaliates by massing forces on Hong Kong's border, but hopes to change Thatcher's mind about her decision fail utterly. Unable to recover Hong Kong diplomatically, China launches an invasion of the territory to take it back by force. The British garrison must hold on and await reinforcements from their allies in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

USSR VS Japan, USA, South Korea – Climb Mount Narodnaia – 1984

Ever since the end of World War Two, the territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands between Japan and the Soviet Union has prevented a formal peace treaty from ever being signed. Relations between the two countries are at an all-time low. The situation is not helped when the Soviets increase their Naval presence in the Kuril Islands, to which Japan responds with an increased military budget, allowing advanced USAF F-16s to be deployed to Japan as well a declaration from the Japanese Prime Minister stating his will to turn Japan into an "unsinkable aircraft carrier". The Soviet response is immediate – "such a feat does not exist". But when the U.S. and Japanese exercise FleetEx '85 begins in the Sea of Japan and gets as close as 500 nautical miles from Vladivostok, the Soviet fleet is put on high alert. The exercise ends at the close of the year, but the Kremlin is convinced this exercise was the precursor for an imminent strike. The decision is made to launch an offensive aimed at invading Japan and capturing its US Military bases, using paratroopers, helicopters, tanks and a mechanized assault from the Kuril Islands.

NATO (South Korea, USA, Japan, UK, ANZAC, Canada, France, West Germany) VS North Korea, USSR, China – Second Korean War – 1992 DLC

On November 9, 1989, the Iron Curtain is torn down whilst the Soviet forces, under direct orders from Mikhail Gorbachev, are ordered to remain in their barracks. 2 years later, the Warsaw Pact is dissolved as the End of Communism in Europe draws ever nearer. Concerned and threatened by an imminent dissolution of the Soviet Union, members of the Army as well as the KGB stage a coup, overthrow and arrest Gorbachev, Yeltsin and several liberal deputies in the process. In the same year despite losing its Warsaw Pact allies, the Soviets violently and quickly reoccupy the vital port facilities in the Baltics. Being left alone to face NATO in Europe, the Soviet Union turns to ally with the only remaining Communist neighbors it has – China and North Korea. In 1992, the USSR sends some of its most technologically advanced weaponry in secret to its new allies, solidifying the alliance between the three countries. However, the UN has kept a close eye on the steady buildup of military force in Asia, and has put the UN forces along the Korean DMZ on high alert, as well as sending the USS Enterprise to the Sea of Japan. On April 15, 1992, the USS Enterprise suffers an explosion in her stern. The cause of the explosion is presumed as a pre-emptive strike, as the Soviet Navy sails directly to the stricken Carrier.

Multiplayer

Like the previous entries in the series, game lobby sizes range from 1v1 to 10v10. New to Red Dragon are naval battles, where players only bring naval units in ocean maps. These naval units and amphibious troops can also be used on land maps that have water zones and can deploy water borne troops. These water zones can be captured with command units similar to land zones .

Mods

Though Eugen has not released mod tools, fans of Wargame have developed their own modding tool with legal permission. The result was an increase in mods and modders, ranging from unit textures, singleplayer campaign, realism mods, and a sandbox tool.

Engine

Wargame: Red Dragon uses a new version of IRISZOOM engine. The new generation allows the player to zoom in on battles directly from satellite view.^[2]

Expansions

As of May 20th, 2016 the Armed Forces of the Netherlands became a downloadable playable faction for the game. Unique Dutch vehicles such as the DAF YP-408 and the DAF YP-104, as well as a mix of British, French, German and American units licensed for Dutch use bring the total units available in game up to 1700.^[3]

On June 23rd, 2016 Eugen Systems announced that the Israeli Defence Forces would become the second downloadable faction for the game. Unique Israeli Army equipment, most notably the Merkava tank will be available in game alongside many other examples of the Israeli arsenal.^[4]

With the announcement of the Israeli army DLC, Eugen also announced the ongoing work of a third pack, this time featuring Yugoslavia and Finland into the game as USSR allies.^[4]

See also

• List of PC exclusive titles
• Wargame: European Escalation
• Wargame: AirLand Battle
• Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations

References

External links

• Official website