Post-Soviet countries are famous for long-term construction Friv games. Talented but lazy Slavic guys year after year stubbornly create masterpieces in the bowels of their studios. The most interesting thing is that most of these projects are really potential hits that can surprise a gamer who is accustomed to templates. But what disciplined Western developers will do in a year and a half, ours will chew for five years. At first, the work is in full swing due to frantic enthusiasm: interviews are given to everyone, more or less decent demo versions are shown at all kinds of exhibitions, the Network is full of screenshots. But sooner or later the fuse disappears, and the concept does not seem so unique anymore. As a result, release dates are postponed over and over again, the technologies used become obsolete - and the final product, which is extremely buggy, does not receive excellent marks and high ratings. Although I could, if the developers got down to business wisely. There are a lot of examples: from the one who made it to the happy end STALKER to the long-suffering Disciples 3.
A couple of years ago, the Internet pages were full of announcements of the ambitious WehrWolf project from the studio Friv2Online. The developers decided to make a WWII shooter, which means to compete with such recognized leaders as Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. As a key to success, it was decided to use an unusual plot based on real historical mysteries and maximum realism. I can already see the grin on your faces: they say, who only did not promise us this. And you are right. But the authors of WehrWolf approached the theme of World War II from a completely new, previously unaffected side.
The word "wehrwolf" is translated from German as "armed wolf". This was the name of the carefully fortified and guarded headquarters of Hitler himself, located not far from Vinnitsa. A thorough check of documents, several fences under voltage, machine gunners in trees, ditches, minefields - this is not a complete list of the joys that awaited those daredevils who decided to poke their heads into such a strategically important territory. And, nevertheless, the USSR had one special trump card in its pocket - the "Winners" group, which, in the end, managed to overcome all obstacles. The character we control is a member of this unit, and together with him we have to go all the way of the legendary saboteurs. Moreover: the real "Winners" were never able to get into the bunker itself. And we can do it with you.
To the credit of the gentlemen from Friv2Online Studio, it should be said that they approached the task very responsibly, shoveling mountains of historical literature in order to recreate in great detail not only the path of the "Winners" squad, but also the level of development of military equipment, everyday life, clothes of that time in general ... They even bought firearms of that time (not dummies, but real samples) in order to properly understand all the intricacies.
It was planned that the adventures of the "Winners" will be shown in colors thanks to the magnificent physics model and state-of-the-art graphics engine. Some development companies were even going to buy the permission to use the WehrWolf motor from Friv2Online Studio for other projects. But time has not been good for a single Friv game in development. The destructibility and interactivity of all environmental objects, an endless landscape, water that does not look like mercury, a chiaroscuro system close to reality no longer cause enthusiastic exclamations among gamers, since there are more and more products on the market that can boast these same characteristics. The chips that Ukrainian developers planned to hook the public with have turned into the most common things for the Friv game industry. And, alas, this fact is definitely not conducive to raising the ratings.
WehrWolf's release has been postponed several times already (originally it was scheduled for 2007). The last screenshots show us an ordinary Friv game, not the worst, but not the best either. The project is ready to compete with recognized FPS luminaries - for sure. But, alas, there are no longer any claims to leadership in the genre of speech.