Naval War: Arctic Circle is a real time strategy game for a strategy gamer. There is no hand holding here, one look at the game in action can show you that. In my time with the game I controlled a fleet of ships each able to launch its own variety of fighter jets and helicopters. I could also launch aircraft from a near by airfield that backed onto the water. I was able to customize what weapons my aircraft would attack with; targeting frigates, submarines, torpedoes or missiles.

Naval War will have you launching aircraft for various tasks, be that scouting for enemy submarines engaging other aircraft, supporting a ship battle with strafing runs against an opposing warship. Naval War will require you to think on your feet, making sure aircraft are refueled and, reloaded with fresh ammunition. Making sure your ships are blockading the enemy preventing them from reaching vital air fields. Your strategic militant mind must be up to task lest you fail and lose control of the now ever important Arctic Circle.

More then anything, two features stood out during my time with Naval War. The unique combat encounters were one thing; but the fact that I could see a slow moving missile or torpedo on my radar only to launch two fighter jets to intercept missile/torpedo and blow it out of the sky/water. This new level of thinking and defensive play style made the encounters feel as though I was really the commander on that ship making that call. Micro managing each ship did not feel like a chore it felt as though I was that commander aboard that one ship, but at the same time I was a larger general commanding an entire fleet. This is something strategy gamers should take notice of; the micro management didn’t feel overwhelming. I was able to make these choices within seconds well dispatching a helicopter to search for an annoyingly elusive hostile submarine.

The second feature that really sticks out in my mind is the very interesting map and unit perspective system. With the click of a single button I could switch from the games default view, showing units as outlines in a hyper zoomed out map view (arguably showing off the huge scale of the map: 35 million kilometers squared)  to a view of the individual unit you have selected showing it fly across the sea as it carries out your orders. Now just below this in a window it gives you the default map view. This allowed me to cycle my units and give orders on the map without having to sacrifice the cinematic experience of watching my units decimate my enemies.

Naval War’s presentation is lacking in a few aspects. The cut scenes between missions are simple text logs which tend to scroll by too quickly. Unit models aren’t as polished as other titles but overall these are minor complaints. Naval War is still in development so there is plenty of time for fixes and a reevaluation of the presentation. I personally hope we see voice acting added to bring a more real feeling to the games very political climate.

Naval War: Arctic Circle touts a very impressive roster of nine unique naval factions. Although the single player campaigns are only played from the perspectives of NATO or Russian forces, the game holds a large roster of ships and aircraft from the nine different naval forces. All of which are either serving or soon to be serving in active duty. This game holds a lot of promise. If you’re a fan of strategy games and a lover of all things naval, keep an eye out for this one.

Naval War: Arctic Circle is published by Paradox Interactive and releases in Q2 of 2012.

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System requirements
Operating system:     Windows XP/Vista/7 (32 or 64 bit)
Processor:         Intel Core 2 DUO 1.8 Ghz or AMD equivalent
Memory:         2 GB
Hard disk space:     2 GB free
Video card:     256 MB GeForce or ATI equivalent Direct X 9.0c or 10 (does not support intergraded graphics card)
Sound:             Direct X compatible
Controller support:     Keyboard and mouse
Multiplayer:        2 player