Men Of War: Sequels And Souvenirs

My aim? In the reach zone. My fingers? Poised over the old word-piano ready to impart the following vague but important snippet of Men of War news. In addition to toiling away on MoW: Vietnam, MoW: Condemned Heroes (a standalone title based on the activities of a Soviet Penal battalion), and more DLC for Assault Squad, 1C are currently planning Men of War II. It's very early days yet, but last week in Prague, series producer Sergey Gerasev dropped some interesting hints as to possible directions.

Actually, I only managed to persuade him to drop one hint:

"Massively multiplayer!" he hinted.

"Tell me more," I pressed.

"No," he replied.

"Go on," I pleaded.

"It's really too early to say more," he answered

"Fair enough," I somethinged "But how am I supposed to turn this tantalising tidbit into a plump RPS post?".

"You could speculate on what a massively multiplayer MoW might involve?" suggested Sergey.

"I could. But wouldn't that be fairly pointless and potentially misleading?"

"Ok, how about padding-out the story with a description of some of the interesting items you've scavenged while playing the marvellous Men of War: Vietnam preview code?"

"Genius!"

Some Of The Interesting Items I've Scavenged While Playing The Marvellous Men of War: Vietnam Preview Code

M79 Grenade Launcher
However horrendous the lead-storm or exposed the corpse, I always try to pick up these little beauties. Able to hurl HE much further than a puny human arm, they are the perfect way to kick-off an ambush or base attack. Arc a salvo of nades over a fence or building using direct control, then quickly switch your concealed attack force to "fire at will" Result: drowsy jungle-hemmed clearing transforms into body-strewn killing floor in the blink of an eye.

RPG-2
Not only does this rustic-looking grenade launcher make short work of tanks, once the war is over it can be converted into a very attractive standard lamp, prosthetic leg, or - assuming you've got four of them and an old Jeep bonnet - kitchen table.

BM-37 Mortar
On spotting an enemy mortar pit you've got a few options. You can snipe or storm the team then move in to commandeer the weapon, or - as I discovered last night - you can dash around, mischievously encouraging them to drop bombs on their mates. If mortars in MoW2 don't have minimum engagement ranges, I'll be disappointed.

T-34/85
Is there anything in MoW as satisfying as spannering a wrecked tank back to life then using it against its previous owner? Souvenirs don't come much bigger or deadlier than this 32-ton NVA war chariot.

Pilot Helmet
Nothing says "Your Technology Won't Save You, Imperialist Pigs!" like turning up at a firefight wearing a Huey pilot's helmet. Rarer than hens' teeth, you can imagine the admiring glances Morozov and his fellow Soviet advisors will get pulling these from their kit bags back in Moscow.

M72 LAW
The Vietnam-era equivalent of a Panzerfaust. Bulky but handy.

US Radio
Capturing American radios seems to serve no purpose beyond burdening your men. A pity that. At the very least I was hoping that returning sets to base would earn my team some warm words from the CO or a little intel boost at the beginning of the next mission.

Backpack Flamethrower
One of the four preview code missions involves defending an NVA base against an armour-supported US attack. Weather the first wave then sally forth on an equipment hunt, and you should return with at least one of these invaluable napalm dispensers.

DShK HMG
If you can be arsed to drag these weighty tripod HMGs around (it takes two blokes to move one) they can make superb close support weapons. Set one up in a thicket near an enemy position then draw foes towards it with some brazen scouting, for brutal, hat-plucking fun.

ZU-23-2
Disappointingly, helicopters don't seem to be stealable in MoW: Vietnam. You can swat them from the sky with potent pilfered armaments like this AA gun, but no amount of blue tool boxes will repair the resulting wrecks.

Coolie Hat
It keeps the sun and rain off better than a standard US helmet, but wobbling it around may mess with the MFCDs of passing ground-attack aircraft.

Chicken
In the last preview build, there were definitely rustle-able chickens. Fingers-crossed, one of the mission designers has incorporated fowl thievery into a scenario. I want to play as a downed US pilot attempting to live off the land while making for friendly lines.

Axe/Machete/Spade
Melee in MoW isn't for the faint of heart or short of hitpoints. All the same, it's hard to walk past a discarded hatchet or billhook without picking it up. Perhaps in MoW2: Vietnam we will be able to use such implements for felling trees, fashioning punji traps, and harvesting bananas. The MoW-based RPG I'm secretly designing in my top secret Secret Designs exercise book will feature many such activities.