[UPDATE] Slitherine has announced a date of March 23rd for releasing Afghanistan '11.
With Vietnam '65, developer Every Single Soldier earned its stripes by simulating operational-level warfare in the jungle, also earning an 81/100 on Metacritic in doing so. Now, they have joined forces with RetroEpic Software to produce Afghanistan '11, giving you the chance to pit your command skills against some of the most rugged terrain - and some of the most rugged combatants - in the world.
Unlike Vietnam '65, 3D terrain will be a major factor as you fight through eighteen battles against the Taliban insurgency. Supply will be difficult. Winning hearts and minds will be paramount, because free elections are now a thing. Tribal militias and drug lords complicate a tangled situation even further, as will events happening elsewhere in the world.
Additionally, you'll need to get the Afghan National Army ready to keep the hard-won peace once it's time for you and your buddies to grab a seat on that big skybird home. None of which, of course, is going to matter much if you can't keep the terrorists from blowing up the country's infrastructure in the meantime. Remember those free elections...!
You're going to be deploying the full range of modern military units: artillery, mechanized, infantry, engineers, air-assault, recon drones, Special Forces, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs), and close air support. You'll need to use it smartly to deal with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), rocket launchers, surprise mortar bombardments and terror attacks against villagers. You may even get your shot at Osama bin Laden.
Nothing about this is going to be easy. From invasion to withdrawal, it's on you and your troops to get the job done, and done well.
Slitherine's the publisher on this one, and they have a great record of bringing quality strategy games to PC. Currently, the game is in late alpha development with the Afghanistan '11 development team expects to finish their main bug-hunting operations and move into beta soon, aiming for a Steam release window of early 2017.
What do you think about strategy wargaming on the PC platform? Is it due for a resurgence? Let us know in the comments below!
