Crimes of War

Crimes of War, also known as ÜberSoldier II, is set in an alternate World War II where Nazi forces utilize supernatural experiments to create invincible ÜberSoldiers controlled by the mysterious T9 substance. As Karl Stolz, an enhanced soldier with powers like bullet shields, berserker rage, and perfect aim, players join forces with Maria Schneider to destroy the T9 production facility, battling through intense first-person shooter action with upgradable abilities, a variety of weapons, and multiplayer modes including knife-only deathmatches.

Crimes of War: Review

Introduction

In the shadowy underbelly of World War II shooters, where pixelated Nazis fall to heroic gunfire amid crumbling bunkers, Crimes of War (known internationally as ÜberSoldier II) emerges as a gritty, unpretentious relic of mid-2000s budget gaming. Released in 2007, this first-person shooter from Ukrainian developer Burut Creative Team thrusts players into the chaotic final days of the Third Reich, blending pulpy super-soldier fantasy with historical horror. As a sequel to the obscure 2005 title ÜberSoldier, it promised to escalate the stakes with enhanced powers and a conspiracy-laden plot, but it arrived in an era dominated by polished blockbusters like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. While it doesn’t reinvent the genre, Crimes of War delivers a raw, adrenaline-fueled romp that captures the era’s DIY spirit—flawed yet fervent. My thesis: This game stands as a testament to budget innovation, offering satisfying Nazi-blasting escapism for patient players, but its repetitive design and technical rough edges prevent it from transcending its low-cost origins.

Development History & Context

Burut Creative Team, a modest Ukrainian studio founded in the early 2000s, crafted Crimes of War as a direct follow-up to their debut ÜberSoldier, which had garnered a cult following among Eastern European gamers for its audacious mix of WWII realism and supernatural elements. Led by project manager and lead programmer Alexander Borodetsky, alongside lead designer Alexey Lyamkin and art director Roman Tulinov, the team of around 80 developers aimed to refine their vision of a “super-soldier” narrative inspired by pulp comics and B-movies. The game’s core concept—protagonist Karl Stolz as an unwilling ÜberSoldier fighting from within the Nazi machine—stemmed from a desire to humanize the horrors of war while indulging in over-the-top action, drawing from influences like Wolfenstein but with a Eastern Front twist emphasizing Soviet resistance themes.

The development occurred amid the mid-2000s PC gaming landscape, a time when high-end engines like Source and Unreal 3 were pushing boundaries, but budget titles like this one relied on in-house solutions. Burut built upon their custom X-tend engine from the first game, incorporating the Open Dynamics Engine (ODE) for physics and Lua scripting for flexibility—innovations that allowed ragdoll effects and dynamic environments without blockbuster budgets. Technological constraints were evident: the game demanded 6 GB of hard drive space (massive for 2007) yet still required disc swaps for loading, a holdover from DVD-ROM era limitations. Published by a patchwork of companies—Russobit-M in Russia (as Vostochniy Front: Krah Annenerbe), CITY Interactive in Europe, and Strategy First in North America—it launched on May 18, 2007, for Windows at a bargain $20 price point. This era saw WWII shooters flooding the market (Medal of Honor: Airborne, Brothers in Arms), but Crimes of War carved a niche as an affordable alternative, reflecting Eastern Europe’s growing role in outsourcing game dev amid post-Soviet economic recovery. Regional sensitivities led to censorship in Germany (no blood, no ragdolls on corpses), underscoring the era’s cultural hurdles for violent historical fiction.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Crimes of War unfolds in April 1945, as Berlin teeters on collapse under Soviet assault, weaving a conspiracy thriller that elevates standard WWII tropes into a tale of betrayal, redemption, and forbidden science. The plot picks up directly from ÜberSoldier: Amnesiac protagonist Karl Stolz, a brainwashed Nazi super-soldier enhanced by the shadowy ÜberMacht program, has demolished the ZE1-Complex—a facility resurrecting the dead and mass-producing invincible troops. Believing victory assured, the Allies are blindsided by intel on T9, a mind-control serum sustaining the ÜberSoldiers’ loyalty. Karl, now allied with resistance operative Maria Schneider (his love interest and moral anchor), infiltrates the T9 production labs to dismantle the operation and assassinate key SS officers fleeing justice.

The narrative is delivered through comic-book-style cutscenes—static panels with voiceover narration—that evoke 1940s war propaganda reels, adding a stylized flair to the melodrama. Karl’s arc is the emotional core: Voiced with gravelly intensity (though accents waver due to multinational talent like story writers Kanney Yomi and Denis Malahanov), he grapples with fragmented memories of his pre-war life, questioning his monstrous enhancements. Maria serves as the humanizing foil, her dialogue laced with urgent pleas like “We end this now, or the Reich rises from its ashes,” emphasizing themes of love amid atrocity. Supporting characters, from scheming SS generals to expendable lab scientists, are archetypal—cowardly bureaucrats scripting fiery demises in censored versions—but collectively underscore the game’s anti-fascist ethos.

Thematically, Crimes of War delves into the perversion of science and the cost of power, portraying the Nazis’ occult-inspired experiments (nodding to real Ahnenerbe myths) as hubristic folly. It critiques blind obedience via T9’s role, mirroring historical atrocities like human experimentation, while Karl’s berserker rages symbolize the dehumanizing toll of war. Dialogue is functional but uneven—Russian-inflected English in global releases feels stilted, with lines like “The Fatherland demands your soul!” veering into campy excess. Yet, the story’s brisk pacing (10-12 hours) builds tension through escalating stakes: from stealthy infiltrations to all-out assaults on fortified labs. Flaws abound—predictable twists and underdeveloped Maria—but the narrative’s pulpy sincerity makes it a guilty pleasure, humanizing a genre often accused of glorifying violence.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At its heart, Crimes of War is a no-frills FPS loop: traverse linear levels, mow down waves of Wehrmacht grunts and grotesque ÜberSoldiers, collect ammo, and upgrade between missions. Combat emphasizes aggressive gunplay, with five fixed weapon slots (pistol for precision, rifle for mid-range, machine gun for suppression, rocket launcher for heavies, and grenades for crowds)—a limitation that forces tactical swaps but avoids inventory clutter. Firing feels punchy, with headshots triggering “emotion time” for temporary perfect aim and invincibility, rewarding skill amid chaotic firefights. Karl’s ÜberSoldier abilities add flair: the Stasis Shield halts bullets mid-air (energy-limited, draining on use), knife slashes build Berserker Rage for melee frenzy, and experience points from kills fund RPG-lite progression in health, energy, shield duration, emotion time, or accuracy. This system encourages experimentation—prioritize shields for tanky playstyles or accuracy for sniping—extending replayability to 15+ hours on harder difficulties.

Levels blend corridors, open arenas, and vehicle sections (e.g., manning jeep MGs against hordes), with AI that ducks for cover and flanks, though it devolves into predictable rushes. UI is straightforward but dated: a minimalist HUD tracks health/energy, but menus feel clunky, with no quick-save and loading times stretching 30+ seconds per checkpoint. Innovative touches include physics-driven destruction—ODE enables tumbling corpses and explosive debris—but flaws persist: stiff controls (mouse acceleration via clmousesmooth), inconsistent hit detection, and stutter at high FPS (fixable by capping at 60). Multiplayer supports 2-16 players in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and ÜberMesser (knife-only brawls) over LAN/Internet, but matchmaking is absent, and netcode lags, limiting it to nostalgic LAN parties. Overall, the mechanics deliver frantic fun for arcade fans, but repetition and technical hiccups (e.g., no native widescreen until mods) expose its budget roots.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Set against the Eastern Front’s bleak tableau—smoldering Berlin ruins, subterranean labs, and snowy outposts—Crimes of War builds a claustrophobic WWII atmosphere that amplifies paranoia and desperation. Levels evoke historical authenticity with details like swastika-adorned bunkers and Ahnenerbe runes, but supernatural twists (zombie-like ÜberSoldiers, glowing T9 vats) inject horror, creating a hybrid of gritty realism and sci-fi dread. The world feels lived-in through interactive elements: destructible crates reveal pickups, and scripted events like burning scientists (cut in Germany) heighten the macabre tone, contributing to a sense of unraveling empire.

Visually, the X-tend engine shines for its price, with improved textures over the prequel—smooth animations, detailed weapons, and particle-heavy effects like muzzle flash and bullet time. Art direction favors desaturated palettes (grays, muddied browns) punctuated by fiery explosions, fostering immersion in war’s grim poetry. Ragdoll physics add visceral chaos, bodies crumpling realistically, while anisotropic filtering and basic AA (up to 6x) hold up on modern rigs with tweaks. However, pop-in and low-poly models betray constraints, and the 5.5 GB install feels bloated for static assets.

Sound design is a mixed bag: DirectSound3D delivers punchy gunshots and echoing footsteps, with EAX 2.0 enhancing spatial audio in bunkers. Ambient tracks—ominous strings and martial drums—build tension, but the score is forgettable, looping repetitively. Voice acting falters hardest: Karl’s gravelly monologues clash with Maria’s shrill accents, and enemy barks (“Die, Allied swine!”) grate, especially in poor localization. Subtitles help, but the overall audio lacks polish, pulling players out during cutscenes. Collectively, these elements craft a moody, if uneven, experience—viscera and shadows immerse, but sonic shallowness undercuts the dread.

Reception & Legacy

Upon release, Crimes of War earned middling praise as a budget gem, aggregating 61% from 14 critics on MobyGames (e.g., Shooterplanet’s 79% lauded its “solid technical presentation and horde-shooting fun,” while Eurogamer’s 40% decried it as “ten years behind”). IGN (6.8/10) called it a “serviceable placeholder” for $20, appreciating story arcs and combat but noting predictability. Russian outlets like IGROMANIA (70%) highlighted graphical upgrades and physics, yet GameStar (57%) slammed “lifeless level design” and weak AI. Commercially, it sold modestly—bundled in Russia’s Vostochniy Front: Zolotoe izdanie (2010)—but flopped in the West amid giants like CoD4. Players averaged 3.4/5 (7 ratings), praising action but criticizing multiplayer and bugs.

Over time, its reputation has warmed nostalgically; now $1.79 on Steam (App ID 281410), it’s a hidden gem for retro enthusiasts, with PCGamingWiki mods fixing widescreen and StarForce DRM woes. Legacy-wise, it influenced few directly but epitomized the 2000s Eastern European budget boom (e.g., CITY Interactive’s output), paving for indies blending history and horror like Return to Castle Wolfenstein successors. In a post-Wolfenstein: The New Order world, it reminds us of raw, unfiltered WWII fiction’s roots—flawed, but enduring for its defiant pulp heart.

Conclusion

Crimes of War is a scrappy underdog in the FPS pantheon: its compelling super-soldier saga, upgrade-driven combat, and atmospheric WWII trappings deliver bursts of thrill, elevated by smart powers and physics that punch above its weight. Yet, repetitive levels, dated tech, and narrative clunkiness hinder deeper engagement, marking it as a product of its budget era rather than a timeless classic. As a historical artifact, it secures a niche in video game history—as an accessible entry to pulpy war gaming, ideal for casual Nazi-slaying sessions but skippable for modern shooter purists. Verdict: 6.5/10—recommended for bargain-bin hunters seeking unpolished charm, but don’t expect Medal of Honor miracles. In the annals of gaming, it’s a footnote worth revisiting for its bold, if bumpy, Eastern Front odyssey.