Act of Aggression is a real-time strategy game released in 2015. It was developed by Eugen Systems and published by Focus Home Interactive.
Gameplay
The game is a real-time strategy game set in the near future, and its gameplay is similar to the Command & Conquer series. Players must build a base for their army, collect and manage resources, create new types of soldiers and vehicles, and fight against computer-controlled opponents. In addition to the single-player mode, the game allows players to compete against each other or work together with friends in multiplayer settings.
Story
The story "Act of Aggression" takes place in 2025, after the "Shanghai Crash," a global economic collapse caused by the "Cartel," a secret group believed to have connections to anti-communist individuals in the United States during the JFK administration. The Cartel uses the economic crisis, terrorist attacks, and political instability to advance its goals, even involving the United States Army. Because the Shanghai Crash raises suspicion, the United Nations forms "Chimera," a secret group from many countries with advanced technology to investigate and act as needed. The story begins after another Cartel action: a staged coup in Baja California, Mexico, which draws Chimera's attention.
In 2023, Piet Vermaak, a former South African Special Forces captain thought to be dead, is hired by the Cartel's Olympus Cell leader, called "Poseidon," to help Raul Escobedo, a businessman with hidden goals, take control of Baja California. Vermaak plans to remove the governor and create a separatist state called the "Republica Democratica de Nueva California," leading to a civil war in Mexico and a U.S. Army intervention led by General James Wittel, known as the "Hero of Isfahan." Two years later, Zhang Yao, a former Chinese hacker with an Interpol arrest warrant and Vermaak's assistant, is discovered by Chimera. Chimera's leader, Colonel Greg C. Schaefer, tries to stop her by secretly invading the RDNC while the U.S. Army attacks. When Yao cannot destroy her laptop before fleeing with Vermaak, Chimera retrieves data about Escobedo, leading Schaefer to strike Escobedo's escape train and capture him for questioning, drawing the Cartel's interest.
After Escobedo is taken to The Hague, the Cartel attacks the International Criminal Court, killing Escobedo with the help of the Serbian mercenary group "White Wolves," led by Colonel Dragan Vesnic. Schaefer is sent to capture Vesnic and gather evidence, but the Cartel acts first, sending Vermaak to eliminate Vesnic and destroy evidence. The evidence suggests a partnership between Weyland Defense Corps (a major U.S. military supplier) and Yueng Corporation (the company Yao once worked for). Schaefer leads a secret mission to Yueng's Chinese headquarters, uncovering that Yueng's military equipment, including guidance systems for Peacekeeper missiles, was smuggled worldwide through Escobedo's network to Damocles, a private military contractor for the U.S. and Vermaak's former employer. Damocles planned to use its control over military assets to force the U.S. government to comply with the Cartel.
The U.S. government uses this information to deploy General Wittel to stop Damocles, with Schaefer as an observer. The Cartel responds by using experimental orbital weapons, but Chimera escapes before the attack. Meanwhile, the Cartel attacks Chimera again, sending Vermaak to kill prisoners and erase data at a base in Southeast Asia. Knowing the orbital weapon needs resupplying, Schaefer attacks the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Russian help, seizing the Cartel's database and stopping the weapon from targeting the U.S. State of the Union address. This action also reveals that General Wittel, a high-ranking Cartel member codenamed "Hermes," is involved.
After being exposed, Wittel flees to Mexico with Vermaak, failing to rally defecting U.S. troops. Schaefer leads a final attack, killing Wittel, who is blamed for leading the Cartel. The Olympus Cell disbands after being fully exposed. However, Vermaak and Yao escape by leaving the Olympus Cell and joining the Heliopolis Cell, whose leader, Osiris, allows them to stay after they help destroy Wittel's incriminating data during Chimera's attack. The Cartel debates whether to continue fighting Chimera, but no clear decision is made.
Development
The game was announced on August 9, 2014. It is a follow-up to Eugen Systems' Act of War: Direct Action, which came out in 2005. The developer said the game would feel similar to real-time strategy games from the 1990s. A multiplayer beta version was released on July 16, 2015. The game was officially released for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2015.
Reception
The game Act of Aggression received reviews that were mostly positive but also included some negative feedback. This is because the game is similar to Act of War. On Metacritic, it has a score of 71 out of 100. The magazine PC Gamer gave it a rating of 70%.