Massive Assault Network 2

I like it myself, though multiplayer's not really my thing, so I tend to stick with Massive Assault itself. Glad to hear you're enjoying it, though!  Your description really nails M.A.N. 2 to a T.

Just found out in Russian Press that the game got the award of the best multiplayer game of 2006. That's awesome!!!

This one is the best chess-style game, that deserves attention, I've been playing it for a year - starting from the Beta-test.   f you enjoy strategy games, especially ones where you get to match your wits against people from around the world, then you can’t go wrong with Massive Assault Network 2. It's good on all fronts.

How's the single player game? I don't really have that much interest in multiplayer.

Actually,MAN 2 is an online-only game. There's no single player campaign, there's no LAN play, there's not even hotseat play. Probably, from a marketing point of view, that's an interesting call. What is there is an excellent matchmaking system for finding and challenging opponents based on their rank and availability.
Any public or personal challenge can be played in real-time online or in offline mode. Both are really the same. Whenever a move is completed, the game client sends the result to the server. The server then sends the result to the opponent's account. If that opponent is online and connected to your game, they'll see the moves happening. If they're offline or playing another game, they'll see the moves the next time they connect into the game. If both players are online at the same time and one player resumes their game, the other will be given the option to instantly join the game in real-time. The system is pretty robust and intuitive.

The online portion is a huge part of the game but there is still a single player mode you can play. The game offers two in-game tutors (Emily and Kate) you can play against if you want your game void of all human contact. Now I have to admit that these tutors aren’t really there to help you, instead they’re in the game to kick you to the curb. These characters are either ruthless or the luckiest characters in the game. I felt the AI was either cheating or playing a really good game because it sure seemed like the computer had an unlimited budget to build units. If you want a real tutor I would recommend sticking with the real tutorials offered in the game. The tutorials offer an in-depth explanation of the different features and tactics you can use in the game.

For single-player only, you'd be better off with Massive Assault - http://totalgaming.stardock.com/games/?id=ma

It’s pure unadulterated tactical warfare that asks the player to be a field general. It’s as addictive as the board game Risk that exploded onto the Kiwi scene in the 1980s and made board games vicious and blokey. Online play is just as vicious and time demands are catered for.

Been Trying the demo for the 1st game. It's pretty fun, and I really like the deep aspect of it. Its easy to jump into, but there is definitely a lot of subtlties to master

It is simple to understand, yet difficult to conquer, and most importantly, it is very addictive.

I thought about picking this one up but the lack of a fully-developed single player campaign has sort of turned me off. I just hate playing MP games I guess.

Hey guys,

Wargaming.net, Inc. just launced its new Annual Game Tournament "King of M.A.N. 2 Hill 2008" for all registered players. You're also welcomed to participate.
The tournament will be played in 11 tours and will last for 12 months.

Got the 2nd place in my group of this great tourney of this great game. Hope to get victory!!!  

I thought about buying this, but then I found out that there's no hot-seat support, which was my main mode of playing in the original MA...

Actually, developers promise inculcate it in MAN 3