GamingTrend has a long rant about the various technical and gameplay problems which plague Nival Interactive tactical RPG, Hammer & Sickle. The reviewer didn't appreciate a certain copy protection scheme that Heroes fan discovered this year: "I am all for protecting your property. (...) I worked in software development for a few years so I know how hard it is to put software together, have it work properly, meet a deadline, and sell it for a profit. What I do not agree with and never will is the use of software that does not provide an easy way to uninstall it from your machine. Trying to get Starforce off your machine is no easy day at the park." The final score is 64% with a Coaster Award. The GameZone review also mentions a series of problems, from a clunky interface to distorted graphics and confusing dialogues. "Hammer & Sickle is an idea that went much further than necessary with graphical problems and sound that seems out of place."

It would be unfair to judge Nival, a company with a good track record, based on a single game. Yet with all the exposure they received during the past few months thanks to their partnership with Ubisoft, they couldn't have released a bad game at a worst time.