Panzer Tactics HD
Recenzja dosc dobrej (turn based) gry strategicznej II Wojna Swiatowa. Panzer Tactics HD is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Sproing Interactive Media and published by bitComposer Games. It was released on May 22, 2014 for PC and iOS. It was released on May 22, 2014 for PC and iOS.
Back in 2007 there was a Nintendo DS game called PanzerTactics, and now there is a PC and iPad version of that game ? Panzer TacticsHD. The game is another WW2 game derived from Panzer General, and as such willbe fairly familiar to anyone who has played any of the other games based onPanzer General such as Panzer Corps and the like. This review is based on a(late) beta version of the PC game, but as far as I am aware all features werepresent and there were no stability issues. I have not played the game on iPadyet so cannot report how well it transfers to that format.
So what does the game comprise of? The game, like Gaul inCaesar?s Commentaries, is split into 3 parts ? the base game and 2 expansions.The base game includes an Axis campaign of 11 scenarios, and the expansions area Soviet and Allied campaign which brings the total number of scenarios up to33. The base game also comes with a series of tutorials which show the newplayer how the game works. The base game scenarios cover the invasion ofPoland, through Norway, France, North Africa and into Russia. Obviouslyspreading the campaign this widely means that each theatre is only coveredbriefly ? Poland and Norway for example have just one scenario each.
In play you?re the commander of a WW2 force fightingoperational level battles with specific primary and secondary objectives, whichare detailed in the scenario briefing. There are various levels of victorydepending on how quickly you win (assuming you win). Success gains you Fame,which can be spent to improve your forces, some of which carry over from onescenario to another. Additionally there is a ?role play? system that givesspecial abilities to your experienced units that survive multiple battles, andan officer system which allows you to attach commanders with specific abilitiesto units to improve their performance ? some of these are very useful; forexample an officer that gives your artillery an extra hex range so you can bombardthe enemy without them being able to retaliate.
The game itself looks fairly attractive with decent sizedunits on the screen so you can easily see which units are which, and when youselect a unit details about it appear on the right hand side showing you whatit is and information about its relative performance against different types oftargets such as armour, infantry, etc. Whilst the sidebar showing these detailsdoes take up a chunk of screen space it is not so much that you are foreverscrolling around the battlefield trying to see what is going on. Usefully thereis a minimap of the battlefield included in the sidebar. Zooming in and out ofthe battlefield changes the view from a more or less completely top down(zoomed out) to a partial 3D view when fully zoomed in. One thing I didn?t likewas that you cannot scroll around the battlefield by moving the mouse to theedges of the map; you have to click on the map and drag it around. I suspectthis comes from needing the interface to work on a tablet as well as a PC.
Movement and the like is straight forward and no real surprisesin store. To move you click on a unit, which brings up an overlay whichindicates hexes you can move to, and then drag to the hex you want it to moveto. If the unit has options, such as getting on trucks or onto a transportplane, a second click on the unit brings those options up for you to select. Aftermoving a unit you have to click on a green tick that appears to confirm,otherwise the movement is cancelled. This may feel a touch clunky to hardenedgamers, however, as this game is undoubtedly aimed at the more casual gamer itworks as it is effectively an undo function. Movement animation is basic butworks, but I did like the explosions when units are bombed or destroyed ? they alwaysexplode when destroyed and who doesn?t like a nice explosion?
Clearly this game is not being pitched at the hardcorewargamer, but at players who have an interest in WW2 and wargames, but whowould be put off by a heavyweight title with masses of detail. So we arelooking at a game pitched at an audience for whom Slitherine?s Panzer Corpswould be a bit too much, perhaps more in the market segment that that company?sFrontline: Road to Moscow is being aimed at. I make those comparisonsdeliberately, not only because it is where I see the game sitting, but also theprice points set for Panzer Tactics HD are higher than both of those games,which is interesting.
So does it work for that market segment? Simply put, yes Ithink it does. The subject is obviously well known and the look and feel of thegame is not going to intimidate those interested in trying the genre. Game playis mostly straight forward, and, for the new/inexperienced player, there is theseries of tutorials to walk you through how the game plays. Additionally, theAI seems to be pitched fairly well for this type of player as well, giving achallenge whilst not being overwhelming. All in all as an introduction to thewargaming genre it seems to hit most of its targets.
It will be interesting to see how it works on the iPad ? we willtry and find out and report back.
If you?re interested here is a trailer video:
Currently available at Steam for $29.99 / £22.99 for the PCversion or currently for $4.99 / £2.99 on iTunes with in-app purchases of $6.99/ £4.99 for the Campaign Bundle, or $3.99 / £2.49 each for the Allied andSoviet campaigns if bought separately. For comparison Panzer Corps sells for$19.99 / £14.99 on Steam and iTunes, whilst Frontline: Road to Moscow is $2.99/ £1.99 for the base game with 2 in-app purchase expansions at $1.99 / £1.49.
Panzer Tactics HD on Steam - http://store.steampowered.com/app/277630/
Panzer Tactics HD on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id838840864?mt=8
Website - www.panzertactics.com
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