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Roaring Steel Beasts
By Jim Cobb

Many modern combat sims suffer from split personalities: they can’t decide whether they want to model vehicles or model all aspects of tactical operations. Usually, they compromise and do both – with mediocre results. This syndrome was the down fall of M1 TP II and iM1A1. These games force players to be battalion commanders instead of letting them handle their tanks. Of all game genres, simulations require focus, not the diffusion of energy caused by an “everything including the kitchen sink” approach. Steel Beasts, by eSim Games and Shrapnel Games, avoids this by focusing on the vehicles, especially the gunnery model, like a laser range finder.

It’s About the Tanks, Silly!

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Steel Beasts’ stars are the German Leopard2A4 and the American M1A1 main battle tanks.

A Leopard 2 searches for prey.

An M1A1 looses a round at a bad guy.

Designer Alexander Delaney has created a game modeling the strengths, weaknesses and peculiarities of both in great detail. All actions can be done through the keyboard or joystick. Yet, there is no doubt that the heart of this sim is gunnery, gunnery and more gunnery. Driving, calling down artillery and ordering formations are also options but take second seat to sending a round to the target. The fact that the gunner and tank commander positions are the only ones modeled underscores this preoccupation.

The normal gunnery mode for both tanks has automatic “lead “ computers and laser range finders.

A gunner surveys his handiwork.

In the M1A1, though, the gunner can switch between first and last returns if the laser has multiple readings. The Leopard’s gunner knows when he has multiple readings but must adjust for them by eye. The German is furthered hindered in this by having only one magnification level while his American counterpart can switch between two. The American also has the advantage of the automatic lead always being on so he can target a moving enemy, laze and fire in a second, pausing only a tad to “dump” the old lead. The German must first laze, then keep the lead function pressed while tracking and firing. Overall, the American method is much easier.

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