Sudden Strike II
By Aaron "Spectre" Watson

Article Type: Preview
Article Date: June 10, 2002

Product Info

Product Name: Sudden Strike II
Category: Real Time Strategy (RTS)
Publisher: CDV Software (Germany)
Developer: Fireglow
Release Date: July 30, 2002
Minimum Spec: Pentium II 333 with 64 MB of RAM
Files & Links: Click Here
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Lately, the folks that make simulations seem to be having a feeding frenzy creating titles about World War II. I would think it has something to do with the success of those folks in Russia called 1C:Maddox who are showing others how to sweat the details to get it right. Add to this the follow-on support from Ubi Soft and that team is, currently, second to none. I, for one, had been hoping that the example being set by 1C / Ubi Soft was just the beginning of a new era of quality sims.

And now, after experiencing the demo for Sudden Strike II, it seems that the folks at FireGlow and CDV have teamed up to extended the quality trend with their second foray into a World War II RTS. I tried the demo for Sudden Strike a few years back, and was uninspired, so it saved me from sinking the cash into the full version, for which I am grateful. I have recently downloaded the demo for Sudden Strike II, and have had the opposite reaction. Sweating the small stuff seems to permeate this 57 MB download.

There are two gameplay options for the demo: a single-player round as the Japanese invading an island being held by the British, and a multiplayer capture the flag, island-hopping map.

I went with the single player first and found a thorough briefing with an overview of the map and arrows pointing out the objectives. A text briefing could be brought up via a click on the objective numbered in the lower left.

The single player briefing screen

Now that I’m thoroughly briefed, I head on in! Landing craft appear and approach the western coast. With a click, the first one is told where to debark its platoon of troops. All six LCT’s are appointed different spots to avoid enemy concentrations. Toward the first objective I guide them. Pockets of resistance crop up, but are dispatched with minimal casualties due to the advanced AI. No babysitting required here. The play areas are all 2-D, but beautifully crafted, and do, indeed, sweat the details.

Fierce resistance is met at the first objective, a small ville. With a platoon on each flank and a pair up the middle, it's all over quickly. Scrolling all over to pick up the platoons is not required as the tagging of teams operates quite well, unlike some recent titles I've reviewed.

Once in the area, new items are discovered. Whoa! A half dozen unmanned tanks! No counter attacks, so I take the time to see what each troop has to offer. Riflemen, mortar guys, what's this crew guy? I put him at the rear of a captured anti-tank field gun and he gives it the capability to fire. Another one into one of the tanks allow movement, but no fire capability. Add another pair to the three medium tanks and one more to the lights and they are ready to fight!

What's this? Blind fire ability for the twenty-five-pound artillery piece? But even with two men on it, it won't move. A click on a troop truck shows tow capability. Slick! Now we're ready for objective number two—an airfield.

More toys in the ville

Down to the southern end of the map with the armor leading the way. A row of straw huts pumps out infantry-killing fire. Disconnect a field gun and the resistance is silenced. Indirect fire into likely areas for buildups of the enemy should make the job easier for all my miniature troops, then it's time for the assault. Once I breakout from the bottleneck at a valley, the airfield falls quickly. Japanese transports buzz the field, but don't land. Two new vehicles are discovered, manned, and the damaged airfield is repaired just prior to the announcement that an aircraft is low on fuel. Sweating the details.

Airfield secure, transports arrive

I then loaded the transports with a mixed selection of infantry (sorry armor and artillery are not air-mobile) and then send them off to the final destination: an island to the east. Once the parachutes pop, victory is announced. Hmmm…? Nice multi-pronged mission and a good shakedown.

Multiplayer is the only other option, except replay, which I did do a few times to explore the rest of the map. There are a lot of neat twists and turns if you look around. Upon invoking the multiplayer I find it has no skirmish mode. That is, man vs. machine. It is all manned by humans or not at all. Not so good.

I quickly installed a second copy to a laptop on my LAN and set up opposing sides. I'm in. Capture the flag on different islands. New icons for air strikes, fighter cover, and resupply. Very nice. I take the first group allowed, and after some bad starts, find that a troop or vehicle parked under a balloon yields some tangible results.

Team one gets an airdrop

A neon-green team number appears and a message that reinforcements have arrived. Armor, naval, repair vehicles, and troops flood into the original start area. Shallow areas are the only crossing points, so fields of fire can be setup. Resupply by air comes up with antiaircraft guns, which become uncrated and can be manned. I switched between the two systems and set up some defenses and attacks for both sides. This looks to be a well thought out multiplayer system, though I do hope that skirmish mode capability comes with the full version. The details have surely been sweated out here.

I'm very much looking forward to the release of this title, as it really has a lot of nice touches and seems centered around good playability. With Russian, German, UK, Japanese, and American sides, it should appeal to a wide audience. As stated previously, I never did get into the first Sudden Strike, but I certainly intend on doing so with version II.

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