By: Jim Cobb
Date: 2005-July-30
Double Blitz: Blitzkrieg Anthology and Blitzkrieg II Preview.
Every game genre goes through an almost human lifecycle. Starting early, the games are so cute, precocious and innovative that we forgive then some colic and tumbles. However, the next stage is the “Terrible IIs” and adolescence. The games want to improve but they also want to cling to earlier stuff. Gamers are not as tolerant of their mistakes and expect more maturity. The good games outgrow this period to reach the height of their powers. The weaker ones drop by the wayside.
At this point, World War II tactical 3D real time strategy (RTS) games are still in adolescence. We are still thrilled with the graphics and historical possibilities but developers are not sure of their audience. Should they go for the graphics and on-line crowd or should they appease serious gamers? Germany-based CDV along with Nival Interactive presented the best of this generation with the Blitzkrieg series. This series, started in 2993 and reviewed in depth at http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/blitzkrieg/, consists of three stand-alone products: Blitzkrieg, Blitzkrieg: Burning Horizon and Blitzkrieg: Rolling Thunder. The first covered missions and campaigns for German, Russian, US and British forces in many theaters of war while the second’s main theme was Rommel’s career; Patton is the centerpiece for Rolling Thunder. All three have separate missions covering areas outside of the main themes, e,g, the Pacific and the Far East.. CDV has recently released the Blitzkrieg Anthology which contains all three products (although Burning Horizon and Rolling Thunder install together) plus Iron Division, bringing two more campaigns, both on the Eastern Front., and two more missions, one in North Africa and the other a series of tank tutorials. This product is bargain-priced at around $30 USD. Although no printed manuals are included, the tutorials cover everything for those allergic to PDF files.
Aided by a recon plan, British atrillery softens up and objective
German tanks traveling through the Ardennes pay the price for faulty reconnaisance.
So what’s so good about this series? The factor that put its above other RTS games is its clean interface simple clicks and an internally cohesive hotkey/icon interface makes controlling the game a snap. By “internally cohesive”, I mean the same combinations of commands works the same for each unit type. Players don’t have to memorize page of hotkeys. Since players can give commands while the game is paused, any “click fest” aspects are minimized. Use of recon and artillery allows good combined arm tactics. Armor and artillery is modeled fairly well and the number and scope of the campaign and stand-alone missions keep solitaire replay high. LAN and Net play is rewarding for those who enjoy those modes. Other features lacking in other RTS games are smoke, indirect fire, observed fire and no need to bother with resource gathering or super-human abilities like infantry manning tanks.
At Casablance, Stuarts deal with Renaults.
What’s not so good? Graphics seem a bit dark; infantry resemble ants. Smoke doesn’t long enough and wrecks disappear. Infantry units are not differentiated by nation; each seems to be like an American rifle squad. Morale is not modeled; everybody fights to the last. Artillery and air strikes come in exactly as ordered. The defense/offense relationship between infantry and armor seems askew as infantry does not protect themselves when approaching a tank but seems able to take it out with small arms fire and bare hands. Although combined arms tactics provide better scores during campaigns, the AI can still be beaten using the “bum’s rush” so loved by RTS fans.
Gamers who religiously bought each stand-alone game of the series may be a bit peeved at paying more for each than the entire anthology. They can take pride, however, in the fact they boosted a fine series. Players who were on the fence about buying a mix of “lite” and serious gaming should take the plunge and by the anthology. At this price, it’s a winner.
Minimum System
Pentium II 366MHz
64MB RAM
4X CD-ROM Drive
8MB graphics card
DirectX 8.1 or higher
Windows 98/2000/ME/XP
The Next Generation
Successful series generate sequels, so the appearance of Blitzkrieg II is no surprise. The question is: how much progress does it represent over its predecessor? A beta copy has some tantalizing hints but yields no definitive answers.
Improvements in graphics are immediately obvious. The main map is brighter and cleaner. Terrain is more varied and colorful; of special note are the trees in Fall. They are as colorful as a New England forest in September. Explosions, fires and other damage are more vivid. Vehicles are more detailed and a zoom-in feature allows infantry to look like real men. Selected units are displayed in a separate window with helpful animation and information. Windows and screens can be opened and closed for better views and easy access. These features somehow give the game a friendlier feel.
Infantry and tanks are shown clearer in the new game..
Fortunately, CDV and Nival Interactive left the basic interface intact. I appreciate it when developers don’t fiddle with what’s best in their product. The hotkey system is the same and the icons are larger and better illustrated then the older small line drawings. Sometimes the tutorials don’t match the tooltips but the gold version should clear things like that up.
Americans are about to be swamped. Note the reinforcement panel to the right.
For serious gamers, though, the acid test of a game is game play. The beta version of Blitzkrieg II tantalizes with new features that are more than chrome. Morale is introduced. Players used to the old system will be surprised when heretofore obedient units refuse to move or break and run. Vehicles have flat tires, throw tracks, and develop jammed guns or turrets that no longer traverse. Mines are introduced but their impact is not necessarily catastrophic. A mine could just immobilize a vehicle or cause other units to balk at moving through an area. Engineers and spot and remove mines. Older features such as air recon and scouts remain and are especially useful. A new feature is the ability to call reinforcements. An on-screen grid shows what reinforcements are available and players can give them marching orders while summoning them. In campaigns, however, reinforcements are a two-edged sword. Extra forces are handy in a pinch but calling them reduces players’ overall score, cutting chances for promotions and medals.
Note the close up view of the T-26 in the small window
Blitzkrieg II departs from the beaten path when it comes to starting campaigns. The German campaign begins after the Ardennes breakthrough in the Ardennes in 1940. This approach is fascinating because some commentators feel the French could have made the Wehrmacht bleed more than it did. Is a battle in Paris possible? The American campaign begins on a depressing note. The player is defending a beach on Bataan against waves of Japanese landing craft supported by overwhelming air power. I’ve yet to when this mission so I don’t know how the campaign progresses but the possibilities are fascinating: a naval evacuation or fighting as a guerilla? The Russian campaign is still in Russian so I don’t know precisely where it starts. However, the first mission has early war Russian tanks (T-26s) with the player going on the attack. That situation smacks of the December 1941 counter attack around Moscow.
Many promising betas have turned to dross on the way to final release. New, innovative features are not followed through to their fullest extent. AIs are unimproved or even dumbdowned. Bugs are not found or not corrected. Therefore, I can’t say that Blitzkr1eg II will represent a benchmark of progress for its genre. I can say with certainty that its developers have taken large steps at correcting the flaws in the game’s predecessors while improving on its strengths. We should keep an eye on this one.
System Requirements
Minimum:
• Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, DirectX 9.0
• 1,5 MHz Pentium IV / Athlon
• 512 MB RAM
• 64 MB videocard GeForce 3 / Radeon 8500
• 2 GB hard disk space