PG II has had an overhaul and has added a few new features. Lovers of
the genre or followers of this particular game may decide its worth the
investment. But I’m not sure that all gamers will feel a new purchase
is justified.
The basics of the game are mostly the same, even the unit
stats. Scenarios are a timed fight for victory point hexes; campaigns
are a series of scenarios that flow in the various probabilities of
World War II. The players success or failure is determined by his/her
approach to a scenario. Failure the first time through means a
different tack the next time, experimenting with differnent
combinations of units.
Where PGII IS new is the graphics engine. Ya gotta admit, it looks a
lot better than the old version. Maps are hand-drawn to scale and are
loaded with detail (the full meal deal). Personally I think its a great
improvement. Unruly graphics have put me off from many strat/war games
in the past. The problem is that this new look sometimes gets in the
way of the game itself.
For example, the Norwegian geography looks great, but how do
you know which hexes are actually forests and mountains? In other cases
cities are nicely detailed and aircraft look cool sliding over the
terrain. What confuses is that there are different graphics for units
depending on which hexside they face, despite the fact that facing is
irrelevant in the game itself.
Other changes are small but add up to additional depth for PGII. Units
develop leaders, ranged fire crosses open hexes, bridges can be blown,
and aircraft have discarded their fuel limits. In this new game tanks
overrun weakened units, and supporting units can go much farther.
Ranged fire is an interesting addition since it gives advanced tanks an
advantage in open terrain. In the same way, now that artillery extends
its support to greater ranges its impact on the progress of a campaign
is far greater.
The more noticable weaknesses include too much emphasis on
icons. And its frustrating to find that important information is often
buried, requiring a couple of mouse clicks to get at it. Some players
are going to like the full-screen view, but if you linger there too
long you are heading for trouble. It really is useless when you need to
keep watch over the details. Perhaps SSI can work with this view by
adding more information in pop up boxes or along the screen bottom….
On a fast Pentium lack of speed options become a problem. The
turns can flash by too quickly on a P200. This wouldn’t be a huge
problem if there was a reliable way to view past turns, but the VCR
function was left out and the replay doesn't work. This also means that
play-by-email games are history.
Judge for yourself whether this is a holiday bargain for you. If you
really like the new graphics and the few tweaks, you might want to
check it out. But if you have an older machine anyway and are more into
the strategic side of things, keep your old Panzer General or take a
look at Steel Panthers II.
Steel Panthers II.
When Steel Panthers arrived on the scene it made quite a hit (no pun
intended). The new game covered World War II at the level of the
platoon/single vehicle, and its attention to detail quickly became
renowned. In a marvelous balancing act, Steel Panthers blended careful
physics detailing with great graphics and a friendly interface. In a
game with a lot of depth, it made gameplay fairly easy while you paid
attention to other matters, like winning!
Now we have Steel Panthers II, with Steel Panthers III not far away. Steel Panthers II
is like Steel Panthers original in many ways, but with more depth and in many ways also more interesting.
The tool bar on the right side allows you to issue extensive orders to
your tank, aircraft, infantry and artillery units. You can play as unit
commanders, issuing orders to one unit, and all other units in the
group recieve the same orders. Since you can control close to a hundred
units, this ability simplifies and accelerates gameplay considerably!
The full title of this game is Steel Panthers II: Modern
Battles. The battles of note run 1952 to 1998, right through the Korean
War on to theoretical incidents with China and every possibility in
between. Enough breadth for most wargamers, I would think!
Now consider what this means: realistic modeling of 50 years of
weapon systems, and not just air to air and not only one air or ground
platform but HUNDREDs of systems! This was one ambitious project.
Enough time and effort has been put into the AI that you can learn a
great deal about tactics and the effects of various systems in a couple
of weekends of play.
Now overlay this with careful scenario building, and you have
the ingredients for some main fun. Steel Panthers II six campaigns and
a few dozen scenarios. And you wont be limited to only scenarios
involving the US military here: this game is diverse in scope and there
are plenty of tempest in a tea pot altercations featured.
For example, the Arab/Israeli conflicts are here and even the
rather odd Toyota truck war between Libya and Sudan! Wow, like I said,
its all here. If that weren’t enough, how about a powerful scenario
builder that gives you access to a database covering most of the
world's armed forces. Talk about the kitchen sink! You were intrigued
by the Newsweek report you read last week? Go ahead, get all the
background details you can muster and play it out with a friend. Too
much!
As usual there are a couple odd bugs in the garden, but various patches
have addressed the important ones. AT this point there is little worth
worrying about, and Steel Panthers III will address the wish list of
most of the hard-core crowd.
In summary, Steel Panthers II is a winner by any estimation. It
looks good, sounds good and feels right. Better yet, its a lot of fun
and an immersive wargame. The interface is simply enough that even
beginners can get involved quickly. The tutorial is nicely done and
will help you get started. The video cut scenes will help give you a
feel for the action. And if you find a friend who also has the game,
you can even play by email! One caveat: try this when you can slot a
couple of hours, because you won’t want to quit!
System Requirements:
Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. 66 MHz 486 or faster. 8MB RAM. 12 MB Hard Disk Space SVGA video. 2X CD-ROM Drive and mouse.
Campaign Disk #1 Korea 1998 is now available.
Command South Korean forces in this hypothetical invasion of
South Korea by forces of the North. Halt the Communist tide in an
attempt to save Seoul. If you have the campaign disk you can also
download a new campaign FREE (Bulge 1999):
The same easy interface that graces Panzer General II is found
in Pacific General. Pacific General is, as the name implies, ready for
naval action. With a new look and new music, it seems like an entirely
new package. While it does have some variations unique to itself, in
many ways it is very similar to Panzer General as a product.
The new look, that Japanese wood and paper thing, is nicely done. But
the music is really the atmosphere grabber in Pacific General. As music
from the era, it captures the feel of the time in big band and swing
tunes. SSI also spruces up the production with radio broadcasts from
Japan, Russia, and the U.K. I know, you usually turn the music off,
right? Only Flying Corps and Pacific General make use of my midi device
while in game play.
Pacific General also shares the new friendly interface of Steel
Panthers II. Icon bars drop down on either side of the map and units
have pop-up menus, which means that your view remains unobstructed
until you need information. New rules are also in place, such as a
bonus for massed attacks and night conditions. Special attributes also
accrue to certain units, such as banzai abilities, sonar and radar.
Many players will find a big attraction in the scenario
builder. Adding endless replayability and "what if" value, you can try
out different tactics with a variety of force compositions and
settings.
Multiplayer capability is also in place. This capacity combined with
the scenario builder is the real backbone of the game. Playing against
human opponents not only increases the level of challenge but adds a
whole new twist with the unpredictable nature of human intelligence.
Its puzzling, however, that the emphasis seems to be on land
based battles. There are some significant rules around capital ships
and carrier ops, but the feeling of this kind of warfare isnt a lot
different from the feeling of warfare in Panzer General. For some
reason the tactical dimension is underdeveloped, with forces lining up
as though along a battle front then slugging it out. In some of the
scenarios the ships are rendered almost useless, with armies clashing
inland while naval units twiddle their thumbs. And for some odd reason,
there is no save option available at the end of your encounter....
On the positive side, SSI offers good support for all the games they produce.
There are new Scenarios for Pacific General, and you can get them now:
