The Wargamer

Author:  Jim Zabek

Codename: Panzers is, by now, becoming a venerable franchise.  Developed by a German company, Stormregion, it first arrived on the scene courtesy of German publishing house CDV.  Two games in the series were released, and it was the second of those games, Phase Two, that I first became acquainted with it.  It was love at first sight.  Billed as an RTS, it was really more appropriately named an RTT (real-time tactical game).  Offering no base building or "peasant pushing", gamers could focus on getting down to the business of fighting.  Offering combined arms combat, players had their choice of a variety of infantry and armored units as well as some artillery and air strike capabilities. 

Codename: Panzers - Cold War capitalizes on the successes of the first two games, and while Stormregion has found a new publisher (Atari), it appears as though the hallmarks of the game are going to be present for this latest title.  Set during the Cold War, the game sees NATO and the Eastern Block face off against each other.   Players are able to build their own forces to face of against the AI, with spectacular new graphics using the new Gepard 3 graphics engine.  The single-player campaign will offer 18 new missions.  The multiplayer game will offer 20 new maps and three different play modes:  Domination, Cooperative and Team Match.  

In the single-player game, players can replay previously beaten missions in order to boost their overall scores in the campaign, if they so choose.  The environment is fully destructable, and the destruction is driven by a physics-based engine which allows each structure to collapse in a realistic manner.  The physics engine will calculate individual pieces falling from houses, and will then assign those pieces to various categories according to their size and mass, creating a unique collapse each time.  

More importantly, the combat system returns.  Tanks and vehicles have armor values that differ between the front, flanks, and rear of the unit.  Although the environment is destructable, players may wish to preserve some buildings, as infantry can occupy them and use them for cover.  The weather will also play a factor in the game, affecting visibility, movement, accuracy, range, and more. 

Squads will come equipped with various types of specialized weapons, such as fragmentation or incendiary grenades.  Some units will be able to create umbrellas to protect against air attack, and engineers can lay and defuse mines.  In addition, technical improvements to the game are planned, which will allow for multiple monitors to be used, dedicating one to the combat map and another to the strategic map. 

In playing through the demo the game looked good.  Rolling armor up on an opponent, it was simple to order a change in facing so that the frontal armor was facing an enemy's flank.  Tossing special grenades at exposed infantry makes short work of units grouped closely together.  Some of the previous conventions have returned: there are medical units which can heal injured squads while under combat, and this lends the impression that the use of repair vehicles to quickly repair tanks and vehicles while in combat but behind the front lines will also be present. 

Offering a mix of non-stop action and fairly realistic combat, Codename: Panzers - Cold War looks like it will once again hit the mark between RTS fun and wargaming realism. 

Schedule for release in just a few weeks, look for it in stores on March 10th.