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Les_the_Sarge_9_1 -> (3/27/2003 12:13:00 PM)
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Was inspired to look at PC Gamer (I normally don't look at software magazines, maybe I should more).
Saw this on homepage. Sounds dated but hey it is still on their current front page eh.
Steel Panthers: Wargaming’s Energizer Bunny
Steel Panthers just keeps on going and going and going... Trotter explains why.
Ever since Matrix Games obtained the Steel Panthers license from SSI, the company has continually expanded, polished, and extended the scope of what was already a classic wargaming engine.
In recent weeks, Matrix has begun publishing a series of "Mega-Campaigns," and they prove how much life is left in the SP franchise yet. So far there are three titles: Watchtower: Guadalcanal 1942, Desert Fox 1941, and Lost Victories — Army Group South, 1941. As the designation implies, these are huge games, with so many possible branches (depending on the outcome of each battle along the way) that Matrix promises "no two games will ever play alike." Well, maybe not exactly alike, and that’s good enough for most of us.
Being in a Russian Front sort of mood, I chose to sample the mega-experience by diving into Lost Victories, which covers roughly the first six months of Operation Barbarossa. It offers a new and fairly strong officer-development RPG dimension — sort of like the one in Panzer General, but much more detailed and fine-grained. Your character’s persona is richly fleshed-out: full biography, personality traits, where and how he trained, previous combat experience, and so on. Maybe it’s an illusion, but I got the distinct impression that Hauptmann Paul Vebber’s kampfgruppe performed better in battle when I was consciously playing in character rather than just carelessly winging it.
Part of the setup for each mission involves some serious decisions: do you attack at dawn to gain maximum surprise, or do you wait two hours for that extra platoon of assault guns to show up before jumping off? Do you request, say, some extra artillery support, or a wing of Stukas, or some additional combat engineers? Tip: In the first scenario — a river crossing against heavy fortifications — get the engineers! They’re excellent for busting Russian bunkers, whereas the Stukas are just as likely to drop their bombs on your own men as on enemy positions.
Once a mission’s completed, you’ll get radio messages pertaining to the overall situation (and maybe a personal atta-boy from the Fuhrer!), along with the chance to choose among several new assignments. Rank, prestige, medals, and the pick of new equipment — all will come to a consistently victorious commander.
Lost Victories strikes me as a superbly designed campaign and an intense wargaming experience. [Note well: Each Mega-Campaign comes with the complete Steel Panthers version 7.0 (consisting of hundreds of battles and campaigns), so stop complaining about not being able to download the basic game. These campaigns are a mega-bargain.]
Have something to say to William Trotter? write to: [email]desktopgeneral@pcgamer.co[/email]
Just seems odd some people have never played Steel panthers yet, but I have certainly been shipping friends a copy of the files a lot in recent weeks.
Every Steel Panthers fan gained is just my way of trying to ensure a Combat Leader fan heheh.
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