Blitzkrieg (PC)

Are you one of the many PC gamers that owns an old PC, with an old Graphics card ??Then sorry , this game is not for you.The 'minimum' requirements as listed on the box for this game are not realistic and unfortunately as you'll see if you visit the support forum for this game, they are way out. When buying this game you should take the 'recommended' requirements into account when deciding if you have what it takes. Your graphics must be:1) 'AGP' (All game play),2) must have AT LEAST 32 mb of ram,3) must be an up-to-date card i.e. relatively new, Voodoo 1 & 2 cards for instance are not supported and will not play this game, onboard graphics systems will also find it difficult .If you cannot muster the list above then unfortunately you will not be playing this game (not mentioned on the box, eh !?).Another bugbear about this game is that it needs a complete overhaul of your hardware drivers to make it work, all must be recent and up-to-date otherwise your in trouble. There are various other problems with the running of this game and I recommend you visit the CDV-blitzkrieg support forum before buying to ensure you will not be disappointed (as I was), the most useful support answer though should your graphics card not meet the standard is to upgrade it a.s.a.p. This is a cost you will need to way-up against how much you want to play the game.All said though I am assured that the game is ground-breaking..........just a shame I can't play it to find out :-(

So Blitzkrieg is a WW2 RTS, isometric view, published by CDV? That’s just Sudden Strike in a different box isn’t it? Well yes and most emphatically no. CDV have taken the basic elements of Sudden Strike and fixed all of the things that were criticised to produce something quite different and actually much, much better.The first thing you will notice is genuine 3d terrain. This is not a flat landscape with a few trees and bushes. Immediately you are presented with rolling hills and valleys which can hide your own or enemy units. Not only that but we now have detailed 3d units, not cardboard cut-out sprites.Take artillery as another example of the development that has taken place. Sudden Strike was criticised as it was at times little more than a dull artillery bombardment to grind down the opposition. Now CDV have introduced artillery sensors to the game this has completely changed. If you fire off your artillery in Blitzkrieg before neutralising the enemy you will soon lose it to a hailstorm of retaliatory shells. You can also see very roughly where the opposition’s firing positions are too, which allows you to devise proper tactics rather than just fire shells off randomly into the darkness hoping you hit something. Snipers and Officers are equipped with binoculars and can sight for your artillery at long range if you know where to look.Air power is also crucial to the game. Classes of aircraft include reconnaissance, fighters, bombers, ground attack and paratroops. Air clashes can decide the battle in the long run and do require a bit of strategic thinking. Only one air mission can be flown at a time by each side, so when the enemy sends out a recce plane do you send out fighters to bring it down or send out your bombers in the knowledge they can’t be intercepted themselves? Once you’ve lost your complement of aircraft they are gone for the rest of the scenario so care needs to be shown.Troops are now collected into units of ten men with an officer and can operate in a number of different formations depending on the task at hand (defensive, aggressive, quick march etc.). They can also make use of defensive trenches that your improved engineers can build. If you lose men you can resupply your units to keep the full complement as long as at least one soldier remains alive. This resupply requires that you keep ammo dumps in your possession however, or capture those in enemy hands, as unlike Sudden Strike once your resupply trucks are empty they do not just automatically regenerate themselves. This again requires thought as if you can deny the enemy any sources of resupply and destroy his trucks you can quickly gain the upper hand through attrition of his forces. He will of course be trying to do the same to you so you always have to protect your vulnerable rear areas where possible.One problem in other RTS games is your troops wandering off to perform suicidal attacks against an overwhelming or well dug in opposition. This has also been sorted out in Blitzkrieg by introducing an ‘ambush’ state of alertness for all units. If ordered to do so they will now hold position and react only when attacked themselves, allowing you to concentrate elsewhere on the battlefield.The overall structure of the game is historical without being too chained to a text book. You can choose to be German, Allied or Russian and follow the Second World War through to its conclusion via a series of historical campaigns (Battle of France, Invasion of Russia, War in the Desert, Ardennes Offensive etc). Units are true to the relevant time of the conflict. Each campaign has a number of individual scenarios which again are based on historical battles which have a number of objectives for you to secure victory. A nice touch is the use of hidden objectives, for example in one mission for the Germans against the Russians you are told after completing the last of the objectives that you have four minutes to prepare defensive positions as the Russians are unexpectedly hurling armoured reserves into the counter attack - keeps the adrenalin racing! Success in these scenarios also determine what unit upgrades are available to you later in the game, and once you have finished the historical scenarios within a campaign you can take on random battles before moving onto the next one.Another innovation from similar games is the use of ‘core’ units. These units stay with you throughout the war and gain rank and experience as they go (if you can keep them alive). This is a nice touch, and you’ll find yourself using these units very carefully as you try to look after your elite troops! I was also surprised to accidentally find out after restarting a disastrous scenario that the PC changes the positions of enemy units each time you start a new game. This means that you can replay the game without the boredom of knowing that the Russian artillery will always be here, or the German Tiger tank will always be hiding around this corner etc., and this was one of the things which did limit the single player replayability of Sudden Strike. Another refreshing change.So this is undoubtedly a development of Sudden Strike but is it worth the entrance fee? In a word, definitely. This has enough development for fans of Sudden Strike to see it as a new game not an upgrade, and the parts of Sudden Strike that grated with those who didn’t like it first time around have been well and truly fixed. This is an intelligent RTS, where thought and tactics will always be necessary. If you prefer a build and rush game then please accept my sympathies and stick to the relatively limited Command and Conquer series, but if depth of gameplay is for you then I really can’t recommend Blitzkrieg highly enough.

Too difficult

This is good fun even if a little frustrating at times. The graphics are good although the landscapes are a little restricted. You will find it difficult to tell where in the world you are from the landscapes and buildings with the exception of North Africa.If you have ever done any of the old fashioned wargames (on a tabeltop with models and rules of movement, engagement and morale etc.)you will enjoy this even though it doesn't really allow you to get too radical with your tactics. It does allow you to re-fight the same chapter in different ways and doing so, you can anticipate the enemy actions. Sort of cheating but much more satisfying to preserve your forces because the standard procession through each game has too high attrition to be at all realistic. This seems to be because the enemy never seems to be prepared to yield any ground and always fights to the last man!The makers seem to have done a good job in building in the appropriate characteristics of the types of armour used by the various countries. For example in the early Western Front, French Somua tanks and in the Western Desert British Matilda Mk 2's have good defensive capabilities but poor armament. They take a lot of knocking out but don't do too much damage (unlike the Soviet KV1's, KV2's and T38's you encounter later).You really need to read and take notice of the briefings. You can try and set the objectives in your own order but you will be punished by impossible losses.The MOST annoying feature is that with possibly the exception of Snipers, any of your forces that you throw forward to recce, are always detected and engaged by the enemy who materialise from nowhere! Two ways around this are, 1, send a couple of individual infantrymen up on their own (and sacrifice them) or 2, always recce in enough force to engage the enemy. The trouble with the latter is that you cannot be certain about the amount of force you need and invariably you loose too many resources and cannot complete the mission. You can bet that if you throw your arial recce over the area you will lose it to AA fire and so far I have never been able to have more than one aircraft type in the air at once ie you cannot protect bombers or spotters with fighter escorts.I'm still playing and enjoying this game, there are some very annoying things about it but generally it is worth the money and quite addictive!