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	Blitzkrieg
	Developer: Nival Interactive Publisher: CDV Software Genre: Real-Time Strategy Players: 1-16 Similar To: Sudden Strike II Rating: Teen Published: 06 :16 : 03 Reviewed By: Ryan Newman Overall: 8.5 = Excellent

Screenshots

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Intro
Admittedly, I'm very interested in history, and like millions of others, WW2 is too fascinating for me not to be intrigued about. Despite my interest in it, however, I've never been too particularly fond of war games. While I enjoyed the more mainstream hits within the series of Panzer General and Close Combat, the Shrapnel-styled games just didn't appeal to me. I wanted the immediacy of real-time, but with other obligations that seemed to be more suited to the style of turn-based. After years of bouncing back and forth - and enjoying great substitute titles like those above and Combat Mission - I found that Blitzkrieg encompasses all the qualities that I've been wanting all along.


Gameplay: 9/10
Starting off on the outset of World War 2, players can pick up the British, Soviet, or German campaigns. Accordingly, their missions will vary depending on their stance in history; for instance, Germany's earlier missions will have them at an advantage as they take Poland, and the British will have it rough going until they get assistance from the U.S. While each offers the same kind of missions - capturing objectives or fighting off an assault - their weaponry and style of play makes them feel pretty unique. The developers did a great job in keeping all the campaigns enjoyable.

Missions will start off with two briefings and then an in-game recap, so there will be no doubt whatsoever about what needs to be done, and there's also some advice as to why certain areas would be beneficial; it seems, unfortunately, that the in-game advice doesn't go away or turn off, so those who need to restart - and will no doubt be itching to go - will have to sit through a handful of already-seen menus. Along with the briefings will be a little backstory explaining what has gone on since the last mission and why the next one is so critical, it might even be considered educational. Even though most missions center along capturing towns, which subsequently means capturing supply depots to re-arm the troops and artillery, they also involve smaller objectives like securing bridges by sniping sentries and so forth. There are also a few that including surviving waves of enemies, and then having to repel them back. Like the defensive missions, just about every mission in Blitzkrieg is tough; sure, there will be a few times where a few tanks can be set on aggressive and sent into a town, plowing everything in its path, but for the most part, those wanting to complete the missions with as many survivors as possible will want to allocating more than an hour to each.

Similarly to other titles, there are core units within the game that are promoted during gameplay, based on their performance, and having them starting the next mission is fairly important. In-between missions there are also upgraded units to pick from; along with that option, there will be reports showing core units lost, units promoted, and so forth. What makes Blitzkrieg so entertaining is also the units themselves; soldiers are sprite-based and brilliantly animated, while vehicles are 3D models that fit in perfectly. There are so many vehicles to choose from that it would be a daunting task to research them all. As big of an interest I have in the war, I'm far from an expert on all the machines and weapons involved. Luckily for me, the developers have all relevant information displayed prominently and neatly in menus, there are even pop-up boxes to indicate just what the icon stands for; for example, a tank's menu would have icons and numbers showing side, front, and rear armor ratings, as well as ammo and so on. Honestly, this is one of the very few strategy games that I've actually cared about the losses I took and did what I could to keep the causalities to a minimum.

Those thinking they'll simply reload a saved game to keep their troops alive will also see the result of their action on the post-combat screen. After each mission, a screen will come up to award medals, show medals won, and also rate the player on their abilities to keep causalities to a minimum, how many times they loaded the level, time efficiency, and even how well they operated with their given supplies.

Supplies play a much more significant role than a simple number, though. The key to continuing on the lengthy missions is to capture supply depots and protect the warehouse, which tends to also be the starting point of most missions. Along with small supply stocks in towns and scattered around the map, these will be absolutely crucial to success because every unit has an ammo count and if they run out with no supply truck to assist them, they'll be nothing more than scouting units. Supply trucks can also bring new men to the field to bring an artillery regiment, or a squad's number, back up to capacity. Aside from those benefits, they can also act as a full troop transports, but they also happen to be very weak. If a supply truck, or any vehicle, is broken down, there'll be a handy repair truck needed to fix it. These are crucial since they can put anti infantry and tank obstacles along supply lines to aid in their defense, as well as repair tanks caught in an enemy's anti tank obstacle; there's nothing worse than having the pride of the armored division, complete with a squad of men sitting on top - which is unbelievable cool, and a first from what I've seen in a RTS title - getting stuck in the middle of the map because of some tiny bit breaking the tracks. This whole aspect is something I really enjoyed; the unseen process of supporting units added a whole new dimension of strategy and really added a lot to the entire experience.

I would be remiss in my reviewing duties if I didn't mention the two guiltiest pleasures about Blitzkrieg: artillery and air support. Rarely does a game treat artillery as robust as Blitzkrieg. A sniper on the ground spotting troops can mean a world of pain when 3 units are set to pound the ground, complete with trees exploding and houses eventually crumbling into rubble. One of the problems I did find with the game was that the enemy's accuracy with their artillery was unreal; when they do fire, circle triangles indicate where they're firing from, but it would take my troops at least twice as long to kill them, even with a spotter, than them just shooting wildly in my general direction. Equally entertaining to use is the air support; with this option, players can call in bombing runs, paratrooper reinforcements, recon planes, fighters, and dive bombers, and all are dependent on good weather. Air superiority is absolutely crucial here since a bombing run - not only awesome to see - is devastating in that it can completely crush a small village. Dive bombers can also wreak havoc on unsupported armor and recon planes can actually make your stomach knot up, because once that plane spots just one troop, the enemy will let loose with artillery. Even though recon planes tended to be taken down, when I would call fighters to clear an area, they seemed to go to the worst places that tended to be near AA guns and away from the actual enemy fighters. However, despite their small quirks, everyone who used and saw both of these fell in love with them, and with good reason.

Blitzkrieg isn't perfect though: there are some pathfinding troubles; troops won't always follow a command the first time; units won't always fire at the most opportune time, and, as a result, basically stroll into their death; the tendency to have to play a map over and over, with it rarely changing anything, means a lot of it will feel like trial-and-error; and, with the already mentioned problems. Despite these shortcomings, I still found this to be one of the most exhilarating and exciting releases this year, and I can say with all confidence that it will definitely be on my harddrive for a very long time.

Graphics: 9/10
I've read complaints about the sprites and the drab colors, but I loved those. In fact, aside from it being difficult to spot a friendly troop or the minor 'eh' here and there, I enjoyed nearly everything about the graphics. I was fascinated by just about everything, and so was anyone else who saw it in action. Watching artillery troops take a shell out of the box and load it in, seeing a soldier fall back bloody from a sniper's bullet, tanks popping their turret after being hit at the right spot, and seeing a town devastated by artillery and bombings were all just parts of what made the game feel like it was truly representing a real war.

Sound: 8.5/10
The music is good, but the sound effects are great. Hearing a shell rip through a batch of trees or the gargling of blood when a troop falls, it's crisp and clean. When assaulting a city, the sounds of flak filling the sky, AT guns letting loose and explosions all around, it gets the heart pumping. The voice bits are limited to troop responses, but even those where done well, but even those where done well with each side having their own language spoken.

Control: 7.5/10
I had heard that the Sudden Strike series might be something I would want to try, but I found the demo of II to be way too slow. Maybe it's from lack of time with it, or my imagination, but I found Blitzkrieg much more enjoyable because it felt like the speed of troop movement had been increased; possibly because the maps are smaller, for as large as they are, I do recall Sudden Strike having massive levels. Regardless, most of the controls are handled well. The time when a soldier will register a command and not respond can get annoying, especially when it holds up a multi-plan attack, and seeing a treasured unit not stop to fire can break a heart, but hopefully those issues will be addressed in a patch. Other things, like entrenching units behind sandbags, are incredibly easy. Considering all of what goes on, and the frequency of it all, the irregular problems weren't that much of a hindrance.

Overall: 8.5/10
An hour of setting up can end with a battle lasting 3 minutes, much like those GI Joe war sessions from the days of yore. It's the preparation and planning that I so much enjoyed, as well as the quick thinking to turn a failed attack into a salvageable success. The problems with Blitzkrieg are typical of the genre, but not every game in the genre does so much here or does it so well. Even though some missions made me want to claw the glass off my monitor, when I completed a particularly difficult mission, I actually felt like I accomplished something: I fought house-to-house with my troops, I had my paratroopers capture a mortar so they could smoke entrenched troops to blind them from the upcoming assault, and I stretched every last drop out of every resource. The fights were brutal; sometimes quick and sometimes painfully slow, but I couldn't help but enjoy it all. This won't be for everyone, but for those who can find a way to savor the missions and attempt to not rush through them, they'll truly find something special.

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