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and bazooka-toting
units, a severe amount of pain can come out of any building at any
time. Because of this, the game moves at a fairly slow pace; it's
when combat commences that it picks up, with tanks hammering away
at each other and infantry running in crouch positions from one
building to the next. With gorgeous in-game graphics, including
beautiful water, explosions, detailed structures and armored units
that feature fluid animations, watching a fight unfold is just as
much fun as controlling it - aside from some not-so-hot human models
in the cutscenes and a graphic anomaly here and there. For instance,
it rained so hard at one point, the game dropped to about one frame
per second.
There is also extra support in the form of paratroopers, recon planes,
fighter bombers, bombers, and artillery barrages. These aren't carried
over from one mission to another, but come in handy when available.
The bombers were way too precise for my taste, striking only lines
and at certain angles. The fighter bombers were a huge help in taking
out larger tanks, while the artillery was crucial in taking out
anti-aircraft guns. For those with nightmares of overly precise
artillery, particularly the kind that didn't seem to damage some
tanks, those fears are unfounded here as they cannot fire half a
screen away and can damage any unit around.
Similar to other titles, Codename: Panzers allows the player
to gather prestige points throughout the missions. These are allocated
to purchasing units, whether it's artillery, infantry to push the
artillery, or trucks to pull the artillery. Support vehicles, like
ammo and repair trucks, are absolutely crucial and also easily ignored
for the first bit of the game, with the rush to get huge tanks and
heavy artillery pieces. The player is allowed a twenty-five unit
army, but the army means much more than just the number. As units
gain experience in combat, they increase the amount of damage they
inflict, making it important to keep units alive and to not rely
on simply re-supplying depleted forces. Adding a unique twist are
the extras that can be purchased for infantry: binoculars, mine
detectors, grenades, Molotov cocktails, and even dinghies can be
purchased. Just a few squads of decked-out infantry can be a formidable
force. In fact, one of my favorite moments in the game was carrying
a few squads of machine gunners, medics, and mortars around a main
objective by using the dinghies and taking the awaiting enemy by
surprise. There are few opportunities to use most of the items,
with many of the missions taking place in cities, though binoculars,
infantry-destroying grenades, and cocktails that can overheat a
tank should always be on the must-purchase list.
Aside from the campaigns, there are also a healthy amount of additional
features to play through. Like most other titles, the multiplayer
component uses GameSpy, which is unfortunate, because, either by
poor implementation or the service itself, I always find going through
it to be a hassle. Codename: Panzers is no exception, with a patch
being released shortly after release just so it would stop crashing.
For those braving the online world, I hope you are familiar with
German, because those are the majority of the players. Even then,
the number of members of the community can best be described as
a modest amount. The available modes include team deathmatch, domination
(holding automobile factory and infantry camp for reinforcements,
and a radar station for air attacks and scouts), or assault (go
for goals or attack). The most interesting mode is single player
co-op, but unfortunately no one plays it, and a friend who was interested
in trying it out with me wasn't able to track down a copy in time.
Also available are LAN and Direct IP.
Those who want to go solo can use the training camp to mess around
with the various units and equipment without having to concentrate
on winning or the timer. Scenarios can also be experimented with,
as two are included off the bat, with another one in the patch to
play online, and more to come in the future. The scenarios are pretty
tough and for the advanced players, if they ever make it through
the arduous Allied section. There is also a skirmish mode, which
is the shortest of the features, with most taking just a few minutes
to complete.
What I particularly enjoyed was that the game took advantage of
the 3D engine. Sure, there were times when artillery would pound
an indestructible wall trying to hit a soldier inside, but more
often than not items like elevated structures provided sound cover
for maneuvering troops. A favorite tactic of mine was to send troops
to crawl through tall grass, being undetectable by most enemies,
allowing me to get the drop on any patrols. I do wish infantry would
have been smart enough to crouch behind items and peek around corners,
though.
Really amping up the excitement and tension are some great sound
effects. Hearing multiple tanks roll through and pound a position
while mortar rounds and machine guns go off in the distance really
amplifies the engagements. It's a bit disappointing that the audio
department didn't deliver as strongly. The music is good, as are
the narrated diary entries, but the vocals during the cutscenes
tend to range from horrible to mediocre. The German portion was
particularly unsettling, with some troops sounding like they were
from New Jersey and Texas. Some characters also sounded different
mid-sentence. Thankfully, those poorer elements take place in-between
missions, not completely ruining the atmosphere.
As enjoyable as Panzers can be, it also has its fair share
of problems. One is the pathfinding. Since the game has no formations,
like columns, sending groups of units through a city often scatters
them, causing many stragglers to get ambushed. When sending multiple
units somewhere, they are either placed far apart or way too far
apart, with no way to make the space tighter. Another problem I
had was the difficulty. The German portion is fairly easy throughout,
but mid-way through the Soviet portion, the game starts to go to
an extreme. While it was once rare to have multiple objectives stacked
together, it eventually becomes commonplace; the Anglo-American
portion borders on tedious at several points. Not only that, the
game is stingy with reinforcements, meaning that those two objectives
and your force that is just right for them turns out to be far too
few because three more objectives appear later. The Allied portion
just shoots up on the difficulty factor, causing some of the game
to be more irritating than enjoyable. Nearly unlimited supply depots
help out to keep units healthy and full of ammo, but it is very
easy to lose large chunks of your army in just one engagement.
The game also only allows for a unit to be put in one group. If
you want all riflemen in group one and a mix of riflemen and medics
in group two, whoever is placed in the latter group will be taken
out of the first. This was unnecessary and made the game seem more
unwieldy, particularly since I use that method so much in other
games. However, I did like that just right-clicking on a unit with
another would cause them to follow. Even though the infantry wouldn't
really seek or find cover behind a tank, it did help to keep the
game somewhat organized. I would have liked to see such ingenuity
throughout.
Overall: 8/10
Codename: Panzers Phase One is a great strategy game for
those inclined to play something less fanciful than Command &
Conquer, but more accessible than Blitzkrieg. The action
is fast and intense, while the missions themselves can be fairly
plodding. It definitely has some rough edges, but it is also a highly
enjoyable title that rests at the top of the pack.
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