Blitzkrieg II
CDV brings a lightning war to the RTS scene
Tags: Blitzkrieg II Categories: PC Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Darren on Nov 1st, 2005
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Blitzkrieg II (title page) | 1+ | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Strategy | No | ||
War games seem to be made for the PC, especially RTS (Real Time Strategy) specimens such as Blitzkrieg 2. As good as consoles are for other genres of games, the PC’s gaming acumen seems solidified by the fact that war simulations are irreversibly connected to the platform.
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Blitzkrieg 2 starts off with style, with a very impressive opening movie showing you what to expect from the game. As usual with RTS games, a single-player mode and multiplayer mode are included; sadly with no map editor.
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The main drawing point in this game is the extensive campaign mode, which allows you to take control of the armies of 3 ‘factions’: The Soviet Armed Forces, US Army and the German Wehrmacht. This gives you an unbiased view of the events of World War Two, and presents the story from three sides, rather than the usual tactic of focusing on British and American forces. Based around the events of World War Two, the game plunges you head-first into commanding your very own collection of units. Speaking of units, Blitzkrieg 2 boasts a massive 250+ selection; spanning from naval units to aerial and ground units.
This game seems to be tailored towards warfare enthusiasts; and features a rather extensive ‘encyclopaedia’ section. This section features a very detailed description for every single unit featured in the game; which would definitely excite and feed fans of the WW2 genre. True names for the units are also given, which adds to the case for what this game was made for.
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If you were asked to think of another war-based RTS game, chances are that you would choose the Command and Conquer series. Blitzkrieg 2 is the complete opposite to that series, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There is absolutely no base building or resource collecting in the game; instead the game focuses on the usually neglected aspect of tactics.
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If you want to be successful in this game, you need to be tactically astute. You are given a small core of units, which it is your mission to command them. You also have a finite number of reinforcements at your disposal, which can be dispatched as and when you deem necessary. If you want all action war-gaming, this is definitely not the game for you. No doubt, you get plenty of action and warfare; but the game is deeper than that. The name of the game is to use the limited units you’ve got effectively, rather than brainlessly sending units all guns blazing which building more units to replace the current ones.
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You also have to use the surrounding environment to your advantage, including scenery such as sandbags; which can make the difference between completing and failing a mission. Different stances are also available to your units, each of which has specific advantages and disadvantages for certain enemy units. Obviously some units are effective against certain other units, and you need to figure this out very quickly if you want to have success. For example, infantry will not be very effective against a row of tanks.
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Despite the seemingly hard exterior, the game is fairly easy to pick up and play. It features a rather nifty tutorial mode which is split into four sections ranging from basic to advanced. This reduces the learning curve slightly, which is good for the RTS rookie. The game relies on a tried-and-tested point and click method, which makes sense seeing as it is a RTS. But, the game gets very hard once you get involved with the more advanced missions. You need to use exactly the right tactics with the units you have, whereas in the earlier missions you can drive through them with sheer power of numbers rather than tactics.
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Graphically, Blitzkrieg 2 isn’t the most impressive display of visual candy. The ground textures look uninspired and some of the scenery; especially trees, looks slightly pixelated. The character models are fairly detailed though, and they move very realistically through the terrain and when eventually they are hurt or killed, they fall with astounding realism. Luckily for Blitzkrieg, it has very nice explosion effects which really save the graphical side of the gameplay. At times, blazing fireballs and bits of flying metal shower the screen making you feel involved in a real war.
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Sound effects aren’t usually the forte of war games, but they are decent enough here. You can experience the sound of bullets flying through the air and hitting anything in their way, bombs exploding in the distance and even the disconcerting squeak of the tank treads as it rolls across the rough terrain. Heroic music is used to good effect, and fits in well with the war-like motif.
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The game uses a mission-based system of gameplay, which is surprisingly non-linear. You can choose which missions to attempt yourself, in the order you wish. In addition to normal missions, there is the option of attempting a ‘historic mission’ which reenacts famous battles from that era; which will again please the war fanatics. A rank system is also employed in the campaign mode, whereby the more missions you successfully complete, the wider the range of reinforcements you can call upon in future battles.
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Blitzkrieg 2 takes a new perspective on a well-covered topic, and does it well for the most part. A lot of time has obviously gone into this game, and it shows in regards to the endless trove of information on units and missions. The gameplay is very well-balanced, and encourages active thought from the gamer rather than simply having the plan of blowing things up until you win the game. A pleasant shallow learning curve accompanies it, with challenges for players of all levels and experience; as it is easy to play but hard to master. Sadly, the graphics could have been better; but as is the case with all good games, the joy of playing the game shines through.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ A huge amount of information available on units + Well balanced gameplay + Focuses on the tactical rather than all-action aspect + Makes you feel part of the action + Atmospheric sound effects and music + Good and comprehensive tutorial |
7.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Graphically inferior to some other RTS games - Focus on the tactical aspect can get monotonous at times - Some later missions are blindingly difficult |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Essentially, this is a game for RTS veterans who are looking for something new and warfare enthusiasts who have an insatiable thirst for information on wartime events. Although entertaining, Blitzkrieg 2 wouldn’t hold the casual gamer’s attention for more than several hours. | |
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Tags: Blitzkrieg II
Posted by Darren on Nov 1st, 2005 and is filed under PC Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
