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Panzer General III: Scorched Earth
By Steve MacGregorThe Learning Curve
Overall, PG:SE takes a broad-brush, somewhat simplified view of combat, without the nuances found in more complex games such as The Operational Art of War or the Battleground series. However, with the aid of the Tutorial scenarios it is possible for a complete newcomer to begin playing the game within a couple of hours, and there aren’t many historical wargames of which that can be said. Generally, the game conventions are easy to grasp, and the informative on-screen display tells you all you need to know. Despite this simplicity, the game makes a fair stab at recreating the combined arms operations that characterised much of the mechanised warfare of World War II.
Campaign Scenario Selection Screen
Preparing for Battle
Whether choosing a scenario or campaign, the player is presented with a brief description of the forthcoming battle(s) and on the same screen has the ability to vary several options within the game to adjust the difficulty setting. Once this is done and the campaign or scenario is loaded, you will rapidly finds yourself at the Headquarters screen. Here you can review the troops and equipment available to you, and change the composition of your forces if you wish. Each unit in the game is given a series of ratings that affect its abilities in attack and defence against various other types of unit, as well as its’ movement ability.
The Headquarters Screen
In addition, each unit must be assigned a leader. Leaders are very important in PG:SE, and affect the way in which your units perform. The overall performance of each unit is an aggregate of the ability of the unit, plus the ability of the leader. Leaders are arranged by type (i.e., leaders may be Infantry Leaders, Tank Leaders, Bomber Leaders, etc,.), though confusingly, leaders may be assigned against type (for example, a tank leader can be assigned to lead a unit of fighter aircraft) without adverse effect, except that the leader will not be able to use any of their special abilities. These special abilities provide extra capabilities for the unit to which that leader is assigned.
For example, a unit commanded by a leader with the Sixth Sense special ability can use this command to ensure that they will not be ambushed by a concealed enemy unit, and a fighter unit with the Eagle Eye special ability can use this ability to see enemy units at a greater range than other units. Although I liked the concept of assigning leaders with varying levels of ability, I’m not convinced by these special abilities. They add an X-Men factor to the game that seem at odds with it’s historical pretensions, though I suppose they do add some variety to gameplay. Over the course of a campaign, your leaders can be promoted (to improve their general abilities) and can receive additional special abilities.
Once you have selected your forces and allocated your leaders, you are ready to deploy your troops. At the unit deployment screen you can carefully position your troops, or you can hit the auto-deploy button for some instant action. Generally, I found that the auto-deploy function produced sensible results, though with an occasional worrying tendency to split forces between two locations. If you don’t like the deployment provided by the computer, you can modify it if you wish.
The Deployment Screen. White highlighted hexes show where you can place your units.
