Blitzkrieg

The Russians are trying to stop a German attack

Blitzkrieg is a new RTS game based around the well-trodden events of WWII. We’ve seen a few of these in the past few months, most recently the Bitmap Brothers’ Frontline Command. What can Blitzkrieg bring that other games have missed out? On installation it is striking how much hard drive space is used, around 2GB and on first play the quality of the graphics really is striking. However, it’s not until a few missions have fallen by the wayside that the depth of this game begins to become apparent. This WWII RTS game is based around three different campaigns allowing you to do combat as the Germans, Russians or the Allies.

More units than a Physics convention

Panzers fighting it out

The system requirements for Blitzkrieg are very modest (PIII 350 minimum) and thus should be accessible to everyone. Even on a low spec machine this game looks fantastic and plays very smoothly. The game does drop frames occasionally and it automatically adjusts the game speed to compensate. The quality graphics help to create and maintain an engaging atmosphere, as you are never distracted by poor graphics or animation.

There are a large number of different units in the game and they all look great and are well animated. Tanks rotate their turrets smoothly and realistically and heavy guns have to be rotated by the three troops manning it to fire in the correct direction. All of this is animated in minute detail. The maps are detailed to a good level, fences can be destroyed as tanks run over them, buildings and pillboxes are reduced to rubble under artillery fire and the landscape becomes pock-marked under the heat of battle.

Variety is the spice of life

The AI knows how to attack or defend a town

Where Blitzkrieg excels is in its wealth of missions. The game comes with three campaigns, which is the bulk of the single player mode. These consist of a campaign for the Russians, the Germans and, of course, the Anglo-American Allies. The campaigns feature different missions with goals that lead to the ultimate end of the war. The missions take place in varying scenery from the snowfields of Russia to beaches and farmland in the west.

The units are also different between the campaigns. Whilst the general classes of the units are the same between the nations – ground troops, artillery, engineers and armour – the models and animation are very different as is the damage inflicted by the different units. This adds a lot of replay value as well as the multiplayer mode, which allows co-operative and competitive action in capture the flag and assault.

Here comes the cavalry

This defensive position is not going to be easily taken

Ground troops can be put into formations and their squads can be disbanded and rejoined. They can be put into trenches to provide additional cover and can storm buildings to give a vantage point over passing enemies. Armour can entrench which puts sand bags around it to provide additional cover, they can defend to stand their ground against oncoming troops or wait in ambush as enemies move past.

Various aircraft are available to provide support including reconnaissance planes, bombers and paratroop planes. The bombers can be particularly useful once you have cleared out anti-aircraft gun emplacements to level enemy armour and buildings. Your heavy weapons provide useful suppressive fire as they can fire into areas that they can’t see. This can help you lay down heavy fire as your ground troops slowly venture forward to expose where the guns should be pointing. The fog of war is implemented as dark areas of the screen. The buildings and general scenery are always visible but troop positions cannot be seen unless you have a direct line of sight.

Strategy, not management

Stukas are roaming the sky searching for enemy tanks

The emphasis in Blitzkrieg is definitely on the military strategy rather than management. There is no base or resource management to worry about and the troops that you have at the start of the mission are all you get. Occasionally you will get reinforcements but these will come at the completion of mission targets. Between missions you can upgrade your units to bigger and better ones but there is no unit purchase during or between missions i.e. you are given the units that you’re given. This frees you up to worry about how best to approach the missions.

Of course, what’s important with this type of game, particularly with this sort of a focus, is the AI. A stupid computer opponent will quickly become tiresome but fortunately CDV have struck a good balance. The computer defends well and can be aggressive when required. When trying to make your way through enemy occupied cities you quickly learn to lay down covering fire with heavy weapons as you send vehicles in and then quickly retreat once you have reccied the opponents position. The computer uses similar tactics, hiding tanks just outside your field of vision and then moving them in for an attack and retreating out of sight quickly.

Learning the game

War is a messy thing

The first mission in each campaign is a tutorial mission. Whilst there are tutorial missions in the game, Blitzkrieg doesn’t assume that you will have done them and so guides you through your first mission. After this, however, you’re thrown in at the deep end as the missions suddenly become rather more difficult. Once you get the hang of it though it quickly becomes an engrossing experience.

The tutorial missions are useful as the troops can be controlled using hot-keys or by clicking on the icons in the bottom left of the screen. The hot-keys are particularly useful such as holding A and clicking moves your troops aggressively so that they will open fire on any enemies that they spot as they move around, or pressing Z and clicking which will force the units to lay down suppressive fire to an area of the map. Learning a few of the hot-keys and figuring out what the icons mean is key to success and not necessarily immediately intuitive.

Get out there and earn your stripes

Blitzkrieg is an addictive game with good quality graphics and sound. The modest system requirements for this title will open it up to a wide audience but the modest requirements don’t mean that the developers have scrimped on the quality. The graphics and animation ooze quality whilst the sound samples are equally well developed. A wealth of missions across three nations with loads of different units along with the innovative use of air units will keep you playing this for a long time. The only real downside is the steep learning curve in the early stages but if you can stick this out then the game becomes a rewarding experience.