Sudden Strike II Preview

Intelligence reports were wrong. The 1st Parachute Brigade, of the United Kingdom, has dropped into enemy territory and initial reports had German strength well below what is actually there. It seems an SS Panzer Division has moved into the area. The task is multiple: move to Wolfheze and commandeer a couple of vehicles to transport the anti-tank artillery, and then eliminate the tanks that will slow down your progress to Arnhem.

After flanking and eliminating the tanks, you are then to take remaining forces and rendezvous with reinforcements near a boiler house along the highway.

Sudden Strike II, a PC release from Fireglow and CDV Software Entertainment, has numerous game options and is a solid war strategy outing that should appeal to newcomers and veterans of the genre. GameZone received a preview version of the program, and while not everything was in place (scenarios were numbered, not named in the single-mission games, and there was no manual included), enough was in place to get a solid glimpse into this product.

The game interface had both single player and multiplayer options. There were 12 single-mission scenarios, and five campaign options. The campaigns are broken into five categories: Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, United States and Russian (labeled USSR). Each campaign has several scenarios, which makes this game quite rich in terms of game play.

The maps are finite, 128x128 squares covered by the fog-of-war. You will get a general mission statement, but it is up to the player to determine where the target location is. Sometimes you will need to journey all around the map, eliminating enemy forces while trying to locate the objective of the mission briefing. The game also comes with a campaign editor, which expands the possibilities.

Other features include land, sea and air forces, which come into play during a scenario. There will be a limit of 1,024 units per battle, and the game has been configured so that players will be able to group a unit and have that unit move at the same rate of speed, rather than separate because units are lagging.

The sound portion of the program needed some work, and hopefully will be expanded by the time the game is released (which is currently slated for the end of August in the U.K. and U.S.A.).

The graphical elements mimic a three-dimensional look. The camera angle was high (god perspective), and in the version previewed, did not zoom or rotate. This is a sprite-driven game, but the effects were very good, and the AI will have units attack the enemy without prompting.

The controls were quite intuitive – and they had to be considering that no manual accompanied the game. Grouping units and moving them along is completely in line with other RTS programs.

While Sudden Strike II will not blow anyone away with its gameplay or graphical elements, what it will do is give players a solid gaming experience, and have them use their brains while delving into one of the more tumultuous times in human history.

This is a well-designed program. It should do well when it hits store shelves in several months.