Blitzkrieg 2 Preview

World War II real time strategy games have a huge following in the PC market.  The first Blitzkrieg game was a worldwide hit that has now spawned a sequel and an expansion pack for the first game.  At E3 2004 CDV had the sequel Blitzkrieg II on display to RTS gamers to get a sneak peek at this title.  Not content with just a quick rehash of the game, the developers included some new tricks for the sequel.

The game itself is running on a brand new engine that will improve the graphics.  The demo on display at E3 was an early version but looked great.  The graphics for the landscapes and vehicles was impressive with great textures and details.  CDV mentioned that the character animation was still early and will be improved in the final release.  However the character animation in the current build looked great so far.  The soldiers would fly all over the place during a battle.  The vehicle animation was impressive as well with the demo showing some vehicles dropping off troops at different locations on the map.

The game is presented in an over the top view and all of the graphics are in 3D.  You will have full control over the camera during the game.  You’ll have the ability to zoom in and out during the game and swing the camera around to get a better view of the action.  The graphics for the different buildings and locations were full of detail.  All of the buildings and landscapes had their own unique look, with different textures for different buildings.

The control system was very simple and easy to understand.  Similar to other RTS games you simply click on the troop you wish to move and then select what type of command you need to issue.  Your soldiers will then follow your commands and attack, move or defend based on the commands.  There is the ability to pause the game and issue commands while the game is paused.  This will give the players the ability to slow the game down and be proactive instead of reactive during battles.

There will be both single player and multiplayer modes included in the game.  The multiplayer mode will consist of 15 missions and different modes such as capture the flag.  The developers are working on a game server system similar to Battlenet for players.  So during the online games you can increase your rank and then challenge other players with the same rank.  There will also be the ability to upload your offline army to the servers to test your units against other players around the globe.

Even with the early build at E3, Blitzkrieg II is looking impressive.  The action on screen was fast paced and the game engine didn’t stutter one bit.  World War II fans will have something to look forward to when the game is released.  For veterans of the first game, I’m sure they will be waiting patiently for the games' release in March 2005.

For All E3 2004 Previews