The Panther-Wotan line is in danger as a sea of Russian 2nd Shock Army divisions pushes south and east of the Oraniebaum pocket and crosses the Luga River. All you have is three armored units, a couple of planes and a couple of mobile infantry-based units. Your goal is to capture Novobila. You have five turns.

When publisher Mattel Interactive sent out the preview disk of SSI's Panzer General III Scorched Earth, the program looked pretty complete. It was. The final version does contains nothing new or different.

What sets this version of Panzer General apart from previous incarnations has to do primarily with the graphical elements. The weather effects are improved. This program features three-dimensional game pieces battling it out on a two-dimensional game board. There seems little restriction to the movement of the pieces. They are more encumbered by the type of unit they are.

If you have never played a game in the war genre, you will be in for a treat with this title. For a long time, SSI has developed games that bank on historical accuracy, right down to leaders of divisions. This program is no different. The game contains all the hardware of World War II, 20 single scenarios based on real battles fought.

March 6, 1945: It is the last German offensive of the war, codenamed Spring Awakening. The object is to secure a defensive line at the Danube River in order to protect the oil fields near Budapest.

The game features a very user-friendly interface. You click on the unit you wish to move. The game board is illuminated to show the radius of that unit's movement capabilities. Whether or not the enemy is out there, you can't really tell because the game board is shrouded in the 'fog of war' (a clever term meaning you can't see the enemy - but you can go into options and remove the fog). If, in the course of your movement, you encounter enemy counters, you move your cursor over them; if they are caught in a crosshair, you can attack them. But if you attack, they will fire back. Damage is accrued, and someone loses.

(Here's a hint: Use your planes to scout the terrain ahead. They may draw some fire, but you will find out where and how close the enemy is.)

The tutorial will take about 30 minutes to work through. This is turn-based gaming. Each mission must be completed in a certain amount of turns. Once you have completed all movement, or as much as you wish, you end your turn with a click on the player interface along the bottom.

Panzer General III is a game that contains bright, well-designed graphical elements. The animation has the tiny vehicles fire upon each other, showing ricochets and explosions. Planes dive to attack, or take too many hits and spiral in to crash. The audio supports the video play quite well.

If you are unsatisfied with either the mission or the Guderian Campaign (the prolonged battle sequences featured in the program), you can always create a scenario with the Battle Generator. Not only will you have the Germans and Russians going toe-to-toe, but you can incorporate American and British units as well.

Panzer General III Scorched Earth is a well-constructed game that is about brain power, not reflexive ability. This is a chess match, using times, conditions and vehicles in settings straight out of the history books. SSI has produced a program that looks good, plays well and is enjoyable.

Panzer General III contains mild animated violence, but is rated for Everyone. This program supports up to four players in a multiplayer setting, utilizing the Internet or LAN.

Install: Easy. Nothing new here, this program wants 350 megs of hard drive space and goes onto the computer very easily.

Gameplay: 8. Turn-based gaming with the ‘fog of war’ presenting a challenge. The map is two-dimensional, and the game pieces are three-dimensional.

Graphics: 7.5. This program offers a nice mix of animated three-dimensional elements, good weather effects and understated hexagonal movement selection.

Sound: 7. Nicely rendered, but nothing unique.

Difficulty: 8.5. There is not much selection in the difficulty levels, but the game does allow enough options to allow gamers to either ease through or take the challenge of World War II strategic combat.

Concept: 8. The historical perspective makes this a nice war genre program.

Overall: 7.5. Nice game play, rich historical perspective and solid animation make this a good game.