This being Memorial Day weekend, I found that war games (especially WWII related) carry a new meaning.  Though much focus for WWII stays primarily under the Eastern and Western Front, another war was raging through Northern Africa at the same time.  Those that fought and died in the South never got the attention in gaming they deserved, until now.  Blitzkrieg: Burning Horizon is a stand-alone add-on to the original Blitzkrieg.  Though I could easily bet most of you don’t even know what the world “Blitzkrieg” means (“Lightning War” representing the unusually fast paced tactics of the Nazi Regime), you’d be wrong if you think that this game couldn’t deliver in content.  With about 28 missions available, this game could easily be considered the sequel for all those raving Blitzkrieg fans (assuming of course there are any).

The primary story follows Erwin Rommel, Nazi General of the 7^th Panzer Division and notoriously branded “the Desert Fox” for his success in battle.  Through his African campaigns, some of the most historical battles of the war are yours for the playing.  I’ll admit taking on the role of the German Army wasn’t too honorable, but it’s definitely a change of pace.

Right off the bat, you’ll feel like you bit off more than you can chew.  The immense load of content to dig into is quite nice for an add-on, though the shear pain of the game manual dropping on my foot wasn’t as comforting.  Besides a lengthy campaign, there are 8 individual missions also featuring the Japanese Army.  The original Blitzkrieg presented the player with loads of units at our disposal.  Throwing in an additional 50 units for BH including transports, artillery, armored vehicles, aircraft, and trains, developer Nival Interactive made sure to create a realistic strategy title that enlisted the use of troops and tactical machines.  This upgrade, however, may become a victim of its own success.  The control system is too complicated and confusing.  For example, calling in an air strike is as hard as finding a laundry detergent that actually whitens and the only commands I could give easily was traveling from point A to point B.  Whoever said “keep it simple stupid” would have despised Blitzkrieg with a passion.

All in all, the game has a lot of stuff done adequately.  Enemy AI is improved from the previous version, but the soldiers still stay together in large groups than in smaller sections to hide.  Enemies do position themselves in buildings to keep out of site, but their overall reaction time is fairly slow.  It is also quite easy to find yourself in an inescapable situation without any notice.  Realistic, yes.  Good gameplay, no.

Blitzkrieg:  Burning Horizon is realistic in the respects that you don’t have unlimited ammunition and units to summon at a moments notice.  Reinforcements take plenty of time to arrive, so use that time in developing a more effective strategy than before (because being too confident or foolhardy leads to defeat).  But this concept of finite resources isn’t new to the strategy genre and BH adds nothing extra to the pot.  The game comes with a tutorial to compensate for the steep learning curve, which I give a plus too.  Yet coming from a gamer’s perspective that just likes to jump into the action and “learn by doing”, this game was too much for one sitting.  Keeping an eye on everything that happens is tiring, delivering an unwelcome system of micromanagement that most strategy games tend to avoid.

The game continues to use a 2D graphics engine, offering a level of environmental interactivity that rivals the best strategy titles.  Changing a pleasant village to a smoldering pile of bricks and wood is just as cool to look at as it is to cause.  The units aren’t particularly impressive in detail, however, but such faults come from the limited capabilities of 2D graphics.  Likewise, the audio hasn’t improved much from its predecessor.  The soundtrack is unnoticeable except during combat and the sounds of war get old fast.

In conclusion, BH isn’t a game that should be played lightly.  It won’t find a good home in the hands of rookie strategists.  If you are a big time player of war titles and want to give this game the old college try, you may find Blitzkrieg: Burning Horizon a good addition to your collection.

Gameplay: 7.0
Split between difficulty in play and over complication, Burning Horizon ends up taking the bronze.

Graphics: 8.0
Though the graphics for a 2D engine are impressive, it’s still an outdated system no matter how you slice it.  Good environmental interactivity but bare boned unit design.

Sound: 7.2
What can I say?  You pay too much attention to what's going on in game that the music doesn't impact you.  The sound effects aren't too special either.

Difficulty: Hard
Get ready for a challenge, especially as you progress through the game.  Definitely a forte for the games appeal to hardcore strategists, the controls still left me clueless oftentimes.

Concept: 8.0
Another war strategy title, yes.  But it carries a unique flavor (German/ Japan Army) that is distinctly different from the pack.

Overall: 7.4
The overall score really is left to how you like your strategy gameplay.  Lightweight gamers may not give this one the time of day, but older fans of the genre may stick to it for a while.