We have seen many a WWII tank game come and go, but I have to admit First Battalion provides a seamless onslaught of action where other titles fell short. Each mission is comprised of many objectives that follow a complete storyline. Rather than just being a tank shooter with a bunch of missions, the campaign seems to make sense of each conclusion. You will have access to the German, Russian, and USA campaigns all with unique objectives that offer an intriguing easy-to-follow story.

The tanks and other military units are historically accurate and modeled with a lot of detail. A better graphic engine could have really brought out these details, but overall it still looks pretty good. A definite plus is that you can play this game even on some pretty basic systems. Though the game boasts superb physics and destroyable landscape, I found that not all objects are created equal.

For example, yes you can knock down and roll over trees, but when you go through barbed wire tank blockades, you just roll right through them and they remain standing. I did like that most of the environments did have a reaction to the business end of a tank shell that more games of this genre should take heed to. There is much pleasure to sending a sabot right into the center of a five-man squad and watch the rag-doll effect of the enemy flying through the air.

You are not alone in these missions; in fact you will have command over a handful of tanks. This allows you to actually take command and order them to specific tasks like flanking maneuvers, recon, and attacking your target. This makes for easy sniping from the rear for an effective tactic. You will also have the ability in some missions to call in an air strike to soften the enemy’s defenses, which is another cool feature of the game.

Playing online is very simple and both LAN and Internet games are supported. The only multiplayer game is a lot like Battlefield where you capture control points and that is where you can spawn. Capture more control points and your team wins. I like to call it Team Death Match with a purpose.

Overall I thought my experience was a good one considering you do not need a powerhouse of a machine to enjoy this title. It does lack the jaw-dropping visual and audio effects found in similar new releases, but for a game that is retailing for 30 bucks or so, I would recommend this title to any WWII fan out there.

Gameplay: 8.0
Getting started is very simple. The beginning missions are loaded with plenty of pop-ups for newbies to get familiar with the controls without ever having to open up a manual. There are few keys to memorize, which makes for a short learning curve. Plenty of action is found so you won’t spend a lot of time between battles cruising the landscape.

Graphics: 7.5
Visually I thought the game was about average. Some nice detail in the cinematics, but during actual game play, I did not see a whole lot of visual eye candy that I thought was anything new. Not to say that they are bad, just nothing to write home about.

Sound: 8.0
The sound effects and voice-overs were decent. Pretty good musical score accompanies the game play, which brings excitement to big battles.

Difficulty: Easy
Even those new to the genre will be playing within minutes. Standard movement is the typical WASD buttons and more advanced options are taught from pop-ups and are also found in the manual.

Concept: 7.0
It’s a fun game but nothing innovating or groundbreaking will be found here. I did like the air strike ability in some missions.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Both LAN and Internet games are supported and are a blast to play. Unfortunately only one type of game with a max of 32 players at time of review is supported.

Overall: 7.0
It is a fun game and I really did enjoy playing it. It’s a typical tank sim that adds a bit of strategy to the shooter style of gameplay. We have seen countless WWII-type games and unfortunately nothing exciting makes this game stand out from any others.