Panzer Corps 2

Always loved Panzer General 1 and 2, and had been enjoying Open General recently when I found this was releasing soon. I have to say I'm really enjoying my time with the game. You get the same core PG gameplay, with lots of added features that really shake things up. The way the game handles your army upgrades and lets you put some units into reserve allows you to really adapt your forces to the map and situation. The campaign is long and follows the usual historic settings of course, but lets you chose different parts of a specific theatre. For instance, you get to pick between two alternative fronts for the Poland, Norway and France scenari. The difference is significant, since you get to chose between fast operations on open terrain, or siege operations near well defended cities or ruggy terrain. All in all I'm really satisfied with this purchase and am enjoying myself a lot.

Talk about an across-the-board improvement over the OG Panzercorps. Usually when a sequel comes out there is a shift in focus, features dropped in favor of "trying new things" and I don't jive with it. I get tired of the "innovations" in sequels that drop the features I came to like so it's good that the developer of kept all of the features that made Panzer Corps fun. The innovations genuinely are innovations but the core gameplay is still there. I'm still leading a growing army across the battlefield and upgrading units along the way. If you are a fan of Panzer Corps 1, there's no way I couldn't recommend this. The unit animations are freaking awesome, from the machine guns on airplanes creating a little smoke trail that caresses over the wings to the recoil of artillery cannons. The streamlined unit deployment from panzer corps 1 simply solves problems that you didn't know were there beause you got used to it in the first game. If you have not played Panzercorps 1, but like war games, I can't imagine NOT enjoying this, but do keep in mind that it is "turn based". It's kind of like chess (in fact, the game gives you options like removing the RNG from battles and making all battles 100% predicatble (just like in panzer corps 1)). there are a huge amount of options to tweak the gameplay to exactly what you're looking for. That's what a good war game should be. The "war table map" view of the battlefield is cool too, it makes you feel like you're a general moving pieces across the map. I wish this dev would make a vietnam war game.

As some have said, this game is clearly the successor to Panzer General 2. A tight, small quarters puzzle strategy game with little room for error. It's sequal, Panzer Corps, was much broader and more forgiving - allowing for looser strategies, and adding more detail to command. This game is the perfect balance of the two. It has dragged its foundation back to the tight puzzle like feel, but added and expanded on much of what Panzer Corps brought to the table. This game will certainly not be for everyone - while it has been a bit overstated, this game is not as forgiving as so many titles these days. You will need to fight through some bad situations and start from square one on many occasions. For those up for the task, it is well worth it.

Just gave a positive review of OoB WW2 recently, in particular because of it's simple but effective supply system. This game is lacking in that regard but it uses encirclement and mass attack modifiers to accomplish some of the same things without a micromanaging headache. I found Pzr Corps 1 too puzzle like, and the graphic style neither attractive or functional. This one is proving to be pretty great though...maybe as good as OoBWW2, but for differnet reasons. It's slick and attractive, has a great UI and the missions are well designed with a competent AI. You have to limit your losses and manage your resources carefully to progress in the campaign, but it's a satisfying challenge. If you fail, replaying missions is also a pleasure anyway. If you enjoy accessible, simple yet challenging wargames, this is another great one.

This is simply one of the best turn-based wargames to date. I already have 450 hours on the clock and with the additional mission coming out and the excellent mods there is no indication that this number will not go up even further. Graphics: They are quite good with nice 3D models and some nice tessellation effects on the environment. Certainly the best looking game in the genre. 5/5 Mechanics: Easy to learn, hard to master. There is quite some tactical depth in the different unit types and their strength and weaknesses and of course the heroes which can completely change the way a unit is used in the mission. There is certainly more complex games out there, specifically when it comes to supply logistics, but for me the game strikes the sweet spot between accessibility and complexity. 5/5 Balancing: The missions themselves are well designed and at times really challenging and force you to think on your feet. E.g. the infamous Moscow mission can be beaten easily by luring the enemy tanks into the city to be dismantled by your infantry there between the buildings. Failing to realize that though ... will most likely end in a bloodbath. My gripe with the balancing is the prestige (money). You will generally have (a lot) too much or to little depending on the difficulty you choose. I would wish to have more fine grained control over the difficulty aspects instead of the few pre-defined levels. 4/5 Mods: There is some great campaigns available including a mod which revives the Grand Campaign from PC1 which is absolutely fabulous and in itself basically another game worth of content. 5/5 DLCs: As usual, a tad overpriced for what you get but on a sale they are definitively worth it. Unfortunately its basically again the german campaign view only in more detail. At least there is a real ahistorical path as well (unlike the Grand Campaign in PC1). 4/5 All in all a solid 5 and one of my favorite games at the moment. Here is hoping they will support it for some time.