[ReM]

I received my copy of Steel Beasts Pro Pe last friday.....the shipment took only five days ...
Needless to say I spent many hours this weekend to get to know my new sim!

Installation was a breeze; the version was indeed 2.262; only patch 2.273 needed to be applied.....
Although there was a slight problem with the dongle, support from esimgames to correct this was very swift ( I might say almost immediate) and effective.......I have nothing but very positive remarks for the great support they offer!
Atlhough I feared that I would not be able to enjoy this game to the fullest because of my system specs, I have not encountered any problems with the frame rate so far (my comp is an AMD 64 , 1 gig of ram, with an ATI 9600 pro, with outdated drivers). Game runs smooth as silk.

Although the manual is rather basic, the tutorials make up for the very sparse amount of information offered in the manual. The learning curve is quite steep, but a round of tutorials will get you up and running within a reasonable time. I have to second what btaft said about how difficult it is to actually hit your target... I used to play M1 Tank Platoon and this was lase and destroy- like taking candy from a baby! In SBPPE you have to be very concentrated to score hits; if this approaches reality I take of my hat off to all tank-gunners!

Although it can take quite a while to load a scenario or tutorial, the loading times compare favorably to SH IV!! The negative is that you tend to get killed quite quickly when you are a novice player like me, so I got to look at the loading screen a lot last weekend.

The fact that looking at the loading screen a lot didn't deter me from continuing, says it all about the immersion factor of this game.....I can't wait to start up the game again when I finish work and when the kids are safe in bed.

Although the graphics are not state-of-the-art, they are adequate enough to give you a realistic feel. The explosions don't exactly remind you of Hollywood either-, but I have seen turrets fly occasionaly.
I especially found the landscapes to be very good-looking; they give a definite feel of depth and distance....very convincing...

The sounds are nicely done as well; when I was driving my M1 Abrams over a highway, it sounded just right.....I could almost feel it...

The missions that come standard with the game are rather hard for a beginner; I downloaded some easier scenarios from the Steel Beasts website and I had a lot of fun with them....I am sure I will get to enjoy the other scenarios as well, as soon as I get more familiar with more complex planning and manoeuvring from the map which offers many options. This game is so deep that it will take quite some time to discover its full potential; let alone enjoy it! The amount of orders that can be given from the map screen is incredible....yet it all is very organised and logically placed....if I do get slaughtered it is because of faulty leadership and planning, not because the game offers too few options. It was also a very pleasant surprise that you are able to drive and operate Bradleys and Hummers and othert lighter vehicles as well......this enables you to play the recon phase of operations as well.....which adds tremendously to the immersion factor.

I found SBPPE to be a very complex and very unforgiving piece of work....when I add the hefty price tag to this, I can understand that a lot of people will give it a pass.......for this kind of money you can buy at least a couple of games, if games is what you are looking for.....
SBPPE is not a game; it lacks the eye candy to be considered a game and as stated before is very unforgiving...it doesn't give a damn wheter you live or die.....
But if you like tanks and don't mind being tossed around like a ragdoll the first outings, and are willing to invest time (and money) in mastering the art of war at the tactical level, then SBPPE will not disappoint you....there is also the Steel Beasts community, not unlike the one over here at Subsim which I have praised in the past...they bring out new scenarios, mods and terrains all the time which will give you even more to play with....and if you wanna give it a try you can also use the in-game editor...build your own battlefield!
Although I said I don't consider SBPPE a game, I had fun with it; and that is what it all comes down to.