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Old 02-26-10, 09:48 AM   #46
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waoo zvlad, good Rate you game
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Old 03-06-10, 07:26 PM   #47
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http://kriegsimulation.blogspot.com/...43-review.html

Very promising review here

PS - I was a little wary of the game at first, wanted to wait for the reviews to come in. The reviews of the Russian version of the game, which as I understand came out a bit buggy, made me cautious. However the reviews for the English release are surprising even me - seems like a very good, polished product now. Especially for its price, the game looks like a real winner for SP play. I will buy it now.
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Old 03-09-10, 12:11 AM   #48
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This game is quite a gem! Put in about 15 hours of play into it so far and am very satisfied. The AI in particular has me excited since yes, it is absolutely merciless and quite clever. For a single-player-only game that was the biggest question, and in my mind it absolutely delivered on that. Some of the best AI I've seen in a game of this type.

It's not without problems, of course - grenades/molotov cocktails are a real problem for unit AI when there are obstacles in the way. Every time I get an infantry unit trying to ambush a vehicle, most of their grenades end up blowing up on the trees/bushes that the unit is hiding behind, often injuring the soldiers themselves. The AI also seems to be a little iffy with light vehicles, and often rushes them forward even though the gunners are very vulnerable. It's also a bit irritating that when these gunners are killed, the AI will often try to continue operating the vehicle as if it had a gunner, uselessly moving it up to positions where it remains under fire. Very rarely, but occasionally, there are pathfinding problems for heavy vehicles near buildings. I had a couple of T-34s abandoned after they blindly ran into a house and became stuck on the ruins.

But aside from those things, there's really not much negative to say about this game. It's addictive and challenging and I hope and pray that more scenarios/sequels follow it. The engine is very solid right now.

It's hard to call the game pretty - it's as pretty as Ukraine at the start of March in the middle of WWII (read: frozen mud), but there are some really cool effects and physics. Damage modeling and vehicle physics in particular are fantastic. I've seen some rather jaw-dropping stuff happen. Example: an armored car tried to move itself up to a Soviet position. Its gunners were peppered with bullets, and grenades were thrown. One of the guys in the car got blasted out of the car by the grenade, into the air, back down hitting his head the side of the car causing a blood splatter. He fell down, and I thought he was dead... but apparently the grenade also set him on fire. In a couple of seconds he got up, burning, and ran panicking towards the Soviet position where he expired, probably much to the shock of the Soviet soldiers there. The same grenade that killed him also killed the driver, but it seems his foot remained on the gas pedal so the knocked-out vehicle continued travelling forward slowly until it hit a ditch, where it sat for the rest of the mission with the motor running. And as with all knocked-out vehicle, its hulk would be seen in that very spot for any subsequent battles of the operation (great touch, that). THAT is really some detail.

But aside from the cinematics, the damage model post-battle report is also fantastic. You can see all the detail on all vehicle hits and examine exactly what damage they caused. Talk about the other end of the spectrum from stupid health bars!

I also really like the maps. Sure it's too bad there's only two of them in the entire game, but the scale is pretty breathtaking, and it's refreshing to see a perfectly working wargame where scenery objects are not tied up to grid squares. The scenery ends up feeling really realistic and not like an abstraction of the real world like it is in so many games. The only thing I kind of wish for is more variety of buildings.

But yep, all in all, this game is a ton of fun without compromising on realism, it's HARD to beat the AI. Very comparable to Close Combat in some regards, but I personally enjoy this one a bit more due to a number of features here. The map and the way it's used especially is great. The unit/land area ratio in the game is quite low which ends up with really interesting scenarios since you cannot create a "wall of units" anywhere, either on offense or defense, and have to either really pick your positions carefully or be very mobile. With the operation level, you also now have purpose for fighting and hanging in even the most desparate tactical battles since sometimes all you really need to do is just hold the front.

Anyway, really happy with this one. I can't NOT recommend it at $20. Long time since I've had so much fun with a game of this style.
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Old 03-09-10, 01:17 AM   #49
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A few screenies for your enjoyment










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Old 03-09-10, 01:19 AM   #50
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Old 03-09-10, 01:36 AM   #51
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Thanks CCIP for the very exciting and enticing review of that game!The pics are also very good. What 's promising and excellent news is that this will be the same game engine that Gtraviteam will use to make their next tank sim based on the last battle for Kharkov in August 1943. I suspect it will be an amazing product and a best seller.

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Old 03-09-10, 02:54 AM   #52
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I have just bought this game.
Haven't got into it yet,I need to put some serious time aside for it.
For £14.95 it's a bargain!
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Old 03-09-10, 03:36 AM   #53
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Hi Chucky!Let me know what your impressions are once you have tried playing it. I am uncertain whether I want to buy it or not.I am not overly keen on RTS but if it is an outstanding one then I might be tempted.CCIP's review is very convincing.

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Old 03-11-10, 05:21 AM   #54
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I should say that the game is quite a bit easier to play for the Germans, mostly by virtue of the scenarios being very heavily balanced in their favour. The Russians are still quite merciless and really do try, but I think if you have a good understanding of basic offensive tactics, you will not have much trouble crushing them unless you set up a handicap in the scenario settings or put a short time-limit for battles that will prevent you from crushing them too early on. It's probably the first game of this type I've played where the attacking side is substantially easier to play than the defenders. Some credit here of course goes to the fact that it's easy to set up very effective line formations and both the "attack" and "take cover" orders get the unit AI to do nifty things (units ordered to "attack" a position don't do a "human wave", but do a good job of finding their own firing position and moving forward or even back as necessary). The defensive AI's main problem that I found is that it is tragically stubborn. In the early phases of operations, Russians try to entrench themselves on the edges of woods and fields, in relatively open ground. Taking a company of regular infantry with a few AT guns and a couple of T-34s and trying to defend relatively open ground with it against a tank-reinforced Panzergrenadier company has the results you'd expect in reality. Not that it's unrealistic, but after you outright destroy a couple of enemy platoons early in the battle you do end up with near-unstoppable initiative. The Russian AI's other problem that it constantly tries to counter-attack. It has managed to surprise me a couple of times by having its T-34s pop up where I don't expect them, but when they try to pop a counterattack on a well-organized formation of PZIV's, they're really pretty hopeless. One of the really interesting things with armor vs. armor combat in this game, I find, is the effect of scoring hits. Even if a hit on a tank doesn't actually damage it or wound the crew, it will usually cause it to momentarily stop shooting and/or moving. This makes it very difficult for T-34s because German guns may not be great at outright killing them, but they are very good at hitting them. As long as the panzers keep a tight formation, they can deliver a real volume of fire on a T-34 and stun it quickly. Which usually turns into a dead T-34 before it can recover from the hits and shoot back effectively.

On the other hand I can't crack how to really win for the Russians, for the very same reasons: the Germans have a decisive advantage in their units. I played 3 operations for the Russians so far. The two Taranovka scenarios resulted in a minor defeat and a relatively favourable draw for me. The long Sokolovo scenario though... I'm just being crushed in, however I try. The problem is that I'm facing a panzergrenadier company that is chock-full of halftracks, has a couple of tank platoons, and even a StuG embedded with one of its infantry platoons. What I have is a company of regular infantry with six 76mm AT guns and a couple of 45mm guns. The best I've done so far is manage to take down two tanks and a few halftracks with them, even if I force the enemy to fight on the streets of a village, before my whole company is outright destroyed. The Russians' one advantage is in close-quarter infantry combat. They have very good automatic weapons in their infantry units. This game does a great job of modeling the difference between automatic and non-automatic weapons - firefights with mostly riflemen vs. riflemen generally can last a long time and become real stalemates between squads. Throw an MG or an SMG squad in, and things turn extremely deadly, extremely fast. Sadly for the Russians, however, the real source of automatic fire from the germans isn't the infantry but the halftracks and tanks. But how do I fight these tanks?

Anyone have any tips for setting up AT ambushes?
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Old 04-02-10, 05:16 PM   #55
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I am happy to read the positivity here, I completely forgot about this game but preordered it now. 14th of may is a long way off though.
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Old 05-01-10, 02:40 PM   #56
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CCIP View Post
Throw an MG or an SMG squad in, and things turn extremely deadly, extremely fast. Sadly for the Russians, however, the real source of automatic fire from the germans isn't the infantry but the halftracks and tanks. But how do I fight these tanks?

Anyone have any tips for setting up AT ambushes?
Firstly, CCIP, I wanted to thank you for a really good review. It's very hard to find a person who can truly appreciate realism and write such an in-depth analysis of it. I've bought AP Kharkov 43 a few months ago and kept it almost untouched. The problem is that I love Theatre of War realism, but when I began playing AP I realized how much ToW lacks and how unprepared I was to handle it. But it sits there reminding about the time to step up to a challenge.
The thing I love about AP is it puts you into this grim atmosphere of that time. There's nothing pretty about listening to the howling of wolves and demoralized soviet troops. I think developers did a really good job of making it as realistic and as unbiased as possible. You can definitely understand why soviets couldn't fight effectively, partially because they just couldn't get enough technology to fight against overwhelming swarms of german motorized divisions.
OK. On to your question about AT ambushes. The only good tactic I found in AP was to never attack unless absolutely necessary. During the game, it almost means never. I thought 3 T34 can stand against a few Marders... Well, I learned my lesson. Even if T34s are superior in some respect, you still get an inexperienced crew who can't place a shot accurately. In ToW you can just use an HE shell to kill the crew. But I wasn't even aware about the level of realism that accounted for the shell shock. Anyway, the only useful tactic I found was to draw tanks close to infantry hidden behind trees. Don't open fire untill they get really close and then use AT grenades to set them on fire. In some cases, the crew will panic and leave the tank without getting damaged. The key is to let them get as close as possible without revealing your position, and that can be nerve-wrecking and sometimes impossible when you get a few scouts whom you must shoot when they get close. In some cases, tank crew will try to destroy you from a distance, but when they get to a point they feel that it doesn't yield results, they will just leave. In the end, you save the key position and hope for reinforcements. Of course, in this game you need patience and understand that it's meant for realism not fun, unless you are masochistic like some of us and get a kick out of hardcore realism.I think this game is a good depiction of how it was like back then.

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Old 05-08-10, 05:10 AM   #57
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If there are any fellow Brits out there thinking about buying this it's on special in "Military Tank week" at Gamersgate this week until tomorrow (9th May 2010) for only £7.47, be quick! Not sure if there is a US deal too?

Here are some of the other titles at 50% off till May 9th...

Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943
Panzer Elite Special Edition
Panzer Elite Action Gold
Panzer Elite Action Fields of Glory
Panzer Elite Action Dunes of War
Military Life: Tank Simulator
Steel Fury - Kharkov 1942
Tank Universal
Panzer Killer!
Cannon Strike
Thandor - The Invasion
Combat Mission: Shock Force
Frontline Fields of Thunder
HOI3 German Sprite Pack
HOI3 US Sprite Pack
HOI3 Soviet Sprite Pack
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Old 05-08-10, 12:01 PM   #58
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Already have it.
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Old 08-24-10, 06:19 PM   #59
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Thanks to the great review from CCIP I became interested and checked into the game further. I just now ordered it from Amazon. One thing though, I can't seem to find any forums dedicated to the game such as we have here at Subsim. Are there any mods, tips, patches out there?

Anyway, looking forward to getting this one in the mail in a few days.

Cheers!
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Old 08-24-10, 07:43 PM   #60
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I've not seen any mods yet. One downside of the game is that while in principle the developer seems to support the idea of mods , right now the game ships with very little technical support or tools for modding. I suspect any sort of modding scene for it won't take off until the inevitable sequels to this game.

There is at least one patch out which I highly suggest getting because it fixes a couple of my last big gripes with the game (including making grenades not blow up on touching tree branches). Search around as there are a couple of versions of it, depending on where/how you bought the game. I believe the game is partly supported via Paradox, so check the paradoxplaza forums. That's where I found my patch.

I think if you bought the game recently though, it might already be patched to latest version.
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