By: Chris Stavros

Tactical combat during WWII was both diverse and complicated. From the plains of France to the steppes of Russia and the jungles of the Pacific, the Axis and Allies fought to decide the fate of nations and shape the modern world. Using the instruments of industrialized war as well as raw manpower, each nation fielded forces both lethal and effective in their attempts to win the greatest conflict in human history. You can re-fight these difficult and costly campaigns in the latest real time strategy game on the subject, Blitzkrieg 2.

Blitzkrieg 2 (which means lightning war in German) is a tactical simulation of the United States, German, Soviet Union and Imperial Japan forces during WWII. Players maneuver diverse battle groups over various terrains in a series of historical scenarios set during the great battles of WWII; players control individual tanks and guns, as well as squads of infantry, to attempt to both repeat and change history depending on the given situation.

Play centers around small unit tactics that are assigned for each scenario to achieve a set goal. The victory conditions are usually the destruction of enemy units, the defense of fixed points or the capture of headquarters and other objectives. You are given a starting force and a limited number of reinforcements to carry out the objective of the scenario. Elimination of your forces and all reinforcements means defeat and you have to replay the battle to advance the campaign.

This game includes a huge amount of historical depth. Each piece of equipment in the arsenal of the major powers is represented in the game, as well as various types of infantry formations. Ships and planes are more abstracted in that you highlight the target for them and hope they hit the area before the target moves off.

There are campaigns included in the game for the United States, Germany and the Soviet Union. The campaigns are played in a series of scenarios that the player must accomplish to move on. Victory includes upgrades to the unit types available, as well as unlocking new units for battle. There is also a bit of role playing, as your formations are controlled by officers you can assign, which can earn experience and ranks thus making them more effective. You also earn medals and campaign ribbons, which are historically accurate from the place and country they represent.

One area where this game shines is the pure number of unit types available. There are more then 250-unit types included in the game to represent the tanks, guns, trucks, ships and planes of the WWII powers. The queen of the battlefield, the infantry, are not neglected either. At least 60 distinct types of infantry formations are available with everything from recon to assault available to the players.

Unit function and effectiveness is stressed in this design. Many of the units are quite helpless versus one thing and deadly to another. For example, assault infantry may be great at sneaking around, but not so good at stopping armor attacks; it will take players some time to figure out the optimal units in a given situation. The historical ability of units is simulated, in that artillery is best at clearing entrenched infantry, tanks are best for fast breakthroughs and so on. Learning what to use and where is quite important to completing the scenarios, as units die frightfully fast if you are not careful.

The terrain is nearly as varied as the units. Jungle, steppe and all the other battlefields of WWII are smartly rendered in nice detail. The scroll in could be a little better, as the details of infantry are hard to make out, but this doesn't detract from the attractiveness of the terrain.

Day and night are also simulated in the campaigns so the full scope of WWII can be simulated. The game includes a complete tutorial that is extremely helpful in understanding the basic game functions. The interface is easy to use but takes some getting used to, as the action is always fast and furious. Sound effects often key you to important options like the arrival and availability of new units. The sound quality is good with the nice touch of units speaking their native languages when clicked on.

Overall, this is a fine addition to the plethora of WWII real time strategy games. Unit function and capability means the players actually have to make choices and considerations about how to approach a given battle instead of the more familiar head rush tactics often seen in these types of games. Fans of this era should not hesitate to pick this game up.

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