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- Nov 22, 2010
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All in all, this latest addition to the Panzers series makes for a very average RTS experience. While being visually impressive, and offering a number of mildly entertaining micromanagement options, it will not challenge nor will it satisfy RTS fans looking for something new.
"Ever since the original Command and Conquer, human tissue has apparently been nigh on immune to rocket propelled balls of exploding chemicals."
At the heart of ‘Codename: Panzers Cold War’ lies a gameplay dynamic which essentially represents everything I dislike about the Real-time strategy (RTS) genre. This may sound harsh, but if it were not for the high production values, excellent visuals and sound effects as well as a few novelty attempts to turn what is essentially a run-of-the-mill point-and-click RTS into something more, Panzers would have been a disaster.
That said, Panzers Cold War is not terrible, just boring and uninspired. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good RTS, but the standard click and fire tank rush dynamic is getting a bit dated. The recent Dawn of War II is a prime example of what can be achieved when a developer challenges tried conventions and strives to create a gameplay experience that is unique and tactically varied.
The Premise
Picking up shortly after WWII, Panzers Cold War allows players to step into a “what if” campaign, where an accidental plane crash between a Russian and Allied aircraft serves as a catalyst which ignites a war between NATO and Soviet forces.
The player has 18 single player missions to complete as part of the game’s main campaign. The scenery is varied enough, taking players from snowy forests to towns and industrial centers. The player will also have an ample amount of units to command, upgrade and promote through the RPG-like leveling system.
Gameplay
We truly empathize with the developers on this one, as it is clear that an effort was made to mix things up and keep the gameplay interesting. Single player missions will task players with a variety of objectives, such as repairing dam walls, escorting convoys, planting explosives and of course capturing and defending special locations. Panzers, at least at face value, provides far more variety than the superior Dawn of War II.
Unfortunately however, the different gameplay objectives are usually just masked versions of one systemic and repetitive routine; go there, kill them, wait here, hold this location, go there etc. There are few a subtle attempts to enrich the experience, such as the cover system. However, one gets the sense that they were tacked on as an afterthought, rather than being an essential part of the gameplay dynamic.
One of the biggest faults with the gameplay dynamic is its strict adherence to the formulaic “hit-point vs damage” principle. Players will often watch with sheer boredom as their units face off against enemy units, shooting at each other in open, flat terrain, and slowly watching the health bars go down over the span of a good 30 seconds. Players can command their units to lob grenades at enemy units, but after the first few times it becomes apparent that this is a pointless exercise as a point blank grenade explosion will merely remove a few hit points, with not so much as an enemy unit dying or being thrown across the terrain. In contrast, a well placed grenade in Dawn of War II will cause immediate death and destruction, making it a most rewarding strategic maneuver.
Rockets don’t kill people, (only) people with guns kill people
Panzers Cold War also adheres to a startling RTS law that plagues the Command and Conquer universe. Ever since the original Command and Conquer, human tissue has apparently been nigh on immune to rocket propelled balls of exploding chemicals.
Come on now, seriously, since when do rocket launchers not damage soldiers? Have these developers never played Quake? I understand the paper-rock-scissors approach to RTS unit balancing, but it is ridiculous that a platoon of RPG wielding soldiers is out matched by a light infantry division.
Surely it would take just one of those rockets to land within a five meter radius of a group of enemy soldiers to blow them all to smithereens? Nope, apparently Soviet infantry eat rockets for breakfast. And heaven forbid you should be silly enough to assume that a direct hit from the main cannon of your M-48 Patton tank would kill a single infantry sniper in the case of a direct hit.
If this overused RTS dynamic does not bother you, then forgive me, but I for one would like to see a little bit more creativity and realism go into the manner in which different units do damage to each other.
Campaign management
One of Panzers Cold War's strengths in the gameplay department is the fact that players are allowed to carry their units from mission to mission. They will gain experience, granting them additional hit points and improving their damage. Players will be able to purchase new units in between missions, and will be limited as to what they can take into each operation. This system works well as players are likely to preserve the lives of their important units, giving the entire experience a little bit more depth.
Unit customization
Apart from units leveling up as a result of accumulated combat experience, players will also be able to customize their units by giving them special weapons, armor etc. Tanks can be outfitted with special anti-tank barrels or given additional armor for example, while infantry units can be given special weapons.
Infantry can build mechanic posts or aid tents, lay mines and sandbags, dig foxholes and even tunnel. The green beret can even use an inflatable boat to cross water.
While it feels like Stormregion made an effort to tweak some of the gameplay options, too much of the combat focus boils down to rather simple point and click gameplay. Perhaps if more time and effort had been put into bolstering the combat system more meaningfully, rather than just adding what are essentially ineffective novelty perks, the game would have been a lot more engaging and enjoyable.
Let’s get technical
One of the strong points in Codename: Panzers Cold War is the quality of its visual rendering. To be frank, the game is beautiful and detailed. We cannot see how the visuals could really have been improved on, and Stormregion did a truly excellent job of rendering everything with impressive detail.
We love that buildings, units, trees and vehicles were all designed to scale. Players can zoom up close and rotate the camera a full 360 degrees. Furthermore, the game ran well on high settings on a fairly lowish end dual-core with 2GB and an Nvidia 8800GTS 320MB.
The sound effects are up to scratch, with different vehicles and units making unique sounds. The voice acting is believable, and all in all, the game’s presentation is technically flawless.
Unfortunately however, Cold War does suffer from a few bugs. One in particular would crop up with a fair level of regularity, causing the game to crash, and at some points would even remove saved games, a most frustrating habit that made finishing the game a longer and more painful process than it would have been had everything worked properly.
Conclusion
All in all, this latest addition to the Panzers series makes for a very average RTS experience. While being visually impressive, and offering a number of mildly entertaining micromanagement options, it will not challenge nor will it satisfy RTS fans looking for something new.
"Ever since the original Command and Conquer, human tissue has apparently been nigh on immune to rocket propelled balls of exploding chemicals."
At the heart of ‘Codename: Panzers Cold War’ lies a gameplay dynamic which essentially represents everything I dislike about the Real-time strategy (RTS) genre. This may sound harsh, but if it were not for the high production values, excellent visuals and sound effects as well as a few novelty attempts to turn what is essentially a run-of-the-mill point-and-click RTS into something more, Panzers would have been a disaster.
That said, Panzers Cold War is not terrible, just boring and uninspired. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good RTS, but the standard click and fire tank rush dynamic is getting a bit dated. The recent Dawn of War II is a prime example of what can be achieved when a developer challenges tried conventions and strives to create a gameplay experience that is unique and tactically varied.
The Premise
Picking up shortly after WWII, Panzers Cold War allows players to step into a “what if” campaign, where an accidental plane crash between a Russian and Allied aircraft serves as a catalyst which ignites a war between NATO and Soviet forces.
The player has 18 single player missions to complete as part of the game’s main campaign. The scenery is varied enough, taking players from snowy forests to towns and industrial centers. The player will also have an ample amount of units to command, upgrade and promote through the RPG-like leveling system.
Gameplay
We truly empathize with the developers on this one, as it is clear that an effort was made to mix things up and keep the gameplay interesting. Single player missions will task players with a variety of objectives, such as repairing dam walls, escorting convoys, planting explosives and of course capturing and defending special locations. Panzers, at least at face value, provides far more variety than the superior Dawn of War II.
Unfortunately however, the different gameplay objectives are usually just masked versions of one systemic and repetitive routine; go there, kill them, wait here, hold this location, go there etc. There are few a subtle attempts to enrich the experience, such as the cover system. However, one gets the sense that they were tacked on as an afterthought, rather than being an essential part of the gameplay dynamic.
One of the biggest faults with the gameplay dynamic is its strict adherence to the formulaic “hit-point vs damage” principle. Players will often watch with sheer boredom as their units face off against enemy units, shooting at each other in open, flat terrain, and slowly watching the health bars go down over the span of a good 30 seconds. Players can command their units to lob grenades at enemy units, but after the first few times it becomes apparent that this is a pointless exercise as a point blank grenade explosion will merely remove a few hit points, with not so much as an enemy unit dying or being thrown across the terrain. In contrast, a well placed grenade in Dawn of War II will cause immediate death and destruction, making it a most rewarding strategic maneuver.
Rockets don’t kill people, (only) people with guns kill people
Panzers Cold War also adheres to a startling RTS law that plagues the Command and Conquer universe. Ever since the original Command and Conquer, human tissue has apparently been nigh on immune to rocket propelled balls of exploding chemicals.
Come on now, seriously, since when do rocket launchers not damage soldiers? Have these developers never played Quake? I understand the paper-rock-scissors approach to RTS unit balancing, but it is ridiculous that a platoon of RPG wielding soldiers is out matched by a light infantry division.
Surely it would take just one of those rockets to land within a five meter radius of a group of enemy soldiers to blow them all to smithereens? Nope, apparently Soviet infantry eat rockets for breakfast. And heaven forbid you should be silly enough to assume that a direct hit from the main cannon of your M-48 Patton tank would kill a single infantry sniper in the case of a direct hit.
If this overused RTS dynamic does not bother you, then forgive me, but I for one would like to see a little bit more creativity and realism go into the manner in which different units do damage to each other.
Campaign management
One of Panzers Cold War's strengths in the gameplay department is the fact that players are allowed to carry their units from mission to mission. They will gain experience, granting them additional hit points and improving their damage. Players will be able to purchase new units in between missions, and will be limited as to what they can take into each operation. This system works well as players are likely to preserve the lives of their important units, giving the entire experience a little bit more depth.
Unit customization
Apart from units leveling up as a result of accumulated combat experience, players will also be able to customize their units by giving them special weapons, armor etc. Tanks can be outfitted with special anti-tank barrels or given additional armor for example, while infantry units can be given special weapons.
Infantry can build mechanic posts or aid tents, lay mines and sandbags, dig foxholes and even tunnel. The green beret can even use an inflatable boat to cross water.
While it feels like Stormregion made an effort to tweak some of the gameplay options, too much of the combat focus boils down to rather simple point and click gameplay. Perhaps if more time and effort had been put into bolstering the combat system more meaningfully, rather than just adding what are essentially ineffective novelty perks, the game would have been a lot more engaging and enjoyable.
Let’s get technical
One of the strong points in Codename: Panzers Cold War is the quality of its visual rendering. To be frank, the game is beautiful and detailed. We cannot see how the visuals could really have been improved on, and Stormregion did a truly excellent job of rendering everything with impressive detail.
We love that buildings, units, trees and vehicles were all designed to scale. Players can zoom up close and rotate the camera a full 360 degrees. Furthermore, the game ran well on high settings on a fairly lowish end dual-core with 2GB and an Nvidia 8800GTS 320MB.
The sound effects are up to scratch, with different vehicles and units making unique sounds. The voice acting is believable, and all in all, the game’s presentation is technically flawless.
Unfortunately however, Cold War does suffer from a few bugs. One in particular would crop up with a fair level of regularity, causing the game to crash, and at some points would even remove saved games, a most frustrating habit that made finishing the game a longer and more painful process than it would have been had everything worked properly.
Conclusion
All in all, this latest addition to the Panzers series makes for a very average RTS experience. While being visually impressive, and offering a number of mildly entertaining micromanagement options, it will not challenge nor will it satisfy RTS fans looking for something new.