Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943 Review

Achtung Panzer is set in the period between February 2nd and March 3rd 1943, during this time the German Army was facing the Soviets in a pitch battle for the strategic point of Kharkov. This was to prove a decisive battle in the war for the Russian Front. This is however not a particularly well know battle in World War II and I had to go to the great fountain of knowledge that is Google to enlighten myself on the actual historical information.

I could at this point go into the rhyme and reason behind the offensive from a historical point of view, but that not why you're here. You are here to find out what kind of game is laid out for you. And I will waste no more time in the history of the battles, this information, if you want to read about it is laid out for you in the quite extensive manual for the game. The manual for this game will become your friend and ally throughout the playing of Achtung Panzer, believe me.

The game starts by presenting you with a list of available battles to take on, these are historically accurate and the maps are painstakingly modelled after the real terrain. The battles themselves are modelled from documents, and memoirs of participants involved in the battles. This provides an almost never before seen accuracy in a strategy game of this type. Units are accurately kitted out, each with their own stats for basic morale etc, and as such have a level of AI I am very impressed with.

I will, at this point, make clear this is no Real-Time Strategy fun fest, no resource gathering, no mobbing the enemy with a horde of cannon fodder riflemen. Every unit is precious, each unit has a role to perform, and when lost can make a strategic decision made ten minutes earlier seem even more meaningful. The enemy is just as focused on winning as you are, it is the first time I have sat and watched an enemy take the time to pull in a couple of my units just to be able to flank them and attack from behind. Tactics are what will win you these battles, not just superior firepower or out numbering the enemy. I have won battles with 6 units when faced with 20 plus enemy units, purely with some devious strategy and careful planning.

The game has two modes to it. The Tactical and Operation phases. The operation mode is the initial phase where troops and units are deployed on the battle field; it is also where you get your first view of the objectives and terrain ahead of you. Here is where the battle can be won or lost. You must decide which points are essential to capture and which can be left as backups if things go a bit awry in your plans. This is the beauty of Achtung Panzer, you don't have to annihilate the enemy, just push him back from strategic points and control them yourself, just like real war.

Once you have done your deployment and thought about your tactics, it's on to the Tactical phase, this is the more familiar 3D map mode of the tradition Real Time Strategy game, it is more here though to see your units engage the enemy, change your tactics on the fly and issue attack orders when necessary, it can be paused at any time to issue new movement orders and alter your plans, which you will be doing, trust me on that one. There is also an option to use a tactical map which shows fields of view and fire arcs to help with setting your tactics on the move. Graphically the game isn't going to win any beauty prizes, but then again, if you're playing this game you are a strategy purist and it's the game you're here for and not the graphics. It does have its moments however and its it nice to see your artillery flatten an enemy outpost - nice big bangs, always good in a war game.

Included with the game is a basic battle editor so you can create your own missions and skirmishes, the game also supports user created modding, so expect the, no doubt fanatical, online community to change certain elements, add new units, and even full campaigns in time.

The game itself is not as hard to get into as some I have played, but is quite a bit more in depth when you scratch the surface. It's not a game for beginners, not by any stretch of the imagination, but more for a seasoned player, who has some time to sit and appreciate the work that has gone into the game and its creation. I applaud the developers for their attention to detail and their creation of one of the best strategy games I have seen in a long time.