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Panzer Elite
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Graphics & Sound:
Panzer Elite has graphics that are not too shabby. I won't say that they looked life-like, but I can say that the 16-bit rendering was beautiful. The detail in the tanks, as well as the surroundings, really enhanced the gameplay. The explosions looked and sounded life-like. I was more than mildly impressed. The graphics weren't great, but they were pretty good. I would recommend a Direct 3D based card over say a Voodoo because the game supports D3D and not Glide or OpenGL. I also have to give a few points to the use of black and white video sequences to coincide with the World War footages. I though that was a slick addition.
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Gameplay:
This is the latest (and probably the greatest) of games in a long line of the Panzer saga. As with all Panzers, this is a tank simulation. Panzer Elite is a long, involved game, with many options to keep you at your best (and to combat monotony). Instant action throws you right into the combat action. Choose your nationality, the number of tanks to command, and the types of tanks you need and start kicking . well you get the point. The single scenario option allows you to choose from one of forty scenarios (and two sides to choose from). And, of course, there is the campaign option. Not only are there multiple nationalities to choose from, but you also get to choose from among short, medium, and long campaigns. There is also a multiplayer option with which you can play up to four on the net or six on a LAN. There is a lot more to this game than just driving around and blowing stuff up. You really have to plan things out and manage your team. Everything from resources to combat to crews is under your control, and every one of them is important. As a matter of fact, the game comes with an extra book, just for the specs on the different units you will come across. Equipping your units and planning your attack is a vital part to the game. Then you can go blow stuff up. I'm not going to lie to you, the game gets pretty in-depth, but that's what we've come to expect from a Panzer, right? Panzer is so much more than just a tank sim; it's a war sim centered on tanks.
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Difficulty:
I found this game to be involved and innately accurate. For most people, that means difficult. It is hard, but not too difficult to where you can't have fun. Just in case, some realism settings were included to help you out. You can toggle on and off such things as
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Game Mechanics:
Unfortunate, the mechanics are the worst part. I found the response to the controls to be sluggish and sometimes inaccurate. I hope a future patch will fix this, but as it is now, it's pretty bad - not unplayable, but noticeable. If you use a joystick, you'll have an upper hand. The mouse/keyboard option is not the way to go. There are so many keys that it's kind of confusing. There is no time to look up a command in the middle of battle. A good joystick with lots of programmable buttons is definitely in order for this one. The game does support force feedback sticks and analog steering wheels. Again, that is a great alternative to the mouse/keyboard combo. The unresponsive mechanics and complex gameplay commands make this one a bit to hard to say it's great. However, it is a very good game and with a little patience (and a few patches?) this could be at the gateway to greatness. |
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-Storm, GameVortex Communications AKA Jeremy Kelso |
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows 95/98, Pentium 233, 32 MB RAM, 374 MB HD Space, 4 MB D3D card, 4X CD-ROM, Sound Card, Mouse, Keyboard, Direct X 6.1 |
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Test System:
P2 450, Windows 98 SE, 128MB RAM, Diamond Viper V770 Ultra w/32MB RAM, 2 Voodoo 2's SLI, 5x24 DVD-ROM, Monster Sound MX300, Direct X 7.0, Interact Magnum 6 Joystick |
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