Panzer Tactics DS

"Panzer General.... to go."

Full Disclosure:
Yes I own and love the Panzer/Pacific/Fantasy/Allied General series of games. I own just about all of them. So I might be a little biased. You have been warned.

GamePlay:
If you liked Advance Wars but don't like WW2 combat, this game might not be for you. This game is still the classic rock/paper/scissors style game where one type beats the other, but is weak against something else. Only taken to a more Pokemon level of complexity with types. Toss in some of the terrain aspects like Advance Wars and you are getting close. The complexity of combat and types is pretty high, but not Rise and Fall of the Third Reich high. It can be a bit daunting for those new to the genre.

What you will find in this game that is missing from AW is the venerable Zone of Control. ZoC prevents opposing units from moving through a hex adjacent to one of your units. You can move 1 Hex if already adjacent, but thats it. Air unit ZoC only applies to air units, and ground to ground. This is a very powerful tactic to pinning a unit to keep it from running. I often use my bombers to pin opposing air units for my fighters or AA units to come in a kill. To pin, place one at 12o'clock and one at 6o'clock (or any 180deg offset to each other). It can be dangerous pinning fighters, but your bombers can hold his bombers with no real recourse. You can make a "wall" using units every 3 hexes away from each other. When you face opposing pre-placed bunkers, they are usually in this arrangement, forcing you to punch a hole in the wall before making your way through.

Everyone should be familiar with the Fog of War by now, so I wont go into details as it plays like most other games with ambushes for running into hidden units.

Lastly, cities and terrain are huge in this game. Infantry in cities need to be dug out with artillery or level bombers. Slamming the biggest armor unit you have against level 5 entrenched infantry is an act of futility. Terrain and cities can turn the rock/paper/scissors on its head. This is where the new players run from the game in disgust

Units:
This game has a good selection of units for all sides, but no where near the quantity of the PC General games. And to be honest, thats not such a bad thing. There were a lot of sub-standard units in those games that were menu clutter. Just about all the units in this game are actually useful.

There are 2 new units types for this game:
Commando: This an infantry type that is a below average attack unit but has special abilities. First, it is hidden to all but opposing commando units. Second, it can carry out 3 attacks against units without engaging in combat. Assassination: kills opposing unit's officer. Propaganda: demorolizes the unit. Sabotage: destroys the units ammo and fuel. After using a special attack, the Commando becomes visible to all units until it can return to a friendly city to "re-hide".
IMHO, sabotage is the strongest of these attacks as a unit with no ammo doesn't return fire, making it an easy kill.

Officers: These are not real units, but rather like a re-assignable enhancement to your units. They are quite expensive, but can provide some really strong boosts (like +1 artillery range). Much like Stratego's Spy vs Marshall, you have to be careful of the opposing Commando units getting in an assassination.
You can play the entire game without officers, but they can make a big difference in specific situations.


Story Line:
Its WW2. Been told many times before, so don't expect anything too exciting from it. The individual campaigns are pretty good, following history fairly well, taking a few liberties here and there, but otherwise respectable.

Sound/Graphics:
The problem of these types of games is unit identification on the battlefield. Its really easy to lose track of what unit is where just by looking at the map. Sadly you can't pull the overview map to the touch screen and stylus over the dots to see the units and thier health. Some of the armor and mobile AT/artillery units look a lot alike, so you will find yourself spending time selecting units to be sure your tanks are where they need to be. The sound is average, but I didn't buy this game for the soundtrack (unlike the exceptional soundtrack for Fantasy General.. Ill admit to having ripped the CD and put them on my mp3 player).

Replay Factor:
Depends on your level of perfection. You can always go back and go for all 3 star ratings and lose no core units, but its always easier the second time through because you know where the surprises are.


I can't recommend this game for everyone, because not everyone is going to like it. If you like Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, etc. on the DS, then this game is up your alley, even if its far more in depth on many levels that what you are used to. If you don't like turn based or historical combat, you probably aren't going to enjoy this game.

Gameplay: 9
Units: 10
Story: 7
Sound: 7
Replay: 7
Final: 8/10 Worth the $30.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/15/07

Game Release: Panzer Tactics DS (US, 11/06/07)