I'm a strategy nut when it comes to my PC gaming. I've played Starcraft, C&C, Red alert series and even tried my hand at a few hex based games on Gametap. I went into Panzer tactics with a keen eye for any similarities between this strategy gem and my first strategy game (which revolved around world war two and all wars up to 1999), Steel Panthers.
To start off, you can choose from the any of the big players in the European theater. Germany, Soviet Union (Russia), Allies. While we don't see Japan anywhere in sight on this game, its not supposed to make an appearance, what with the lack of epic Japanese tank battles in world war two.
The German campaign is the easiest. You fight in all the major battles but also in less well-known battles. For example, when did your history professor ever mention Germany's invasion of Norway? So I was thrilled when the game didn't just go into the traditional Poland-France-Soviet union rout. The game developers definitely give you a history lesson or two with these little known battles.
The Soviet Campaign See's you doing what you did in the German campaign. The battles are bigger though and the odds are less favorable for you at first. Fight your way from the battle of Moscow all the way to the battle of Berlin. Again the attention to detail here was great as you get to command KV1's and Katusha rocket launchers. The whole campaign will have you seeing red and spreading the word about the game to your comrades. If they give you strange then suspect em off to Siberia. Enemies of the people just don't understand the sheer awesomeness of blowing up Hitler’s troops in the dead of winter.
The Allied campaign starts you off in Sicily and guides you through a number of missions such as the landings on pearl harbor. To save space the allied campaign has you taking charge of both American and British forces in missions. It’s the hardest campaign to win yet no less satisfying then the last two.
This game has been compared allot to advanced wars. This isn't a bad thing in the least. If you are a fan of the advanced wars series then you'll be both familiar and impressed by this deeper and more realistic look a like.
There are some things that Advanced Wars and Panzer Tactics have in common. Great battle scenes are one of them. Your top screen shows animated showdowns between tanks, artillery and air battles that have detailed 2D units slugging it out in cinematic showdowns for your viewing pleasure. Advanced wars however had a much more turn based system of combat where one side would fire off there shots and then the other side would return fire after taking the hits you dished out. With Panzer tactics, both sides are shooting at one another at roughly the same time and it feels much more realistic.
Details are another area where Panzer Tactics feels like a genuine real time strategy game, rather then having light, medium, heavy units, you get actual names for each of the units. each side has it own armored car, which looks different for each side and carries its historical name. Rather then have a truck, the Germans for example have Opel trucks with detailed pictures appearing next to the unit stats.
Just like Advanced wars you have to re-supply your troops, everything from fuel to ammunition has to be taken into account. If you run out of fuel or ammo then your units won't move, won't shoot but should make good target practice for your opponents troops. Another example of realism for the game would be capturing airfields and moving basing your aircraft there for quick strikes instead of expending boat loads of fuel on what are the SUV's of the game fuel wise to attack your enemy at the other end of the map.
Terrain like tree's, cliffs and even the roads all have an effect on game play. The most fun I had with the Russian campaign was taking advantage of old man winters mutual dislike of the Germans. Little things like cover and visibility play a big roll in deciding who wins the battles that decide who wins the war in Panzer Tactics.
One thing I found slightly odd was how in each mission you absolutely cannot lose five core starting units or you fail the mission. I can understand the developer wanting us to be cautious and smart with our units but anything you lose you can replace (if you have the fame points!), in much the same way you could buy units in Advanced Wars.
Overall I felt the game was a very big drain on hours to get through the missions let alone all the campaigns. The details and realism are a welcome improvement over the only other major strategy game on the DS, Advanced Wars. The time taken to complete the game and the fact you absolutely must have a stylus to protect your hands from an early onset of arthritis however take away from scoring this game a 100%. I'll settle on a 95% rating.
PRO's: realism, cinematic cut scenes, attention to detail. Hex based game play is familiar territory to strategy fans.
CONS: The game feels long and missions by themselves can go on for almost an hour or so each. Trying to play the game without a stylus genuinely hurts the digits. No real reason to fail a player for losing units they can easily replace.
