The Wargamer

Gameplay and AI Observations

Call me a fool or a glutton for punishment, but I chose to jump right in and start playing the full German 14^th Panzer Division campaign for Kharkov in May 1942.  This campaign consisted of several attack scenarios for securing bridgeheads, clearing towns and destroying enemy forces.  It then transitioned into a couple of increasingly difficult defense scenarios as Soviet forces made desperate counter-attacks to break out of the pocket they were finding themselves in, and finally a counter-attack scenario as 14^th Panzer Division was used in a fire brigade role.  Scenario setups were quick with improved group placement and facing commands to speed up deployments.  I chose Easy Mode against my untested computer opponent, wanting to find out for myself whether the AI was a pushover or not.  It’s not.  I consistently eked out marginal victories, and in one case a marginal loss, which proves either the AI is pretty darn good even on the low setting or I am woefully rusty on my Eastern Front tactics.  The game system just takes a little time to get used to.  Yeah, that’s the ticket...

The Good.  Gameplay is very realistic and the graphics are compelling.  The battles progressed in a reasonable manner, with units getting lucky breaks occasionally but also taking their lumps while under fire.  I began to pay more attention in this sequel game to my unit orders, particularly Regroup which for example helped units move quickly in column across a bridge or between buildings.  I also experimented more with Advance, which is a slow cautious movement with one fire opportunity per phase, versus Engage > Move, which is a normal movement with no fire.  The scenarios have objective flags, and at some point I found it worthwhile to break off fire to expeditiously ‘capture the flag(s)’ and end the scenario.  Call for indirect fire worked well, including the new on-map mortars.  As I became more comfortable with the game system, translating what I mentally wanted my forces to do into getting them to actually do it in the game became easier and more efficient.  There is a slight learning curve, but not too bad.  Along the way, players may notice a few light-hearted features inserted in the game, such as outhouses on the farms and dead cows lying in pastures.

The Not-So-Good.  For me, the normal speed playback each turn was too boring; I had to speed things up to about 2x.  I am still undecided if I like the Camera Moves To Kill feature on or off; it certainly helps zero in on key shots but is often distracting as I am trying to follow something else.  At times when I thought I was selecting a command unit for a unit movement, it turned out to be only that individual unit that moved; this is a feature of the game mechanics that players need to watch closely and check if group orders are used or not.  I also noticed that some units would automatically retarget as necessary, which is a nice new feature, but many times units would halt and not do anything until manually ordered.  Although collision handling has supposedly been improved, and it has, there were still several instances where units would ‘bunch up’ or individual vehicles might get separated and stuck against a river or building.  It is much better, but not quite perfect yet.

Compared with the first Panzer Command: Operation Winter Storm, the Panzer Command: Kharkov sequel plays considerably better.  As an example to show several of the new features, the following screenshots are taken from the Defense of Chepel battle.  By May 22, 1942, the trap has closed on the Soviet 6^th and 57^th Armies.  Group Sherstiuk with elements of the 242^nd Rifle Division and 114^th Tank Brigade is attempting to break through the 14^th Panzer Division, where it defends the town of Chepel and its river crossings.  In the first screenshot below, an infantry squad in foxholes is overwatching a river crossing.  Soviet artillery is laying a smoke screen.  The Germans have a hasty protective minefield emplaced on the near side of the bridge, represented by the red dots.  Using the LOS tool for the selected squad, most of the sighting of the advancing Soviet tanks is blocked by terrain and only one tank is spotted.  A more detailed sighting table in the game now allows for more realistic sighting resolution, especially at shorter ranges.

German Infantry Platoon in Foxholes Defending Chepel

In the second screenshot below, advancing German PzKpfw IIIJ panzers have a different perspective of the battlefield.  The selected panzer is under fire from two T34-76 tanks and is auto-targeting one of them.  This panzer can spot about six Soviet tanks, highlighted within the green circle.  Panzer Command: Kharkov now has fully relative spotting, where each unit only sees what it can see and players can click on a friendly unit and enemy units it cannot see are hidden from view, making it easy to see who can be targeted.

German PzKpfw IIIJ Panzers Advancing to Reinforce Chepel

In the third screenshot below, the perspective from the Soviet side is shown.  A company of T34-76 tanks is advancing towards Chepel.  Clicking on an enemy unit now shows what it is targeting with a red line.  This is the AI opponent in action, now more intelligent on the attack as well as on defense.  It chooses task forces and orders more optimally and is smarter about its objective.  Also, note that the main display and head-up display (HUD) remain the same as in the first game, and the graphics are noticeably improved.

Soviet T34-76 Tanks Attempting to Break Through Chepel