Panzer Elite (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.1 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Patrick Miller
• Reviewed on: 11/19/1999
• Updated on: 05/02/2000
• Released on: 09/30/1999
• Originally published on GameSpot: Panzer Elite (PC) Review

1998 was to be the year that tank simulation fans would have their long-standing wish fulfilled for a realistic World War II tank sim. No fewer than three such games were scheduled for release: Interactive Magic's iPanzer '44, SSI's Panzer Commander, and Psygnosis' Panzer Elite. iPanzer and Panzer Commander were released on schedule, and SSI's game was generally considered the better of the two. However, Psygnosis elected to hold on to Panzer Elite for another year of development by German developer Wings Simulations. It would appear that the extra time paid off, because Panzer Elite is without a doubt the most realistic 1940s tank sim yet released. Even so, the game contains numerous bugs out of the box, requires a fast system, and has a steep learning curve. In addition, the campaigns covering battles between the Americans and Germans in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Normandy limit the game's scope.

It's inevitable that comparisons will be made between Panzer Elite and SSI's Panzer Commander. The most glaring omission from SSI's game was infantry, but Wings did not make the same mistake with Panzer Elite. Although the bitmapped infantry units won't wow you, driving your tank platoon into a town occupied by enemy infantry is a sure recipe for disaster - as it should be. American infantry armed with bazookas and German infantry armed with panzerfaust and panzerschreck antitank weapons will move about in close terrain and pick off your vehicles one by one. Therefore, making use of combined arms (armor, infantry, and artillery) is a necessity.

Panzer Commander featured air and artillery support, but you had no control over it. Panzer Elite lets you put artillery and air strikes where you need them, when you need them. The only problem with Panzer Elite's treatment of artillery is that it seems unrealistically deadly as a tank killer and is perhaps more lethal than it should be against infantry under cover.

Panzer Commander's terrain was good, but Panzer Elite's terrain is better. The dips and folds in the ground that can provide armor with cover and concealment, even in relatively flat desert terrain, are present in both games. What sets Panzer Elite apart is the close terrain. Forests are made up of individual trees and bushes. Towns consist of walls, fences, ruins, and buildings that can be smashed through by your tanks.

Panzer Elite also deserves credit for having better artificial intelligence that not only makes enemy units fight smarter, but also helps the members of your tank platoon stay near your command tank. This lets them make a real contribution in battle. In too many Panzer Commander scenarios, you sometimes felt as if it was your tank against the world because your platoonmates either got stuck on an obstacle or were quickly destroyed.

Panzer Elite provides an innovative feature that lets you maneuver your tanks individually to locations you select. However, this doesn't always work as it should. Sometimes your tanks will end up in positions far different than you intended or will take convoluted routes that unnecessarily expose them to danger. It's a great idea that's flawed in execution.

The game's interface relies heavily on a mind-boggling array of keyboard commands. The "mouse tank" feature, an onscreen line diagram showing your tank's heading and the relative position of the turret and hull, lets you give basic commands through a pop-up menu to members of your tank platoon, either individually or as a group. You can also use the pop-up menu to jump to different crew positions, such as the loader, gunner, driver, radio operator/hull machine gunner, and commander. However, you'll soon discover there are many other useful commands that aren't displayed on the menu. Plus, in the heat of battle, the keyboard commands can be issued far more quickly.After experiencing difficulties getting my CH Products USB joystick to work correctly (a problem since corrected by the 1.06c patch), I switched to using the mouse and keyboard commands. This was the first tank sim that I'd ever played without using a joystick, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover how well it worked with the mouse.

The two major areas in which Panzer Commander bests Panzer Elite are vehicle graphics and the variety of tanks available for command. Panzer Commander's vehicles look more realistic. They are also more detailed and better animated. In addition, Panzer Commander lets you use German, British, American, and Russian tanks from the war's beginning to its end. These range from light tanks to the heavy "supertanks" fielded late in the war.

In contrast, Panzer Elite only covers battles between American and German units from December 1942 until August 1944. On the American side, you command the basic M4 Sherman variants, including the 75mm-armed M4A1, the 76mm-armed M4A3, and the heavily armored Sherman Jumbo assault tank. On the German side, you command variations of the Panzer Mark IV, the Tiger I, and the Panther. There are dozens of other armored and infantry-support units in the game.

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