Codename: Panzers Impressions

We had a chance to get a demonstration of CDV's upcoming WWII-themed real-time strategy game, Codename: Panzers, at E3 2003. The game is being developed by Stormregion, the creator of SWINE, a humorous RTS game that pit rabbits against pigs. Codename: Panzers features a more conventional World War II theme, but it manages to set itself apart with impressive graphics and gameplay elements.

Codename: Panzers' focus is strictly on battle. The game includes no base building at all--you simply get a set number of units and use them to fight each battle. There are 30 missions in all, divided into three campaigns that depict events in the war between 1939 and 1945. The first campaign will put you in charge of the Germans as they invade Poland and work their way into Russia. The second campaign will have you controlling the Russians as they defend Moscow and then march on Berlin. The final campaign will begin with the Allied invasion of Normandy and chronicle the push to Berlin.

There are more than 100 different units in the game, each of which is rendered in full 3D. Infantry come in squads that range in size depending on their weapon--a standard rifle team, for example, might consist of five or six individual soldiers, while a sniper team consists of two soldiers. Infantry can crawl or crouch to reduce their target profile on the battlefield, and you can also order them to jump in and drive any unmanned vehicles you might find.

Your units gain experience as they survive battles, affecting both their proficiency with their weapons and their hearing. Codename: Panzers includes a sophisticated detection system that models not only line of sight, but also the hearing capability of your units. It's possible, for example, to hear an enemy vehicle rumbling behind a line of houses. This will be represented onscreen by a generic vehicle icon if your units are rookies. If you have more experienced soldiers, they will take a guess, and you might see a translucent icon of a Panzer IV tank, but upon investigation find that it's actually a Tiger tank. If you have veteran units, they will be able to determine with almost absolute certainty the identity of different vehicles by their sound.

There will also be dozens of different vehicle types in the game, including jeeps and tanks, each modeled meticulously for both graphics and gameplay. We watched as a tank maneuvered around the battlefield, its suspension bouncing with each stop and start and its treads rolling around its drive wheels in a realistic fashion. The environments in the game are destructible, and tanks can knock down fences, trees, and telephone poles. They can also roll up and over the top of sandbag barriers, allowing you to easily overrun machine gun emplacements. Each vehicle will have its armor thickness in the front, side, and rear taken into account by the game, so it's obviously advantageous to flank your opponent and attack from an unexpected angle.

One of Codename: Panzers' most interesting features is the ability to use flamethrower troops to force enemy vehicle crews out of their equipment. If you bring up some flame units and attack a tank, for example, a temperature gauge will appear next to the tank. When the gauge reaches the top, the crew bails out of the tank, making them vulnerable to small-arms fire. However, the tank itself remains unharmed, making it possible to capture enemy vehicles in this fashion.

As a battlefield commander, you will have the ability to call in three different types of support strikes: artillery, bomber, or fighter. An artillery barrage is the most powerful, but it tends to have a more dispersed effect in the area you specify. You can also call in a heavy bomber, which targets its explosive payload more precisely than artillery, but lumbers slowly into the battlefield, making it vulnerable to antiaircraft fire. The fighter attack comes in the fastest, but delivers the least damage.

Codename: Panzers is slated for release on the PC in early 2004. With its impressive graphics and numerous gameplay features, Codename: Panzers stands out as one of the most impressive strategy games shown at E3 2003. We'll bring you more details on this promising game as they become available.