E3 2002: Steel Beasts II preshow report

The sequel to the well-received 2000 tank simulation Steel Beasts will be on display at this year's E3. Steel Beasts II will simulate the operation of four of the world's most well-known modern-day combat tanks and will also have multiplayer options and various editing tools that will let you create custom maps and scenarios.

Though it wasn't especially famous or well known at the time, the original Steel Beasts ended up earning a great deal of critical acclaim for how realistically it modeled the handling and operation of the US M1A1 and Bradley IFV tanks. In fact, the game is actually being used for training at the US Military Academy at West Point. The sequel will attempt to accurately model a total of four real-world tanks by adding the Russian T-72 and the German Leopard 2A4. You will be able to play the game in a number of different ways, including taking control of a company of tanks or simply playing as the gunner in a single vehicle. As a result, you will be able to play Steel Beasts II like a real-time strategy game with wargame elements or as a full-blown tank simulator--just like the original game.

Among other things, Steel Beasts II will have all-new night and weather effects, as well as a new personnel management system for your troops--a system based on actual feedback from veteran gunnery soldiers. In addition, the sequel will have a brand-new look, thanks to its new graphics engine and new game art. The sequel's new editing tools will give you lots of flexibility with respect to customizing tanks, weapon loadouts, and other details and will also allow for specific event triggers during the course of each custom-built mission.

Steel Beasts II is currently in development at Sunnyvale, California-based eSim Games, but so far no release date has been announced yet for this promising tank simulator sequel. We'll have more information from the show floor.