Blitzkrieg II comes with tremendous focus on new strategic opportunities, global war and gritty realism of WWII battles. On the side of Soviet Armed Forces, US Army or German Wehrmacht you plan entire operations and lead your men into fierce action, choose reinforcements and use a wide range of new weapons in three full-blown campaigns that span the globe. While admittedly graphically impressive, Blitzkrieg 2 feels much more like your typical RTS fare of 'select all.

Would every games reviewer that has ever started a review of a WW2 RTS with a sentence along the lines of 'Oh God, not another WW2 RTS!' please go and stand next to that precipice over there.

Keep going. Keep going. Fantastic, that's perfect.

Right, now I'd like you all to stand really really still while my assistant here (Hans) removes the tarpaulin from this tripod-mounted Machinengewehr 42, gets comfortable, and commences firing.

Away you go Hans.

BRRRRRRRP-BRRRRRRRRP BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP. BRRRP-BRRRP.

Excellent. Thanks for your co-operation folks. This has been a public information massacre on behalf of the You-probably wouldn't-bash-a-sci-fi-or-fantasy-RTS-on-the-basis-of-its-subject-matter -so-please-refrain-from-doing-the-same-when-faced-with-a-WW2-RTS Society. Now, we can get on with the review.

Honey, I shrunk the Honey

You'll have gathered from the above that I'm one of those charming eccentrics that's still enthusiastic about games featuring shrunken Shermans and titchy Tiger tanks. Recent titles like Company of Heroes and Faces of War prove this well-stocked sub-genre still has a lot left to give as long as designers find an original angle, evoke the drama, or deliver a sufficiently rich tactical experience. Just because developers occasionally fail in all of these areas, serving-up tired, forgettable mediocrities like this sad standalone expansion pack for Blitzkrieg 2, doesn't mean the theme itself is worn out.

Fall of the Reich manages to be about as eye-catching as Stalingrad super-sniper Vasily Zaitsev by foolishly setting both its campaigns on the Eastern front during the final phase of WW2, introducing bugger-all in the way of new unit types, and adding no significant gameplay enhancements. BK2 veterans perusing the feature list will be struck by the chronic lack of ambition, newcomers, the startling lack of variety. One of the most appealing aspects of the now-budget-priced parent game was the wide selection of theatres and playable powers it offered. In addition to the rubbled towns and churned fields of Europe, battles raged through sweaty Asian jungles and desiccated African deserts. On reflection perhaps Nival should have held back some of these exotic settings for this add-on.

The two campaigns we've got here are inspired by the costly last-ditch defence of Kurland (Hitler orders a pointless defence of present-day Latvia) and Operation Bagration (the Soviets smash through Byelorussia into Poland). Missions are all prefabricated but there's limited choice in the sequence order thanks to a simple map-based selection system. Fail a scenario and you can come back to it later with a better choice of reinforcements (each victory adds new unit types to the reserves roster). Whether you'll actually want to return is another matter.

Poor bloody infantry

Here's how a typical FotR scenario plays out. See if you like the sound of it.

After a short text briefing (sadly, no empathy-enhancing cut-scenes here) you usually find yourself hovering kestrel-like above a road, field, or wood in which sits a gaggle of expectant infantry squads and armour. Ahead, obscured by grey murk, is your objective - often a village, town, bridge or railway station. Grabbing some grunts you move off. Within seconds this doomed vanguard spots and is spotted by trench-cowering defenders, sandbagged AT guns and waiting armour. Quickly you call in artillery and SPG bombardments and desperately try to withdraw what's left of your recon force. The stonk arrive almost instantaneously. Explosions stomp up and down the enemy line like giant invisible elephants. Eventually you get bored of indirect death-dealing and send your infantry up again with clusters of tanks in close support. More explosions, health bars melt like icicles on burning eves, vehicles grind to a halt, buildings crumble into rubble. Stillness returns.

Before you advance towards the next knot of trenches, guns, and tanks, there's time to use the reinforcement menu (usually you can do this half-a-dozen times during a scenario) and bring forward your precious repair trucks (not always available). Animal super squad dantdm. Most of your riflemen and submachine-gunners were slaughtered in that last exchange but as a troop of tanks are just as cheap as a troop of infantry it's tempting to restock solely with armour. With repairs complete and recruits ctrl-grouped the circus moves on.

Mission attrition

It would be misleading to suggest that every mission follows this grinding pattern (there are defensive and infantry-focussed episodes too) but many - too many - do. Some maps seem to have enemy AT guns on every street corner and tanks in every alley. The resulting scenarios have their moments of tension and excitement, but ultimately don't offer anything particularly distinctive or interesting to those of us that have been stewarding Shermans since the first Sudden Strike and Close Combat. Realism-wise Nival has gone to the trouble of ensuring tank types come with the right armour thicknesses in the right places, but this effort is undermined by the implausibly short view ranges, while-you-wait repairs, and barely noticeable morale modelling. FotR won't teach you anything about real WW2 tactics that you can't learn from a Commando comic.

So let's recap. What does a WW2 RTS need to succeed these days? One or more of the following certainly helps: drama, realism, tactical intricacy, an original angle, the odd change of scenery and pace. Which of these qualities does FotR possess? Erm.. if you can find a multiplayer opponent that agrees to show moderation when it comes to purchasing tanks and artillery, and doesn't mind playing the same four maps over and over again then I guess you could make a case for 'tactical intricacy'. Hardly a glowing endorsement. Wise WW2 strategy gamers will stick with Company of Heroes and Faces of War for the moment, saving their pennies for imminent releases like Close Combat: Cross of Iron (the daddy of real-time wargaming gets a well-deserved refit) and Theatre of War (a promising ex-Codemasters project originally monikered Battlefield Command finally gets a release thanks to the good folk that make Combat Mission).

4 /10

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11th January 2008

Releasing in February 2008, the Blitzkrieg 2 Anthology encompasses all three Blitzkrieg 2 games for the ultimate strategy war package. The set includes Blitzkrieg 2, Blitzkrieg 2 - Liberation and Blitzkrieg 2 Fall of the Reich.

Blitzkrieg 2

World War II is taken into full 3D with stunning visual effects to display all the battlefield action and glory. Players can command German, American and Russian World War 2 armies, taking charge of more than 250 types of historically accurate units, including 60 types of ground infantry. With over 80 missions and 15 multiplayer maps, players can enjoy creating their own single missions or campaigns.

Blitzkrieg 2 - Liberation

The gritty realism of World War II is brought to life with the choice of two different campaigns; lead the Allied forces as they battle through Italy or oversee the escape of the German and Italian armies from France. Impressive visuals mean you can experience the beautiful European landscape before your tank rumbles through and the bombs begin to fall.

Blitzkrieg 2 - Fall of the Reich

This covers three major offensives from the final days of fighting on The Eastern front. Soviet and German campaigns such as the 'Siege of Budapest,' 'Fortress Kurland' and 'Operation Bagration' can be played. 16 historically based missions will challenge beginner and veteran strategists as they try to capture or defend the remnants of the German war machine during the final days of World War II.

Blitzkrieg 2 - Anthology

Whether you tackle the unforgiving deserts of Northern Africa, the dangerous forests of the Ardennes, or the endless Steppe of the Eastern Front, Blitzkrieg 2 Anthology allows you to relive and experience the ultimate in World War II historic battles.

Fast facts:

Publisher: Ascaron Entertainment / Nobilis

Web: www.ascaron.com

Castle of the winds 2. Developer: Ino'Co / 1C

Release date: 29th February 2008

PEGI: +12

Format: PC

Genre: Battle Strategy

About Ascaron Entertainment

>From Day One in 1989 Ascaron Entertainment has become one of the leading European 'boutique' developers and Publishers of games for the PC, with many successful titles including Patrician, Port Royale, DarkStar One and SACRED.

Ascaron maintains development studios in Berlin, Gutersloh and Aachen (Germany), as well as an international department in Birmingham (UK). Ascaron currently markets its products in more than 40 countries and over 15 languages.

Ascaron Entertainment (UK) is an independent office and is highly regarded on a domestic and global scale. With a professional reputation, full-service product management, and a wealth of experience in the games industry, the UK operation manages the international releases of Ascaron's entire catalogue, whilst also providing a bespoke publishing, sales, PR and marketing function to selected affiliate label partners. Ascaron Entertainment (UK) continues to be responsible for successfully launching titles into the UK market from developers and publishers worldwide. Titles include the popular UFO, Panzers, Cossacks and Blitzkrieg series of games, as well as critically acclaimed hits such as Call of Juarez, Runaway: The Dream of the Turtle and TrackMania United.

For further press information please contact:

Sarah Holden / Stephen Denton

Media Safari

T: +44 (0)1225 731388

E: sarahh@mediasafari.co.uk / stephend@mediasafari.co.uk