At first glance what strikes you about Blitzkrieg is it's similarity to Sudden Strike (developed by Fireglow and also published by CDV). The look and feel of the game will be immediately familiar to players of both Strike games and this includes screen layout, control systems and scenery. But if you delve deeper differences become apparent including nicer graphics, improvements to the campaign and general gameplay.

First off there is the campaign structure. There are three campaigns (the usual suspects of the Axis, Soviets and Allies) but right from the onset of the game the amount of research and detail that has been put into this is apparent. Each campaign is loosely based around the history of the war with the campaign being broken down into chapters. At the beginning of each chapter you are given a run down of the campaign along with a stylish situation map. From here you can choose to complete the main mission of the chapter (a tough ask up front) or undertake side missions that will reward you with more and better units before taking on the tougher missions. A very cool concept and well executed.

As you progress through the game you as the commander gain experience in areas such as logistics, tactics, training, art of war and sense of duty all of which establish your rank in the army. As you progress in rank more and better units become available to you (acts of particular brilliance are rewarded with medals). This RPG type element also applies to your core units. As you progress these units are carried over from one battle to the next so noble but fruitless tank charges are a thing of the past as you husband your units and constantly keep them repaired. With better experience comes greater accuracy and fighting ability and at the end of the mission depending on the situation there is an option to upgrade the unit entirely to new weapons and armour. All this makes for a real sense of unit command and ownership and a degree of purpose to the overall campaign.

The combat takes place from an isometric view in the style of most RTS games of today. The missions themselves are many and varied, from escort missions, defence, recon and fully fledged assaults. More often than not each mission has multiple objectives and there is a degree of flexibility around the order these can be completed in. You start the mission from your logistical depot or supply dump with your core units and any additional allocations for the mission type (there is no base building or resource gathering). Unless there is some scripted re-enforcements what you see is what you get. You need to plan carefully how you will utilise your limited resources to achieve the objectives that have been set for you.

Infantry are moved and commanded as squads (a much better approach than the shambolic horde you had in Sudden Strike). There is a wide variety of movements allowed including crawling, defensive prone and assault. The correct choice is critical as you soon find that if you order your troops into route of march formation rather than assault formation as they move against an enemy position they are quickly harvested by the enemies machine guns. By utilising the abilities of your engineering trucks you can also entrench your infantry. This ability to establish a defensive position with barbed wire, tank barriers and trenches adds a new dimension to the genre. These guys also build and repair bridges, and fix up your precious armour and artillery.

Artillery was in World War 2 the king of the battlefield and the same could be said about it in this game. You have a comprehensive selection of cannon types across all the factions from AT guns, howitzers and anti-aircraft guns. As you would expect these are supported by haulage vehicles and supply trucks so that you haul ammunition from your supply dumps to the guns.

Ranged artillery has both a suppression option and a more accurate ranged option. The range is pretty much across most of the playing area however this advantage is offset in the game by the approximate firing position of opposing artillery being noted on the game map whenever they fire. The inevitable result is counter battery fire that can quickly reduce your battery to a smoking junk pile (similar to your car if I remember – Ed). Consequently you find yourself changing battery positions often, undertaking counter battery strikes yourself and ensuring they are well protested from aerial attack. A neat feature is that as you loose crew members you can re-enforce them with new willing volunteers from the supply truck.

The queen of the battlefield is obviously the tank and in this area it is very apparent the lengths the developers have gone through to make the game as historically correct as they can. First off there is a comprehensive selection of tank types and each has had their speed and armour rating calculated. This applies to forward, side and rear armour values. These defensive values are then pitted against the attack values of the opposing tank or AT weapon. It is not possible to take out a tank with rifle fire (a big criticism in previous games in the genre) and lesser calibre AT weapons struggle to take out heavy armoured tanks front on. This level of realism causes players to be more circumspect in their tactics particularly in the placement of AT defences and minefields.

Aircraft are also very well handled with recon, bombing and ground attack aircraft available to players. There is a timer on the control panel with a bar that when filled allows you to deploy aircraft for the time of their fuel/ammunition allowance. Enemies can oppose these with both fighter aircraft and Anti-aircraft guns. The net effect of this is to provide some interesting challenges on when to deploy aircraft and what type. Do you hold back using aircraft till the enemy does, so you can deploy fighters accordingly or do you send out recon to search out those pesky artillery batteries? What it also forces you to do is to have an organic AA unit accompanying your armour as it can be frustrating to see your carefully upgraded units picked off by dive bombers.

Combat itself flows along at a fair old pace however you can pause the game at anytime and issue instructions to your units as well as save the game at any point in the mission. There is however a couple of aspects that don't quite work as well as they should. The fog of war for instance. The line of site into the fog is very short and quite unrealistic. This is offset with officers having a binocular function where they can scan further in advance but overall the feeling you have is that the LOS should be at least a 3rd bigger than it is. Another disappointment is how morale is handled. It seems every unit has perfect morale and no matter what casualties you suffer these units soldier on regardless. We can understand that this is typical for RTS games however in the context of a game that seeks to be historically correct some reflection of morale reactions would have added a lot more depth in game play.

The game also suffers from the SEPF bug (somebody else's problem field – Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) where no matter how many troops drop dead around them their buddies stand impassively waiting for their turn. The AI does not seem to realise it's being shot at by a sniper and takes no evasive actions. This seems to be a particular problem to the infantry units with tanks being somewhat more responsive to un-sighted fire. It does not really detract from the game play but it's a niggle that stands out against all the effort that went into all the other aspects of the game.

The graphics for the game are great. In a RTS game it is often the little touches that set the game apart form the rest of the pack. In Blitzkrieg your armour leaves little tank tracks across the terrain and smoke rises from straining engines. Tank turrets revolve, fire with an explosion flash and burst and destroy buildings and units alike leaving a smoking and pock marked trail across the map. It is also great to watch a motorbike unit go airborne from a direct hit. This is also backed up with realistic weapon effects and sounds as well as reasonable background music tracks.

The game also has some cool weather effects. You will be treated to snow covered terrain and heavy rain. If the weather is bad all aircraft are grounded. A great time to send in the attack when there is no chance of being spotted or attacked from the air. Again this all adds to your tactical options.

The game interface is very intuitive and nicely laid out. There is a comprehensive in game help menu that helps guide you through the basics of the menus and a tutorial campaign that allows you to familiarise yourself with the units and their abilities. Backed up with a good manual this game is very easy to get to grips with but one that will take you sometime to master. The game also ships with a comprehensive map and mission editor and multiplayer support.

Blitzkrieg is about as realistic a simulation of World War 2 in the RTS genre that you could imagine. The attention to detail and great campaign system makes for good entertainment with some real challenges for even the most experienced RTS player. Highly recommended.