This is a real time strategy game. It has all the elements you would expect from the genre. There is resource gathering, base building and unit production. In this case resource collecting is rather simplistic: build a supply depot and the truck will start hauling resources from the nearest mine that you control. There is no complexity to the economic model and right from the beginning you can concentrate on building your base and forces.

One of the big differences in this game from many of the World War II games is in the units. The game designers having taken a different leg down the trouser of time (sans Terry Pratchett) and this has allowed the developers to present some of the more futuristic units that either came late in the war or in some cases never made it off the drawing board.

Then there are some units are just plain fanciful. There are the basic infantry and armoured units you would expect from the era, although they are an odd mix. The Allies have the Matilda, Sherman and the Pershing. In contrast the Germans have the Panther, Tiger and Elephant, while the Russians get the T70, T34-85 and the Joseph Stalin tanks. This standard list is spiced up with the inclusion of the German Maus (a huge tank of some 100 tons, and armed with a 128mm Gun), the Russian Kharkov-Rampager with its multiple turrets and huge size making it look like a land based battleship, and the Allies getting a Force Shield Generator tank.

It does not stop there, however. The Germans have the ability to develop jet pack infantry, VI launch pads, a very fanciful Exoskeleton (read mech) infantry, Sonic tank and a mobile anti aircraft missile. Not to be out done, the Russian scientists have come up with a huge moving turret (huge gun on tracks), an Ice Spitte tank and a mole APC to tunnel its way to the opposition. The Allies have the big M40 tracked cannon, helicopter gunships, earthquake bombs and of course the nuclear strike. Going even further there is the German armoured airship and the Russian Winter's Breath (ice bomber).

The wildly different units are balanced enough to ensure that they all have an opposing unit to counter them. The challenge with such a large array of units is in determining the most appropriate strategy. Large amount of smaller cheaper units, or play a more defensive game in the hope you can husband enough resources to build one of the game breaking uber units. One game feature that is a good idea but suffers a bit in execution is the ability to control units and fortifications as if you are in the driving seat. You can pilot a tank or aim and shoot an AT turret. Unfortunately the unresponsive controls make this a frustrating exercise and ultimately it is better to rely on the computer AI that has a quicker response.

There is a limited upgrade and technology tree. This revolves granting units additional abilities as new technologies are researched or the units obtain a greater level experience. These can consist of better armour, increased rate of fire or in the case of infantry the ability to capture buildings.

The campaigns are well presented and thought out. The occupation and liberation of London is an interesting change from constant rehashes of the D-Day landings. The corny accents and dialogue will have you smiling but nonetheless they do spin a reasonably engaging story. Scenarios unfold over time with more mission goals being presented as you complete your currently assigned tasks.

The graphic effects are particularly well done. Explosions have a blast wave effect that ripples outwards, there are night and day effects (although why tanks need to have headlights going at full beam at night is anyone's guess) as well as weather effects. There is some minimal animation to the base facilities that add to the overall ambience. We would like to have seen more ability to garrison the buildings and build defensive obstacles (you can entrench some of the units). The turrets and defensive buildings are not tied to a specific building zone so it is possible to build advanced turrets in the enemy's building zone.

Air combat is on the basis of building fighters and attack aircraft and sending them to patrol or harrass a particular area. They have unlimited fuel and ammunition but they are all vulnerable to ground fire. It's essential to build a good AA defence as some of these air attacks can be devastating. Unfortunately, where the game does fall down is in the loading between scenarios. On our test rig we either had extremely long load times or the game crashed altogether. If you do not save towards the end of a scenario you are doomed to repeat it in the hope it won't crash on the scoring screen.