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REVIEWS

	Requirements	Recommend	Reviewed on
	Windows95/NT Pentium 120MHz 80 MB of HD space 16 MB of RAM 4x CD-ROM 2 MB Video Card	Windows95/NT Pentium 166MHz 400 MB of HD space 32 MB of RAM 32x CD-ROM 2 MB Video Card	Windows95 Pentium 166Mhz 400 MB of HD 32 MB of RAM 24x CD-ROM 2 MB Video Card

From the people who brought us such great strategy tittles as the Steel Panthers series, comes another hit, a turn based strategy game, Soldiers at War. Lead your GI’s through a campaign that recreates some of the greatest firefights and battles of the Second World War. Also included in the package is a custom mission editor and multiplayer support. As if this were not enough, they also include many more single player scenarios, some of which are even playable from the German perspective.

Which eight of my thirty-two GI’s will I send? It is an important consideration as your GI’s improve with every mission they survive. Should I use my rockets or artillery support to clear a German compound building by building? Do I want to lob a grenade at that patrol or spray round after round of rifle fire at them? Oh neat a tank . . . and I can get in it . . . I wonder what happens if I push this button? Uh, do you suppose that there any landmines nearby . . . click . . . oops. It is these kinds of decisions that make the game an interesting challenge to play, not to mention the four levels of difficulty.

I was pleasantly surprised by the graphics. From what I read before getting the game I was not expecting it to be any good at all. For the most part the animations were smooth though I found it helps to move the animation file (400mb file called anim) to the hard drive. The graphics are on par with X-Com: Apocalypse but improved a bit. The characters are well animated for a strategic simulation and almost everything in the game environment can be manipulated in some form or fashion.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Soldiers at War is the game’s interface. Many people dislike it, and I do not believe any body is raving about it. The first and worst thing about the interface is that it takes up just over ½ the screen when engaged. Then you have to wait for it to pop back up after the enemy’s "Hidden Movement" phase. It also leaves the player with the feeling that Microprose was experimenting when they chose this style interface over a proven one such as the popular X-Com style. Lastly the mini map is functionally useless, as it requires a magnifying glass to read. There are however some redeeming qualities to the new style of interface. The action menu can be brought up by clicking anywhere on the map. Also you can quickly cycle through your squad by left or right clicking on their portrait in the main interface. The main interface can also be brought up or hidden quickly to aid in the targeting of weapons. The nicest feature to me was the ability to scroll through a GI’s weapons and select one by clicking on the weapon silhouette in the main interface. Though I concede that Soldiers at War’s interface certainly is not the greatest I have ever used, I can honestly say it is neither the worst I ever user either. The qualities it lacks do not detract from the enjoyment and fun factor enough to warrant not playing the game. If given a chance it is a lot of fun to play.

Soldiers at War has very basic sound effects, music and audio messages. It’s not the greatest in the world but the gunfire and in game effects sound real enough for me with the exception of the Captain’s mission briefing, which is a bit corny, but entertaining as he reminds me of Sargent Carter from television’s Gomer Pyle. The music in the game is adequate, not good and not bad, but I like to turn it off so I can hear what is going on in the mission area easier. After all, most players I know would rather listen to the radio then the soundtracks of most of their strategy games, excluding the awesome music tracks that have accompanied Westwood Studios Command and Conquer series of course.

There are many different actions that your soldiers can perform ranging from standing, kneeling, running, and crawling to tossing grenades into tanks, setting demolition charges, kicking in doors, and hand to hand combat. If you toss a grenade between two guys not only do the not just fall down dead; they sail out away from the detonation. I also enjoyed the sounds in the game, in my opinion they are well done, the only exception being the Sarge’s briefing before missions can be a bit corny but I must admit it does give the game a atmosphere similar to some of those old war movies on TV.

You can lead you chosen across into fierce house to house fighting near Anzio, or into commando style raids on POW camps, airfields, and rocket bases. If playing the Campaign you’ll face SS Troopers and officers, German and Italian army regulars and officers, all while liberating captured French soldiers, Resistance fighters and civilians caught in the crossfire. What about weapons you say? What kind of firepower do I get to pack? Well let us just say there are a variety of weapons including pistols, rifles, submachine guns, heavy machine guns, rockets launchers, and my personal favorite the flame-thrower. Not to mention the satisfaction gained from capturing and enemy tank and turning it back on him.

There are a total of fifteen missions in the campaign, which are also playable as single player missions and ten extra missions, several playable as the Germans, it is also possible to download many more from sites on the Internet. Another option is to design your own mission with the incredibly flexible mission editor. The editor allows you to create missions for one to four players, which its supports for both network and Internet play.

So you want to be a hero, huh? If you like blowing things up and doing as much damage to the environment as humanly possible, all while dodging bullets and bombs yourself then pick this one up, you’ll love it. I would even recommend it to people who are not really into strategic games; it could change your mind. It’s just a lot of fun to have as much freedom as you do in Soldiers to execute the mission however you see fit and who doesn’t like blowing massive chunks out of buildings and bad guys with large bore rockets?

Reviewed by Jon Eyman