For quite a while now the RTS genre has fallen into a deep rut. With the same tired formula of base building and resource harvesting, which is quickly followed by the inevitable rush, rush and more rush endgame, RTS’ have gotten to be more about the graphics than the gameplay. Games were ended either by the mass production of an overwhelming force of cheap units or by taking advantage of a design flaw. Anyone remember the "Orc tower rushes" from Warcraft III?. If so, you get the idea. In fact it seemed the "S" for strategy in RTS was on the endangered species list. Thankfully, not one but two current releases have slammed the "S" back into the RTS equation. The first was the justifiably praised and soon to be considered a classic Rise of Nations. The second, which was released with far less fanfare but no less deserving of notice is the WWII themed Blitzkrieg from CDV software, which places the emphasis on tactics and the proper use of troops, rather than on the micromanagement of an economy.

The first thing you’ll notice when playing Blitzkrieg is that this was obviously a labor of love for the developers, Nival Interactive. From the beautiful graphics, excellent AI, outstanding manual and the top-notch production values, every aspect of Blitzkrieg exudes a deep attention to detail. The tutorials make learning the game mechanics and interface a snap and a pleasure for all types of players, from the fresh-faced recruit to the grizzled RTS veteran. If you’ve ever played an RTS game before, then picking up the controls for Blitzkrieg should be familiar as they are pretty much par for the RTS course. After the tutorials, it’s on to the big show as you are given the choice of taking either the Allies, Germans or Russians through the campaign mode.

The campaigns open with beautifully rendered CGI sequences that set the mood for the upcoming hostilities. The imagery of tanks rushing headlong to the battlefield and straight into victory gives you a taste of what the term Blitzkrieg really means: "lightning warfare."

While the CGI sequences may make you think lightning warfare is all about rushing in with your heavy guns, you’ll find that in actuality the Blitzkrieg was a well-coordinated combined arms approach to battle. Being able to use the right unit for the right job is absolutely crucial to your success as a battlefield commander in Blitzkrieg. The game rewards sound tactical decisions while severely punishing foolhardiness or recklessness. If, for example, you decide to try a patented Command and Conquer tank rush, be prepared to see your armored column turned into flaming hulks as enemy artillery and air forces rain fire upon it.

You begin each campaign with a set amount of core units a lá the old Panzer General series. These units can gain experience and are allowed to upgrade equipment as the campaign progresses. These persistent units will play a crucial role in your success as a battlefield commander, and their loss should be prevented at all costs. While there are over 250 units available, I will only touch upon a couple of personal favorites. One of these is the scout, which can perform invaluable reconnaissance, act as a forward observer for your artillery, or even stand in as a long-range sniper. Scouts, however, are a tad overpowered due to a failing in the AI. When a scout starts picking off a gun crew, none of the crew reacts to their buddies being killed, even if they are standing right next to them. It would have been much more realistic if gun crews had dropped to defensive positions when they came under fire. Another versatile but no less important unit type are the engineers. Engineers can perform a myriad of tasks ranging from the placement and removal of mines to the repair of bridges and the construction of anti-tank obstacles.

The supply system in Blitzkrieg is very realistic, which is a nice touch, as most RTS titiles completely ignore the need for supply lines. As ammo is spent or troops are lost, you must use supply trucks to shuttle supplies from nearby supply depots. As in real warfare, logistics are a prime consideration and the control of these supply depots is of the utmost importance.

Speaking of logistics, air support in Blitzkrieg is handled superbly. Aircraft availability for sorties is limited by time frames. When you summon air support, an aircraft icon will fill up and then you are allowed to choose which type aircraft to use and where you’ll send it. Judicious use of your air force is a must and can be quite a cat and mouse experience depending on who sends what sorties out first. If you decide to send out a bombing mission early on and allow your opponent chooses to send out fighters, then you may as well send those KIA notices to the bomber crew’s next of kin.

As with air support, artillery is vital to the success of any army. The correct use of artillery will devastate your opposition as cannons and anti-tank guns can sometimes sway the tide of battle by themselves. While it may not sound historically accurate, this is artillery advantage is how the USSR won many battles during WWII.

Although control of any battle is handled relatively easily through either mouse commands; hotkeys or a combination of both, there is a one annoying flaw when you consider the scope of some of the battles. You can’t help but notice a missing zoom feature to allow for much easier command of many units. You must move units to very close vicinity in order to see and group them into a larger force. A zoom out feature would have made controlling larger battles much, much easier. Zooming in so that you could watch close-quarters combat at key points would have also been fun and useful. Putting the lack of a zoom feature in perspective, it’s really a minor complaint when you realize that you’ve been playing for six hours straight and never once noticed the lack of it. That alone is the real testament to how much fun and addicting Blitzkrieg is.

Blitzkrieg is, in a word, gorgeous. Units are rendered so meticulously that you can actually distinguish between different variants of armor built on the same chassis. Towns representing different geographical regions reflect the architecture of that area. Terrain graphics are outstanding, ranging from lush forests, sun baked deserts and frozen tundra. They are so superbly designed you can almost feel the temperature of the climate being represented.

The graphics that really stand out are the explosion animations. From seeing a tank turret get blown off due to that nefarious AT gun you didn’t spot earlier, to watching buildings reduced to fractured ruins from your artillery barrage, everything is wonderfully destructible. Landscaping is no longer a mundane chore as you can give new meaning to "fall foliage" by leveling forests into leafy explosive splendor. Little graphical details such as tank treads leaving tracks in the ground as they pass, or your artillery wrecking up local farmland add to the gritty feel of battle.

The only problem I have with the graphics is that after a unit (such as a tank) is destroyed, its remains simply disappear from the battlefield after about a minute. It would have added a nice touch of realism to have left the debris on the field of battle so that your forces or the AI’s could have used it for cover Even more interesting would have been if the unit were badly positioned when destroyed, such as on a bridge, the scrap would have made an obstacle that would have had to be dealt with. This "disappearing debris" is really a minor issue when you consider the overall beauty of Blitzkrieg’s visuals.

The sound in Blitzkrieg can be best compared to that grizzled old veteran sergeant portrayed in so many war flicks. He’s seems to be nothing special, yet without him nothing would run smoothly. Sound effects are realistic and functional, allowing you to feel the artillery shells whizzing by or the scream of bombs dropping on an armored column. The sound of units acknowledging commands is a particular high point due to the unit’s use of their native language rather than some horrendous heavily accented English. Even the screams of the dying are in their native tongue, and while this may seem to be a minor point to some, it adds to the realism and immersiveness of Blitzkrieg. The background music is well composed and does much to enhance the enjoyment of the game by striking just the right tone while not being so overbearing as to be a distraction.

Replayability:

Included in the game are both a detailed map editor and resource editor. Use of these tools can be daunting to newcomers; however, they allow you the flexibility to recreate any skirmish or obscure battle that you like. Just the inclusion of these editors ensures you’ll get plenty of enjoyment now and for weeks to come from Blitzkrieg.

The map editor lets you create any battlefield, historic or imaginary, that you like and start playing. It would have been nice to be able to fire up the map editor and have it produce a random map for quick-and-dirty skirmishes, but that is a feature that’s not currently available.

Using the resource editor allows you to create rare weapons or prototype weapons that had been researched and developed but never deployed during the war. Ever wondered about those crazy secret aircraft the Luftwaffe was testing? Well, you can actually try to build some of them thanks to the resource editor, which let’s you play a war of "what if", as in "what if the Germans had completed a super bomber?" or other scenarios you’ve always wondered about.

Multiplayer options are of the standard fare with support for LAN, IP and offer a matchmaking service thru Gamespy. Trying to play a game on Gamespy can be an exercise in frustration, however, as games are slow to load and sometimes crash at the loading screen. One big problem with the online options is the lack of an automatic patching system. Without it, you’ll find yourself being rejected from games if you or the host doesn’t have an up-to-date version of Blitzkrieg. The developers should seriously consider an automatic patching service to keep players up to date, especially for online play. When all is said and done, the solo experience of Blitzkrieg is a far cry better than the multiplayer one.

Like the style of warfare it’s name for, Blitzkrieg hits hard, fast and furious. Even more importantly though is that it hits all the right buttons. With its beautiful graphics, outstanding presentation, historically accurate tactical challenges and excellent documentation this is the seminal WWII gaming experience. Even the manual is amazing, as it’s practically an encyclopedia of all things World War II. Blitzkrieg is an absolute joy to play for both raw recruits or grizzled veterans and will only be removed from my hard drive by brute force, an act of god or when and if its sequel appears. Excuse me now while I return to the command of my steel panthers.