Codename: Panzers Cold War Review

In general, I'm in favor of removing unnecessary complexity from game designs. Making players worry about low-level minutiae often adds tedium without adding appreciable depth to the gameplay. This latest entry in the Panzers franchise, however, goes too far. In the name of streamlining gameplay, the guts of the game have been ripped out. A fair helping of bugs doesn't help its case either.

Panzers applies a laundry list of vanilla RTS elements to its Cold-War-turned-hot alternate history. There is no base building, but infantry can construct and garrison guard towers or medical tents on the fly. No resources are collected, but holding control points gives prestige that can be used to summon in reinforcements and support powers like airstrikes. Cooldown-limited abilities from grenades to smokescreens abound, while units like medics automatically heal or restock nearby forces.

With all of this abstraction and automation, higher-level tactics and strategy have plenty of room to shine through. Unfortunately, Panzers' design doesn't take advantage of it. The lack of an economic game means that this is all the title has to hang its hat on, and it's just not there. Facing barely matters, the cover system is clumsy to the point of being barely useable, and the AI fails to present a credible challenge in the lackluster campaign. Serviceable skirmish and online modes do nothing to elevate this beyond mediocrity.

I want to like Panzers -- the basic design is full of concepts that I enjoy, and the presentation is outstanding. It's a pity that the gameplay sadly lacks the chops to pull it all together.