sysop@tlvx.UUCP (SysOp) (10/13/90)
Last week I bought M1 Tank Platoon by Microprose. Shortly after buying it, I could tell I loved it, but wanted to play it some before I posted a review. And boy did I play! The box says that this is "the definitive simulation of armored land combat." I'm not sure about that, but it is about the most fun I've had since Sim City. Did I mention that I liked this game? ;-) It is a tank simulator, much like a flight simulator, but based from a tank's perspective. What's interesting is that there are 4 tanks, plus some other units for support, and you must direct what all the units do. Ok, you're thinking, if it's a simulator, why does it sound more like the usual wargame? Well, you can take over any one position on any tank at any time. All other men are controlled by the computer. There are several different types of engagements (blitzkrieg, hasty attack, defend position, etc.), weather conditions (day, night, snow, etc.), and different maps (but I can't tell how many). The men in the tanks have varying degrees of skill, and there is a campaign option. The "feature" that strikes me the most I'd describe as just attention to detail. The overhead (2D) map allows variable zoom, and when the tanks fire, you can watch the movement of the shells, see the rotating turrets, etc. This gives you a good overview of what's happening. (Then you can jump into a tank in a problem area, to get into the 3D action.) The sounds of the battle (cannons, rockets, etc.) are pretty good. During loading, the title music is worse than bad (I wouldn't call it music exactly, but I guess that's what those beeps were; I know I sound sarcastic, but it was really bad :-( ), but if that's the worst thing about the game (title music?!) then that's nothing! (Um, I guess if anyone has detailed questions, just ask; e-mail is fine, mailers willing. ;-) -- Gary Wolfe, SYSOP of the Temporal Vortex BBS | C++ users UNITE! | On the neon, ..uflorida!unf7!tlvx!sysop, unf7!tlvx!sysop@bikini.cis.ufl.edu | neon, side...
felixh@sandstorm.Berkeley.EDU (Felix Hack) (10/19/90)
Speaking as a board wargamer who joined the Amiga community only recently, my impression of M1 is extremely favorable. Yes, the sound sucks. Yes, the graphics don't have 32/64/whatever colors. But they do convey enough info to let the player see what he's doing. The external views are fantastic in their cinematic effect. It's also fun to be the gunner and try to kill hordes of advancing tanks from a hull-down position. There are several different styles of play that a player can adopt, from strategic only, to running one tank, to jumping around between tanks to try to improve their performance. Thankfully once the NPC crews obtain experience they're good enough to leave alone. Only untrained crews raise the temptation to jump in and take over, leaving the rest of the battle to develop itself. The realism of this game is outstanding. For once we have hills and valleys, real terrain to hide behind. The systems interactions (various guns and shells vs. various armor types at various ranges) feels quite accurate. Gunfire control feels realistic: lock onto a target with laser rangefinder and the turret automatically tracks the target. This does not, however, guarantee a kill. You'll see shots drift to the left or right (especially the less aerodynamic HE rounds) and miss. So it's not an arcade game, but it's not boring or auto-kill time either. Finally, the game benefits from a faster Amiga, if only in the smoother animation. The included readme file seemed to imply that if you ran on a faster machine the internal speed is rescaled to allow more AI calculations. Still, it's fine on a stock 68000 too. Overall, this is an outstanding modern armored warfare simulation at the platoon level. I'd love to see this kind of action for larger-scale actions, say company or battalion level, but obviously you couldn't command that and still expect to take over a tank just for fun. Serious wargamers or modern ground warfare enthusiasts may also be interested Simulation Canada's game Main Battle Tank: Central Germany. The game offers no sound and no graphics, but then a NATO battalion commander never hopes to see anything like hostile tanks personally, nor does he wish to hear their gunfire . . . . You also get chemical warfare, airstrikes, and nukes. You can design your own scenarios, play either side against the computer or against a human. Your subordinate units may or may not carry out your orders, but they will try to follow the doctrine you set at the beginning (engage at this range, report this frequently, return fire if fired upon or wait until you get close, etc.) It's definitely NOT something for your typical Amiga arcade gamer. If you don't like such games, please don't flame me. Just recognize there are different tastes. Yes, I too wish M1 had better sound and graphics, but I'm very happy with what it is.
critical.mass@pro-graphics.cts.com (Peter Altamore) (01/06/91)
I made an error when I posted that M1 doesn't multitask. It does indeed lsten
to leftamiga-m/n and screenx. Although it will do evil things to your
workbench colors till you exit the game. I'm liking Microprose more and more
(even if they don't port all of their games our way).
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