So I’ve put an hour or to into “Strategic Command WWII in Europe,” released today by Matrix and Slitherine. My first impressions are mostly positive. The game seems polished and fun.
Gameplay is surprisingly deep. You have to decide not only where to move and attack, but also about research, production, allocation of replacements (elite and non-elite), and so forth. There are options for manual or auto management of HQ attachments and fighter escorts/intercepts; I’m still figuring that stuff out. Units have historical designations, and when you produce units, you’re invited to give them designations from a more-or-less historical set of choices. It seems somewhat more complex than the old Clash of Steel or the Order of Battle games, but far less complex than monsters like War in the Pacific/Admiral’s Edition.
There’s no tutorial; I had to read the “Essentials Guide” before doing anything, and then I played the first turn in the 1939 campaign. Now I’ve paused to read the entire manual. It’s a beautiful, long, detailed manual!
It’s too early to tell much about the AI. A fair bit of it is scripted, supposedly. The computer opponent spends a fair bit of time thinking, which may or may not be a good sign, lol. It’s even more insistent on one-unit-per-tile than Civ 5/6; except for carriers, every unit sits alone, even HQs and air units.
The victory conditions for the Axis seem unrealistically tough: to win a marginal victory you have to survive til 1947 while holding either London or Moscow! For a major victory, the Axis has to hold both those cities. For a Decisive victory, those plus Leningrad and Stalingrad before 1947. Well, I think this all adds up to a tough challenge for the Axis player, which is good. Also, victory conditions and scripted events are easily moddable; indeed, you can pick and choose scripted events from the main menu, for handicapping or realism purposes. Likewise, you can give the PC advantages or disadvantages as you like.
The game features lots of events that require player decisions. While not as complex as the recent Decisive Campaign Barbarossa, they’re still fun and interesting.
The UI and graphics are generally nice. Personally I find the maps a little dark and drab, but they’re clear and easy to use. I’m glad to see that we have the option of NATO symbols or sprites. (I like NATO symbols.) There are a fair number of hotkeys. From the main map, ESC takes me to the desktop, which is a bit of a surprise, but actually kinda handy. From within menus, ESC backs you out, as you would expect.
I’ll post more thoughts once I’ve played a bit more.
