OK … I’m a big enough person to admit when I’m wrong. It’s not that I like to be wrong … but I can own up to it if it happens. When I first sat down to play Blitzkrieg by CDV games, my initial reaction was “Great … another ‘build a bunch of things and overwhelm the enemy’ RTS game”, especially since we already have an outrageous selection already available in the same style. I will say that I was completely wrong in thinking that it was going to be the same old thing that I just played with Age of Mythology or something like that, and it taught me not to pre-judge a game based on a certain style even with numerous past experiences which have taught me to think like that sometimes. Read on …

Blitzkrieg is definitely an RTS game, and it stays true to the format when you strip all of the bells and whistles away. Mouse dragging and clicking selects, moves, and orders troops or units around … just like any one of the 1200 other RTS titles out there right now. And in single player mode you are responsible for completing a series of missions with various objectives. We’ve all been there done that before, but now let’s look at where Blitzkrieg starts to develop its own unique and enjoyable personality. 

The first thing that I noticed when I installed the game was the huge amount of space that was used (way over 2 gigs … a little unusual for an RTS title), but with good reason. Rather than just give you one single set of missions to play as the U.S. or Germany or whatever, you have three separate and large campaigns that you can play with and choose from playing as the Allies, Germans, or Soviets. There’s a lot of replay value to be found here, and this is definitely not a game that you’re going to buy and beat in a weekend.

During gameplay, each of your individual units can be used separately or in teams, and by highlighting numerous vehicles or humans and using a quick keyboard stroke you can form individual numbered groups that can be called up by a press of a button. You also won’t be using any of them to chop down trees or gather ore in Blitzkrieg however since the game sometimes sends reinforcements or you won’t get them at all. CDV focused on a more strategic and action based gameplay rather than resource gathering, and it was a well-needed breath of fresh air in my opinion. Some units will have to be re-supplied though, and enemy ammo dumps can be taken over and used by you as you progress and move across the map.

The biggest thing in the gameplay department that really stood out to me about the game and may have contributed to some of the space taking here was the sheer numbers of planes, tanks, artillery, and infantry and how they could be utilized. For starters, each artillery or armor piece didn’t just move, attack, and defend. Instead, they could also entrench for better protection, stand ground for a more aggressive defense, or set up ambushes to surprise unwary enemies and take the upper hand. Speaking of artillery, this has to be the finest representation that I have seen of artillery actually being used well in planning strategy since heavy pounding guns or mobile artillery units could be used to set up suppressive fire … sometimes almost all the way across a map. This proved to be invaluable at many times to help eliminate heavy resistance that I may not have been able to see yet or had recently scouted and it helped to avoid a lot of losses moving into something that I may have been overpowered going up against in a straight close combat land battle.

Let’s talk about the vehicles and planes just a little bit here, since there were a lot of various uses for some of them. One vehicle type you see a lot of in Blitzkrieg are trucks. Trucks are great ways of moving infantry around a map quickly, and that’s a pretty logical expectation if they’re going to be used in a WWII game. Well, they do that … but also can be used to transport heavier stationary things too, like AA or artillery guns. You can actually hook up one of these to the back of a truck, pile the two or three guys in the back who operate it with your infantry, then drop the gun and the operators off before moving the infantry where you want them to go. This was really neat to me since some of the things that don’t normally play a major role in an offensive movement can in fact be used here. Trucks also provide invaluable resources as ammo gets depleted and can act as mobile supply lines as well.

Planes are also a great way to help win a war, and there’s no shortage of them to be found here since you can select recon, fighters, paratroopers, or bombers with a couple of mouse clicks. For example, you can call a recon plane to scout certain areas for artillery targets or to see what’s in your path. Let’s say that the enemy has an overwhelming force ahead of you that artillery would take too long to get rid of or you would be killed trying to move against it. A frustrating situation in many games … but not here. Call in a squadron of heavy bombers to lay waste to the entire area … then call in a paratrooper squadron to land infantry in the area and clear out what remaining survivors that there may be. This was an actual scenario that I played … and it was really neat to watch when it happened and really impressed me since I hadn’t ever thought that anyone would go that direction with it. 

The use of the infantry actually deserves to be looked at individually in my opinion; due to the amount of miniscule detail that was put into making them act as realistically as possible. Each infantry unit can be given marching orders, can be fanned out for better coverage, can be disbanded and put back together, or can go prone while moving to keep a lower profile just in case they get spotted or a firefight breaks out. Each soldier also has his own importance in the grand scheme of things too, and individuals can be used to run ahead and see what lies in your path. Actual Scouts can also be used separately to go on sniping missions or to quietly kill enemy artillery gunners or guards … which can prove to turn the tables when outnumbered since abandoned enemy armor or artillery can be overtaken and captured for you to use.

The usage of the landscape and environment can actually make a lot of difference to your little infantry troops and their survival as well, and it turned out to be pretty darned impressive. For example, being out in a field while prone or running is usually a sure fire way to get gunned down period. However, CDV was nice enough to include troops who can build trenches for your soldiers to get into for additional cover or surprise. These same guys can also build anti tank obstacles; repair or build bridges, and sweep and remove (or plant) anti tank mines. Basically, there are a ton of things that can be done with infantry in general here, and it opens the door to numerous different strategy options without solely relying on heavy armor or weapons like many other games that use humans and tanks or mechs tend to do.

I was extremely impressed with Blitzkrieg from a gameplay perspective as you can probably tell, but there was one major thing that stood out to me as a possible potential problem for some people. All of that miniscule detail can also lead to a large learning curve and some frustration having to head back to tutorials to remember how to do something. Since each piece of armor or infantry has a pretty large amount of options, it can get a tad confusing trying to remember which “shift + hotkey” or “hold X and hit what” goes prone vs. which on will make your soldiers more aggressive or any other vast amount of options. Most do have a quick key that can be clicked with the mouse for aggressive movement or entrenching and whatnot, but some of the more basic stealth or movement options rely on the hotkey system. Once you get it all down, it’s a blast … but it takes patience and a few attempts to get it squared away.

Graphically, Blitzkrieg looked great. Movements were well detailed and the environmental and model damage was a nifty addition all the way down to shacks and houses. Those nice looking houses that are found on maps are also fully destructible, and can also be used as cover or ambush points for infantry as well. The ground and destroyed vehicles will throw fire, smoke, and a shower of dirt in the air when hit with a heavy shell or bomb, and the vehicles will belch black smoke when they start up or have to slow down and speed up again or fall apart in various ways when destroyed. There was some lag at times (Even on a 1.9 Gig P4), but nothing that took away from my enjoyment or happened frequently enough in my opinion to become a problem.

In the sound department, Blitzkrieg was well above average. The music was really done well and consisted of some pretty deep and moving pieces as you went into a game or as the action increased, and the voices of the different units under your command sounded good overall. Soldiers would even complain if they were marched long distances and would cry out in pain if they were hit or lay dying. One unique little issue I did find was the fact that all vehicle noises would fall silent when they moved off of the viewing screen. I would expect them to get quieter, but not vanish altogether. This could have been a key addition to helping with audible clues as to what may be going on around you.

Overall, Blitzkrieg can be a tough mountain to master due to the sheer amount of detail that was placed into it if you aren’t a patient person, but it’s really enjoyable even while learning and is especially fun once you get the hang of it. Blitzkrieg may not have all of the hype surrounding it that Warcraft III or Age of Mythology had, but it’s every bit deserving of it as they are in my opinion. If you are an RTS fan and / or enjoy WWII themed games like me, you shouldn’t miss this one. There’s a lot of replay value and a lot of initial play value here, and I was happy to see that someone finally made a WWII RTS title that not only is historically accurate … but also doesn’t fall short on fun either.      

Gameplay: 8.8
CDV definitely did not short any of us on gameplay or detail here, and there are hundreds of different vehicles, planes, and infantry to play with. I was also happy to see that the “gather resources and build this and build that” style was shed for a more action oriented and faster gameplay engine. The only real potential downer that I could see with Blitzkrieg is a steep learning curve that requires some patience … but the difficulty can be moved around and there are tutorials that you can go back to if needed. Even with a higher difficulty, RTS buffs shouldn’t have too much of a problem figuring out what needs to be done.

Graphics: 8.9
The models looked great and little things like exhaust clouds and collapsing parts when vehicles were destroyed were nice touches. The environments are also fully destructible, and play a unique role in providing cover or an ambush point. There was some lag that popped up occasionally, but nothing that happened enough to get annoying or cause a problem in my opinion.

Sound: 8.7
There was some great music and great sound effects as well with the cracking of guns and thundering of artillery or bombs. The character voices were done well, and there were a few different sayings for each so it didn’t get as repetitive as some other RTS titles out there. Nice little additions like complaining soldiers or yelling enemies when you entered line of sight also added to the experience.

Difficulty: Hard
While the basic RTS style is there and it stays true to the genre, there are a lot of different options for each unit that have to be learned and can get a little overwhelming … especially up front. Due to the good balancing of armor, artillery, infantry, and air support however, it also provides for a lot of different options to allow you to be victorious in battle once learned.

Concept: 9.0
Yes, we’ve all played RTS games before … but CDV did a lot of unique and different things here to set Blitzkrieg apart as it’s own individual personality. I’m a big fan of Age of Mythology, and enjoyed this as much if not a little more than AoM. That’s my opinion … and I’m stickin’ to it!

Multiplayer: 8.7
There is a multiplayer mode as well provided through Gamespy. You can play two different styles … flag capture and assault. Flag capture has you move, capture, and hold four flag points on a map to win. Assault instead has you focusing on holding flags while either eliminating or driving your opponent off for good and capturing theirs. Both can be played individually or as a team, and there is even an online ranking to chart your progress and score.

Overall: 8.9
Great game, great concept, and a heck of a lot of fun to play. It was nice to finally get an RTS title that does enough of the same as other similar titles to keep you in familiar territory … yet enough that was different to make it unique and stand out on it’s own. If you are an RTS fan … pick this up. If you like WWII action games … pick this up. If you don’t have a lot of patience to learn all of the ins and outs, you may want to download the demo first … but you may get addicted just like I have become (and I swore nothing would tear me away from BF1942!) Great job CDV, and thanks for one heck of a good WWII strategy game … finally.