The biggest change from the original campaign is the lack of random missions to unlock the story-centric ones – Rolling Thunder is essentially one huge string of hand-crafted story missions. The second is how air power is treated.
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Introduction
When a system works, run with it. CDV?s Blitzkrieg tactical World War II RTS system has ruled its particular roost for a while now and the publisher is making the most of it. Using version 1.2 of the system, the first stand-alone expansion, Blitzkrieg: Burning Horizon, came out just two months ago with a campaign centered on Rommel?s career. Rolling Thunder appears to continue a very good tradition.
Still Good Enough
Rolling Thunder brings nothing new to the table in terms of system and graphics. These elements are discussed in depth in our review of Blitzkrieg and Burning Horizon. Suffice to say that the interface is based largely on hotkeys and menus, which are both fairly intuitive. The 3D graphics, although no longer state-of-the-art, are serviceable and attractive. Unit scale is squad/vehicle/artillery piece and gameplay can be speeded up or slowed down to player?s taste. Campaigns are organized by linked missions with benefits for success and distressing memos from headquarters for failure. Multi-play is supported through the usual LAN, Internet, and TCP/IP venues. In short, nothing was broken so develop Nival Interactive didn?t fix it.
The glossary helps players select the right equipment for their forces. | A mission?s background, map and objectives are thoroughly explained. |
Far Away Places
The lack of technical innovation does not mean that Rolling Thunder chews the same shrubbery as its predecessors. This game truly spans space and time and adds a much-needed touch of the exotic. The featured campaign is George S. Patton?s World War II adventures and starts with the landing in Morocco. Fighting Vichy French Panhard tanks under the shade of palm trees is an experience right out of ?Adventures in Paradise?. Battles continue into Libya, through Sicily, and chronicles the dash through France and the grim struggle in the Ardennes with a final flourish in the heart of Germany. Along the way, players will encounter almost every Axis soldier and weapon the enemy had to offer. By the same token, players can be given any of panoply of Allied equipment. One wonders if panicked players will be slapped.
Entertaining as ?Travels with Georgie? is, the campaign mission is just a trip to the county seat compared with the eleven single missions. Three missions are carry-overs from the previous releases, for they are favorites that have earned their keep. The rest, however, span the globe and cover obscure conflicts. An exciting brush between Soviet and Japanese forces occurs in Siberia during the undeclared Japanese-Russian War of 1939. Australian troops hold out grimly against a Japanese onslaught on New Guinea. A scenario about Santander represents the tragic Spanish Civil War in 1937. Here, the differences between the International Brigade and fascist troops are shown. Along with that, the real frozen tundra can be fought over at Trondheim in 1940.
Will Rolling Thunder be just another scenario pack for current owners of Blitzkrieg? Perhaps, but the quality and imagination of the mission should entice old and new players alike. Also, innovation is on the way! I?ve seen an alpha of Blitzkrieg II and there is plenty of innovation there.
Helped by air assets, American troops assault a Vichy garrison. | Aussies prepare to receive a Japanese attack in beastly New Guinea. |
Russian troops dig in after a Japanese thrust into Siberia. | German armor moves out toward Trondheim. |
System Requirements
Minimum Specs | Reviewer's Specs |
700 MHz Pentium III 128 MB RAM 1 GB disk space 16 MB video card DirectX 9.0 or higher Windows 98/ME/XP/2000 | 1.4 GHz Athlon 512 MB RAM 48X CD-ROM drive Radeon 7200 128 MB Creative Sound Blaster Live sound card Windows XP |
About the Author
Jim Cobb has been playing board wargames since 1961 and computer wargames since 1982. He has been writing incessantly since 1993 to keep his mind off the drivel he deals with as a bureaucrat. He has published in 'Wargamers Monthly,' 'Computer Gaming World,' 'Computer Games Magazine,' 'Computer Games Online,' 'CombatSim' and 'Gaming Chronicle.' If you're looking for a PBEM patsy, contact Jim; he never wins.
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