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''Panzer General'' is a World War II Computer Wargame published by Strategic Simulations In 1994 . OVERVIEW Panzer General is Turn-based , set on Operational Level Hex Map s. A player can play any lone scenario from either Axis or Allied side and choose a computer or human opponent. In campaign mode, the player plays a German General against the Allied computer. The basic design of the game shares some commonality with the popular Squad Leader board game series, with a wide variety of units available and displayed as profiles. Panzer General is an operational-level game (mid-sized between strategic and tactical) and units approximate battalions (the largest Tiger tank organization), although unit size and map scale are elastic between scenarios. While the names and information for the units are reasonably accurate, the scenarios are only approximations of historical situations. Its novel feature was to link individual Scenario s into a campaign that spans World War II from 1939 to 1945. Units are able to gain experience and become stronger and where success in one battle would award the player prestige to upgrade units, acquire additional units, and select a better scenario for the next battle. In 1996 , ''Panzer General'' won the Origins Award for ''Best Military or Strategy Computer Game of 1995''. It and its sequels spawned a loyal following of players who have revived online head-to-head play and have added many new units, features, and over 2,500 scenarios to play. New ideas still in development over a decade after its initial release (see external links). GAMEPLAY Panzer General has 38 scenarios based on real or fictive battles from WWII. The player can engage in a single battle or a campaign mode. In Campaign mode, a series of battles is played to successfully lead the campaign to victory. There is one long campaign as German and there are five places where start:
The objective is the same in any mode: Defeat the enemy by either destroying all of its units or taking every valuable position – a flag highlighted in yellow. The mission must be completed within the number of turns allowed per scenario. There are two types of victories: Major and Minor. A Major victory means the mission has been completed as fast as possible. In Campaign mode, a Major victory gives a chance of a change history. If the player fails a mission, the campaign usually ends or takes the player along a different campaign branch. SEQUELS Allied General '' Allied General '' Allows you to play the war from the allied point of view and features 4 new allied campaigns. Pacific General '' Pacific General '' introduced different graphics, naval features, and Japan. Panzer General II In 1997 , '' Panzer General II '' (titled ''Panzer General IIID'' in Germany) upgraded the interface to use an overlay of photorealistic terrain, and to display units facing in different directions, resulting in a much improved appearance. In the April 2000 issue of '' PC Gamer '', it was voted the 44th best computer game of all time. Despite it's dated graphics (by today's standards), the gameplay mechanics and field HQ interface still have significant merit and popularity even a decade after release. A gradual move away from turn-based games towards the Real-time Strategy style of play have not diminished Panzer General 2's status within the genre. People's General Released in 1998, People's General is an upgraded version of Panzer General II based on World War III between China and the UN. Panzer General 3D True 3D came in with the 1999 release of '' Panzer General 3D Assault ''; the units were small 3D models, and the view could be a perspective view over the battlefield. '''' was released in 2000 , with better graphics and a redesigned interface. SSI also produced the games '' Star General '', '' Fantasy General '' in the series of five star general using the same engine and general design, but with different themes. PBEM AND ONLINE PLAY Originally, players played alone on a local computer or with another player in person on a local computer. Allied General provided a Play by Email (PBEM) system. MPlayer software allowed online play until Gamespy shut it down in 2001. As of JUNE 2006, ''panzergeneral1.com'' at panzergeneral1.com provides the MPlayer software to allow 2-8 player, head-to-head, online play of PG I via livve.com which is a Mplayer clone. EXTERNAL LINKS (Ordered by versions of PG)
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