User Reviews (11 - 21 of 43)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

German version is fantastic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: September 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The demos released for the US are spotty in quality - I recently returned from Germany with the German version and can say this is a phenominally built game for the WWII grogs. No, its not the most realistic game released. For that buy Combat Mission, Hearts of Iron, etc. But if you are looking for a graphically gorgeous WWII RTS with three distinct, fun campaigns, buy Panzers.

My only gripe is the amount of units you can requisition based on 'prestige' points. Even in the full version there arent nearly enough compared with what was historically available. It wouldve been nice to have infantry units with different weapons or a larger variety of AT guns, recon vehicles, etc.

Multiplayer is fun when limits are placed on the points you can use and the map variety is quite nice. It largely turns into an artillery/tank fest unless you limit what you have.

Overall a great game with not enough historic detail. The mouse problems with the demo are fixed as are the disconnect problems in multiplayer. Gamespy sucks but thats what CDV decided to use.

sweet RTS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

OK, here's the bottom line....this game ROCKS. If you're like me and love RTS but hate wasting time building a base and micromanaging, this game's for you. I liked Blitzkrieg but the game was way to redundant, same objectives throughout. This game is varied and totally fun. It's on the top of my list for my most favorite game. The graphics are sweet, sound is good, multi-play is fun, gameplay is right on. Trust me on this, you'll love this game if you like to focus on tactics and strategy and not wate time on micromanaging. buy this game!

A lot of bugs

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: July 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought the German version and I'm really pissed off. Unfortunatelly this game contains a lot of bugs. I have already invested more than 10 hours into making the game run on my PC (reinstalling drivers, changeing IRQ settings, etc). To no avail - it still crashes or freezes within 5 seconds.
Lots of other users of the German version seem to have the same problem (see forums). The newly released patch does not change the situation. Take care! Tom

Panzers: Fun, Immersion, and Just Enough World War II

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: August 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Codename: Panzers

CDV, as publisher, is synonymous with real-time military PC titles that represent a mixed range of game play experiences. Well known CDV published games include the ultra-realistic Combat Mission series, the fast-paced, authentic-feeling Blitzkrieg, the very successful click-fest Sudden Strike, and the mega-unit supporting titles American Conquest and Cossacks. Now, CDV prepares for another assault on American shores with its newest franchise, Codename: Panzers.

Codename: Panzers is developed by lesser known Hungarian developer Stormregion (S.W.I.N.E. fame) with producers and finishing touches largely added in CDV's German headquarters. While branded as a real-time strategy (RTS) game, Panzers is really a fast-paced, very accessible real-time tactical title that limits true strategic choices. Let me underscore that point: Panzers emphasizes enjoyable game play and fast-paced action and truly is a nearly perfect blend of action-oriented fun, combined with a rich, truly immersive World War II historical backdrop.

Gaming options include a fairly standard offering of single-player mode against an aggressive AI that makes up for what it lacks in finesse with brute force and fairly sophisticated combined arms attacks. Alternatively, players can compete against others in multi-player engagements (or others, supplemented by computer-operated opponents).

Unit depiction is attractive, based on a realistic "who's who" of World War II equipment from the German, Soviet, and Western Allied arsenal during that time. While units resolve combat largely in a rock-paper-scissor fashion, difference in armor, firepower, speed, and mobility are clearly considered, even if somewhat abstracted for ease of game play. In its design decisions, where fun and historical accuracy collided, CDV chose fun; where they mutually supported each other, both were incorporated.

Codename: Panzers sports superb graphics with a nearly 360 degree 3D engine that allows enough zoom to enjoy the beautiful level of detail found on units and landscapes, while also zooming out far enough to offer a fairly reasonable tactical overview on the game map. (A minor criticism would be that the game really could benefit from a true 360 degree view, with greater zoom and, most definitely, a greater ability to zoom out for improved situational awareness.)

While both multi-player and single-player skirmish modes are present and quite fun for a quick, instant action battle, Panzers really shines in its single-player campaign mode, of which three are offered. Unlike other World War II titles, however, the campaigns are partial representations of the war from each of the three major sides that partook in the action on the Western and Eastern Front.

Germany, for example, begins with the invasion of Poland, while the Soviets start theirs later, around the first German attacks against Russia; the United States and British campaign doesn't start until initial paradrops behind German lines to capture key bridges and then to help the D-Day invasion and Utah Beach assault succeed. In each of the campaigns, the player controls one or two significant "hero" characters that have better abilities than other units, and can actually inspire and improve the effectiveness of nearby friendlies. The inclusion of heroes help suspend disbelief, help the player invest more emotions in the game, and make the storyline much more engrossing (even if some are quite funny, largely due to inadvertent translation issues in the storyline) than a more traditional ho-hum military briefing found in so many other World War II titles.

Together the three campaigns span close to thirty individual, but linear missions (the exact number for the U.S. version remains to be seen). The game is somewhat reminiscent of one of my fist computer-based wargame loves, Panzer General; Codename: Panzers uses an experience system to allow units to grow to more elite status (thus, predictably, more difficult to kill and more effective at dishing out damage to enemy units), and a prestige model that dictates what kind and how many units the player can requisition (i.e. purchase) as the campaign evolves. This makes for a highly variable play experience. Whether one builds a combined arms, mechanized, or infantry heavy force, for example, largely alters the tactics that one can effectively employ.

While enemy units can be captured (and this is actually an effective and entertaining tactic), unfortunately captured enemy equipment cannot be retained between missions in this first installment of Panzers (two more are planned at present). "Captured" friendly equipment, however, may be retained and remains available in subsequent missions. (I, for example, temporarily gained a heavy KV-2 tank assigned to my command and swapped my hero character and tank crew's T-34 for it, thus adding the KV-2 to my core units until it was destroyed in a later mission.) Formations also are lacking in the current version, as is a unit editor, but all of these, the publisher has indicated, are under consideration for a sequel.

In summary, let's talk about what Codename: Panzers is and what it is not. It is clearly not the cat's meow of authentic, historical accurate wargames. There's always HPS, Matrix Games, and Shrapnel Games for that. That, Panzers was never intended to be, acknowledges CDV unapologetically. Instead, Panzers is a highly enjoyable, very accessible, beautiful to behold, immersive real time strategy title that is a tank-load of tactical fun, and just happens to be set in World War II. Personally, I highly recommend it to fans of the genre as well as more casual game players, and take the game's accessibility and fast-paced, "get in and get out quickly" game play over a tedious, encyclopedic manual and steep learning curve any day.

Great Game but.....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is an awesome game and as a History Major with a passion for WWII the game even has a lot of good true info about weapons and battles. The use of the pause button is nice as well, it gives you a chance to strategize when the AI out manuevers you-- you can set up defensive positions, outflank them, etc... It's a nice addition to the standard run-and-gun. The only reason I notched it one star overall is the lack of captions. I am deaf and find it extremely frustrating when games do not have captions. By now I'd think companies have learned that captions are a necessity for cutscenes since approximately 25% of the US population is deaf or hard of hearing.

Lovely to look at, but totally un-realistic in play...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: October 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Firstly PC wargames seem to fall into 3 catagories:-

Firstly the first-person shoot-em up variety
- and there have been some fantastic games in this genre recently, including front-line command and incredibly atmospheric calll-of-duty command.

Secondly there a the more strategic games - like suddenstrike and blitzkreig - which (especially with mods) seemed like a much more stragic view of combat - where you control cool-looking groups tanks and soldiers into combat....moving and positioning all your troops for a killer attack...

Its in the third new group that code-name panzers falls, trying to mix the latest of 3D graphics with WW2 RTS, with an emphasis on tactics/strategy...

While I truly love this genre of game, this game is a very mixed effort with often very good graphics (although looking a little unrealistically shaded at times), and lovely effect scenere...

What unforgivable is the total lack of realism...
making the exact same mistakes that many of its predicessors make; only making them far-worse...(in part no doubt due to its detailed close-up graphical engine that does'nt really lend itself to long-distance panoramic shots of combat...)

Firstly the graphical are often a feast to look at....
Tanks drive, well pretty much like tanks would!
troops move more the way you'd expect, and it looks like one of the nicest graphical engines Ive seen for sometime in this genre...

Whats really disapointing is its almost total lack of realism...

The top German tanks (the king-tiger) can no-longer take out allied tanks with one hit [even on the easiest level!], heck they can barely shoot half way down a city block...?
Even worse your prized example of German engineering are vunerable to relativly weak enemy tanks....
(when anyone who's even watched footage knows just how deadly and almost invunerable these tanks were...!)

Mobilile artilery barely sends a shell any further,
when in reality it ought to be able to shoot miles away
(or at least to the edge of the screen please!)
but now seems strangely innefective...

The famed german anti-aircraft/tank guns, the 88 (see it in the series "Band of Brothers"!) which could destroy almost any tank at long-range with a single shot...now it can barely shoot half way down the block, and strugles to kill trucks at close range!!

Air-support might be 1940s era, but strangely it seems to arrive within seconds (something not even modern US airpower has mastered!) so one wonders if these chaps couldnt teach the US govt a thing or two..!

Heavy Artilerly is incredibly accurate (it sure wasnt in reality, it killed masses of our own troops!) and impotent
(a large arty shell on a tank could really ruin your day!)

I could go on and on, but it would seem in there relentless drive to make it fab looking they've forgotten about why we play these games...

Those who dont care at all about history can play Warhammer 40000, but those who do love the feeling of been able pretend for a minute "what if I was there..." - but with this game I get the feeling from the go that Im just playing a nice-looking arcade like game...

No-one expects a game to model reality too exactly (being hit at 2km wouldnt be much fun either!) but this is truly ridiculous... unless someone comes out with a reality mody I cant even be bothered playing this game...

Until then I guess I'll have to dust off SuddenStrike and
waiting for Wartime Command to come out...
IN the video that looks fab and apparently they've focussed more on the realism front...(which wouldnt be hard!!)

Overall - 2 stars, although I was tempted to give it one for making so many elementairy mistakes...

Imho - for the war-game RTS player...avoid for now...

A must have!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: August 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Codename: panzer is a WWII rts game that let you play as the German, Allied(American and British), and the russian in each of it three campaign. Player won't be able to build barrack and war factory like in most rts game. Instead they will control a small amount of units through a series of tactic and strategy.

Here are the pro of the game:
tank and infantry unit have stunning detail
all three campaign are quite long and are a blast to play
your infantry unit actually play a vital role in this game

and the cons of the game:
skirmish mode is limited
more unit to command would be better
can't zoom in all the way
Population cap only reach up to 25 units
pathfinding problem still exist
where are the unit scatter mode?
tanks and infantry take way too many shot before being kill
cutscene are below expectation

Futhermore if you are a WWII junkies or anyone who just like to play rts game without the hassle of micromanagement, then this game is a must have to your collection. So, go out and buy it now!!!

Unimpressed

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: March 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After playing Blitzkrieg{Which I love}, I'm not overly impressed with the game. The AI doesn't seem to realistic. I sat and hammered on a russian armored car with a Tiger tank and it took about 6 or 7 shots to kill it! This is not how it worked out in real life, a Tiger would kill a T-34 in one shot let alone an armor car. It seemed to be the case throughout the playing experience. Blitzkrieg was a much better game for shot to kill or game realism. Also bought version 2 and it is worse. The graphics are great and the cut scenes are ok but if you want realism I would think twice!

World War 2 RTS fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Codename: Panzers is a fun, realistic rts based in World War II. Units are beautifully rendered, capabilities are fairly accurate, gameplay is high paced yet not out-of-control and the overall graphics are great. Like most rts games, units have to be hit numerous times in order to score a kill. This factor may be a turn off to 'purists' who look for one shot, one kill kind of games. Codename: Panzers is not such a game. However, it provides a fairly realistic treatment of World War II combat despite being an rts. In particular, using combined arms effectively is a must. Given these factors, I think Codename: Panzers is a winner.

Another Step Forward

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: July 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Codename: Panzers falls into the genre I call 3D animated real-time strategy. As a reviewer of games for over ten years, I'ne watched the genre grow from laughable to almost "there". Earlier games were not historical in terms of unit capabilities and the graphics outpaced game play. Huge numbers of enemy units compensated for bad computer play and game mechanics were so complicated as to drive a player insane. Later versions improved on all this; yet, the scale of play left me uncertain as what level of command I played and the AI was never good. Units needed more mmicromanagement than real soldiers required.

I've played the demos for Panzer and find many of my objections handled. I know that I'm a company commander with a specific mission. I cam constitute my units to match my task. The interface has been streamlined, my troops react to obvious threats without me hovering over them and the AI seems crafty.

From the demos, Panzers seems to be the system that, to date, best links fun with history. I hope the final product bears me out.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 Next 

Actions