User Reviews (1 - 11 of 22)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Beware if Encore

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: December 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Beware of any game bearing the Encore trademark! These games are notorious for not having any tech support, and being very buggy. Do some research before you buy any Encore product.

Has potential but has too many bugs

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game has changed hands through several companies now. I received a "Panzer Elite Special Edition" by Wings/JoWood Productions. I was able to play for a while on an ME system not connected to the internet I have set aside for just game playing games. Then I started getting "beeps", meaning the game froze.
I reinstalled and the results were the same. I installed the game on my XP system that is linked to the internet and it caused all kinds of problems on the system. I uninstalled it. I have gone to the website and it appears to me that it is necessary to have knowledge, interest, and ability to download and perform software functions, which I do not care to do.
I just want to load a game and play it. I don't care for cheats or patches, which may contain viruses.
When I could play the scenarios for the German instant play there were too few. With the single scenarios, there were long periods of just driving with no action and targets seldom seen.
Bottom line: I really liked it when I could command some of the German tanks but am very disappointed that I could not continue to do so. If all the bugs were worked out to where a layman such as myself could play with ease then it would be enjoyable.

Panzer Let Down

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 22 / 23
Date: September 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The Germans have finally broken into the PC wargame market and this is one of their first offerings.

Comparable to Panzer Commander, except with slightly better graphics, the simulation just lost credibility with me when I found out that play seems to use a 'hit point' system to decide when a tank has been knocked out.

In many cases you must shoot tanks repeatedly to knock them out, even from very short range (even with very powerful guns) until their hit points run out and they burn.

This 'hit point' system lends itself well to internet play (which the game features) because participating players have to be hit more than once to be killed (otherwise, most of them would lose immediately---no fun there). However, as a solo simulation, this feature is a dud.

I had to repeatedly shoot the lower hull of an M-4 Sherman from 200 yards five times with a PZ-IV J high velocity 75mm gun for it to brew up (give me a break!)

I think the designers just got greedy and aimed for the internet gaming market and modified the features accordingly at the cost of a real battle simulation.

Another thing which quickly got on my nerves was the robotic and repetitious voices of the crew which seemed to describe their every single action. I guess they could have worked on giving a little more on realism on the voices than the stilted, robotic dialogues here.

My other peeve is the infantry, which looks like moving shooting-gallery target silhouettes.

Nice points?

Yes, one. The game lets you custom design your own keyboard hot keys, so that you can fashion your own controls.

Other than that,I hate to say I liked Panzer Commander better. The only good point is this game runs much smoother with windows XP than Panzer Commander does.

Ja mein General. das ist eine Panzer Elite!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The best WWII tank battle simulation ever produced. It includes very accurately reproduced Battlefields with a stunning texture, Panzers and Tanks that actually look and feel like the real thing, devious infantry who actually pops up whenever you less expect it to destroy your tank.

Finally, tanks can destroy trees and buildings and make their way through valleys, hills and rivers. You may even get stuck in mud if you're not too careful, especially in Russia. When it rains, it really pours and your tank will have a harder time to travel across prairies drenched with water.

Gun muzzle blasts are as real as you can get them. You have original crew voices (all in the Nations' respective languages) telling you what they are doing and orders from the High Command you better follow , unless you want to end a loser. Strategies and tactics are up to you and it is also your task to command and protect you platoon from enemy fire.

It is not "as if" you were in WWII, but rather as if you "are" in WWII.
Every mission is based on accurately researched historical events, with historical settings, vehicles and soldiers. Even the camouflage patterns on your tanks change during the course of war and according to the terrain in which you do battle.

You can drive almost any tank imaginable in that period: from a Valentine to a Firefly, from PzKpfw II to a King's Tiger and from StuG III to a Hunting Tiger! Each tank comes with its own realistic set of fuel, armament and equipment and you better make sure you fuel it up before a mission, otherwise you're stuck like a lame duck.

The only downside to this game is that you won't have any aerial cover nor having Allied aircraft attacking you. This is though, compensated by an ever-present heavy Artillery attack which can happen at any moment and wherever you may be...

The interiors of the tanks are as accurate and minutely researched as their exteriors (most of the documentation comes from Tank Museums). You are able to sit in the tank as well as seeing it from an exterior view which you can swing like a camera filming it (at every angle, except from below, but who would like to see his own tank from underneath it?).

The weight of the vehicles you drive is also there. The feeling of driving an M-8 might be exhilarating, especially due to its speed, but when you face a Tiger you better duck, or it will blast you off in thousand pieces. If you command a Tiger instead, you will be much slower, but you wouldn't have to worry too much about a Lee or a Sherman. You just stop the heavy beast, aim, fire and move forward. One shot with an 88mm caliber gun will send a Sherman's turret fly as if it were made of Aluminum.

The main attractivity of this game though, is that it keeps expanding. More and more scenarios can be added almost monthly.
From Africa to Italy and from the vast steppes of Russia to the shores of Normandy and beyond, you will have to survive through the entire conflict.

Moreover, its system of MODs, or additional functionality modules, allow it to have it a different feel with every single one enabled. You want to fight in Normandy in Winter, instead of in the Summer? Fine, you just enable the Night and Winter MOD and you have it. You want to drive more vehicles in the African Desert than those that came with the game? Enable the Full-Monty MOD and you will have that too.

The description could go on forever. Suffice it to say that this is a unique simulation that cannot compare to any other similar one ever produced. The people who have worked and still work at it are passionate artists, programmers and above all, historians. They know perfectly what they are doing and do it extremely well.

A warning though! Since this game is meant to be played directly from your Hard Drive, because you have to completely install it there, including all the additions and scenarios (just to make the game smoother) it is only recommended to those of you who have large HDs and a very performing Graphic Card with lots of memory included.

To conclude, until someone will come up with a photo-realistic game, based on WWII, that actually shows the true villages, towns and cities as well as the actually filmed vehicles, this will remain the jewel in the crown of any other similar simulation.

I would nominate it the best WWII simulation of all times and also of times to come...
Up to you now, to make up your minds, but if you don't buy it, you will never know what you have missed.

Panzer Elite BLOWS away the competition

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Thats right! Panzer Elite has no competition out there as far as Tank Sims go! This is THE most realistic Tank sim I have ever seen since I was in the Army. This has to be the most stable product right out of the box. I had no problems installing this product...it did take a little while to install. After the install finished, I started the game and it prompted me to configure my 3d card which is a 3dfx Vooodoo3...no problems were detected. I must say that certain cards will not work with this program very well, but they are few and far between. Once the 3d card was configured it was time to "brew up some tanks", The game enviroment is very realistic, lots of hull down positions ambush spots galore! The AI is in my opinion very smart for a game..but just keep a eye out for your wingmen they tend to fire and then forget in battle. Speaking of battles...they are a challange. I won't go on about that you just have to see it for yourself, and dont worry about the manual being thin, Panzer Elite has a great web site if you run into any problems, besides it saves trees! Just a word of advice: Get a PII 450mhz 128mb memory and a decent video card and sound card and you wont run into any problems like you have been hearing. Besides games on anything less than a PII are boring!

EXERCISE IN FRUSTRATION

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I was so anxious to get this game. I mean really anxious. I'd been playing SSI's `Panzer Commander' for over a year and the buzz about Panzer Elite was so favorable and so electric, I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it!

I finally got the Panzer Elite game home and I literally ripped it out of the box and threw the CD into my computer. What ensued next was the beginning of a long series of headaches, disappointments and aggravating computer "down time". While the install itself went smoothly (the opening cinematic sequence was nice as well) it was all down hill after that. I attempted to jump right into game play only to discover that my video card was having some serious problems. Without hesitation I went to the Panzer Elite web site and then straight to the PE trouble-shooting forum. As I suspected, it was recommended that I download the latest drivers for my Riva 16mb 3D card. It took me nearly an hour and a half to find the right drivers (no fault of the folks at Panzer Elite HQ)! Once installed, I discovered I was going to have to "tweak" the settings of my 3D card via a 3D tool that came with the game as it was still not working properly. I downloaded a diagnosing utility from the Panzer Elite site, made a few more adjustments and the problem was fixed (!). I jumped right into game play and things SEEMED to be off and running. The frame rate looked a little sluggish and I considered tweaking my 3D settings again, but then I decided to live with the minor problems. The graphics looked great and the pre-campaign/mission briefings were absolutely outstanding. Panzer Elite gives you full control of your tank crew and I found myself immersed in the decision making. Then I began to notice that the audio in the game did not seem right. The only thing I was hearing during game play was the sound of my tank engine and nothing else. Ok, now I knew I was having a sound card problem. Again I went to the PE web site which suggested I get the latest audio drivers for my Turtle Beach sound card. After installing the new sound card drivers I was still receiving minimal sound. I even tried 2 different sets of speakers. No luck! The install and help manual that comes with Panzer Elite is wretched. One of the most vague, UN-detail oriented game manuals I have ever read. No trouble-shooting help to speak of, no practical tips or suggestions, nothing! I later realized that not only was I missing out on all the audible pops and whistles, cracks and bangs of warfare in Panzer Elite, but my tank crew members also spoke and relayed orders and directives. This of course is imperative to game play. Without it, you'll find yourself struggling to read the scrolling text that brings you up to date with what's going on in your tank.

The `Help Forum/Chat' at the Panzer Elite web site was a welcome trouble-shooting guide, but after trying numerous suggestions, my system (450Mhz, 128mb RAM, the works, etc!) could just not handle the game. I put it back in the box and took it back to the store and got my money back.

If there was one good aspect of the game, it was that the folks that make it are very helpful and very patient. "Teut", one of the designers was kind of enough to help me try to work through the bugs and glitches. This type of one-on-one attention is almost unheard of in the software gaming world. Hats off to the designers of PE for their commitment to their customers. That said, I did notice that A LOT of other people seemed to be having problems just like mine. The PE on line Help Forum was clogged with questions similar to mine, some even worse.

I know the designers of Panzer Elite delayed the release date of this game by almost a year, but it seems as if they should have waited longer. It should have been re-tested on a multitude of systems and then tested again. I consider myself to have a reasonably standard system, and one I've even enhanced for game play. I've never, ever experienced problems like I did with Panzer Elite.

My recommendation to persons considering buying this: Approach with caution, and save your receipt. The game is apparently breathtaking once you get it going -it's getting to that point that will try your patience.

Panzer-Elite

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 10, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Panzer-Elite has finally done what most software manufacturers try to do, deliver a playable yet entertaining game. The graphics in this game rival those of WWII fighters, the campaign game is very entertaining to say the least, be prepared to lose quite a few platoons as the game progresses. Remember to play the long campaign and if victorious you will be given a chance to get some surprises from their website(even though it is not ready as of yet).

This game needs to be played with at least a machine that has 266MHZ at least and a 3D accelerator card is a must. After some tweaking I was able to get my Voodoo 2 card to work well and I also was able to use a Riva TNT card as well. One thing that the game lacks is the lack of fighter and bomber intervention. During WW2 Panzers had to deal with many raids by P-38s, P-47 and many other aircraft. I believe this is going to be addressed with add ons or maybe a new campaign disk. One last thing if you have played

Panzer-Commander, this is a game that is head and shoulders above it. Closer to M1 Tank Platoon but a smoother better paced game.

Panzer Elite suceeds on many levels

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Panzer Elite has dominated my gameplay habits for quite a while because it has so much to offer. One aspect neglected in most reviews is the availability of an Object Editor, downloaded from the Home page. As a military modeler hobbiest, I can appreciate a bran new world of vehicle contruction made available to the novice, or the software experts amongst us. The user can access all the items in the game, and detail or re-camoflage each tank or vehicle using the supplied textures. When through tinkering, the new creation can instantly be added to the game. The real fun is to watch your new customized Tiger prowl through an absorbing 3d environment, or check out your buildings made of brick instead of stone. In essence, a bran new hobby is created through the new world of computer software. And like most great pastimes, the pool of fellow enthusiasts that correspond over the net enliven the experience further. This great tank sim is for the computer gamer who is tired of the 'checkers' type simplicity of first person shooters, and would rather become involved in something with more substance and longetivity ,like chess.

Finally a tank game worth investing my free time.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: January 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Panzer Elite is the game I have been searching for years. I have been playing tank games on paper and on computers for years. I admit to having had some flight simulator envy with their great first person perspective. Now I need not envy anymore. I can hop into my trusty Sherman (or Tiger) and let the lead fly. This game is very immersive. It gets all the essentials of tank combat right. The terrain is modeled in great detail with trees, hills, nooks and crannies great for hiding behind. Tanks are modeled in appearance (insides too), but also in how they respond to damage. Damage to can range from a catastrophic 'brewing up' to a damaged radio. The player can command an American or German platoon in combat from Tunisia to France, by way of Sicily and Italy. The learning curve is steep, but is mostly developing situational awareness and learning to deal in real time with hairy situations. The game ran great for me out of the box. There is great support on the web for any that encounter problems. There is an active user's community growing for Internet play and user enhancement. Panzer Elite has become the new standard that all tank sims will be judged by.

Panzer Elite- Massive potential but poor delivery.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: January 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Another game released for the holidays still in Beta form. Massive potential but incredibly buggy, it didn't even work for me out of the box. Stupidly, I waited for the first patch, I wish I had just returned it. The good; definately the best treatment of WWII tank combat yet done and potentially the best tank sim period. Right now, IMO, M1TPII has it beat just because it is finished. Good graphics, original but very efficient interface, and great detail in terms of the weapons. The bad; Numerous graphics glitches including floating objects, seams in terrain tiles, and things like smoke and flame from burning tanks appearing in front of you, when they should be behind you. Massive terrain 'pop-up', turning apparent smooth terrain into nasty hills and cliffs. Coding errors in the armor files and AI shooting which frequently, for no apparant reason, starts shooting wildly. AI tanks which drive THROUGH each other and a tactical map which gets so small at higher resolutions as to become almost useless. Some of the radio messages do not play audibly, but only display on the screen and frequently, they don't tell you who they are from.

Poor design choices; Very poor graphical representation of your round impacts, making it very difficult to determine where you are hitting. A terrible manual that doesn't even include all the keyboard commands. As I mentioned above, the gunnery portion is very involved and detailed, yet there is not a single mention of the gun sights in the manual! You basically have to experiment as even the documented commands don't work the way you would assume. Especially bad is that there is no way to back up your AI wingmen tanks. Order them to a new location and they frequently drive in circles, exposing their vulnerable flanks and rear to the enemy. Inability to switch between tanks meaning if your tank flips over, is destroyed (and your persona survives, even unscathed), or bogs down in a river, game over, even with 4 other tanks in perfect condition.

The ugly; The patches themselves have caused problems. The first patch caused unforseen problems, and it was then modified. The updated patch also caused problems resulting in a new, subpatch. Then, due to the problems caused by prior patches, a program was offered to check your install and this also caused many problems, the third version is now available. Many users still cannot get it to work, and many joysticks and other controllers cause problems such as the tank turrets spinning uncontrollably. Luckily the mouse interface works well (I know it sounds strange to use a mouse in a tank game, but the interface is done very well.).

This game has massive potential and Wings will provide continuing support until it shines. Without the bugs and glitches I would have given it 4 stars. Take out some of the poor design choices (Several of which Wings has said they will change in future patches), and I would have given it 5. It's just a matter of whether you want to be a Beta tester and wait the several months until this thing is really done. I know many of you will say that M1TPII had problems out of the box also. Believe me, the problems that title had were nowhere near as bad as even the current patched version of PE has. With continued support, this game will eventually be one of the defining sims in this genre. Many hardcore users are jumping into the fray and publishing documents and files to improve, explain, and modify this sim. For now, my advise is, stay away from it.

Review Page: 1 2 3 Next 

Actions