RATINGS
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Overall: 8
Pros: Nice twist on an old genre with stylised "tabletop game" graphics adding to the feel of the game.
Cons: Locked Features until you reach a certain level, meaning in to check out the game you are forced to play it for longer.
We’ve lately had a look at Ubisoft’s new strategic, turn-based collectable card MMO, Panzer General Online, which is the latest instalment of the Panzer General franchise and basically offers all the trimmings one could expect from a collectable card game. You are able to build your personal deck comprised of a huge variety of military units of World War 2 as well as potent Command Cards which allow your forces to perform specific actions.
With Panzer General Online, the franchise takes a far-reaching step away from the original games, but first of all we should, however, state that we had such a great time playing it. Already having played Ubisoft’s other TCG Might & Magic: Duel of Champions (MM:DoC), we were quite eagerly waiting for the titles full launch in order to see if it stood the comparison.
Upon entering the game, we were immediately brought to a tutorial explaining the basic aspect of gameplay, which are quite easy to figure out, as well as some pretty interesting features worth the time to listen to the guide. All units players control are characterised by a specific attack value, individual hit points as well as a counter attack value, which indicates the damage inflicted to an attacking enemy unit. These attack values concern infantry and armoured units, whereas some units don’t cause any damage to others.
While moving along the 3-lane-map, our guide introduced us to the game’s Command Cards that enable players to use their units for attacks (units are unable to perform any action without one such card). Playing these cards requires command points, the specific amount of which depends from the individual Command Card.
The most interesting aspect with that is that those command point also function as the general’s life points, meaning once they’re depleted, the battle is lost. Therefore, with every Command Card played in battle, the player’s own defeat is drawing nearer. Luckily, there’s also a Resupply Command Card which restores the player’s lost points.
The game map consists of 3 different lanes, which themselves are comprised of hexagonal tiles that are occupied by the player’s military units as those march down the lane to get to the barbed wire zone in the centre. There, we engaged in combat against the Nazis (as players are initially assigned the role of the US by default, only later on allowed to opt for the other side) using our unit and Combat cards. Just like in MM:DoC, it’s essential to reach a point where the opponent general in the rear isn’t protected by any allied unit anymore, for it’s only then that they can directly be attacked when there’s a line of sight. The damage dealt during this attack decreases command points from the opponent (exactly, the same points that are required to undertake any action).
The tutorial finished, we had the intention to check out on a few other features, but nearly everything, including PvP, only becomes available when reaching level 6. However, this isn’t as tragic as it might sound, since this stage can probably be reached quite effortlessly. For the sake of the video we wanted to record, we tackled the comprehensive PvE campaign, which offers more than 150 missions and allow players to fight as either the Germans or the allied US forces. Each mission we completed rewarded us with XP to increase our general’s level (which gives access to additional units and unlocks more features) as well as in-game currency that can be used to buy buffs and packs of cards to obtain new command cards and units.
All in all, we had a truly great time in our trial; the game is tactical and fun and, in comparison to those classic fantasy card games, simply presents a fresh approach to the genre. Considering the fact that Panzer General Online is a browser title, its graphics are just great, the UI and its graphical style contributing to the tabletop impression the game wants to transmit with units looking like tabletop miniatures and a map made up of blocks of hexagonal terrain. Those of you who have a knack for collectable card games shouldn’t hesitate to give this MMO a shot as it is completely free to play.
If you're interested in seeing more in-game footage from Panzer General Online, we recommand to have a look at this article.
Deja tu comentario
You must be logged in to post a comment.