Review | Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943
Format: PC | Genre: Strategy/simulation | Publisher: Paradox Interactive | Developer: Graviteam | Release date: 25/02/10 | RRP: £14.95
Achtung Panzer takes the path of a historically accurate simulation in the form of an RTS title, and as far as the simulation aspects go it’s spot on. Its premise is to give you tactical and operational control over conflicts fought between Germany and Russia during the Kharkov operation in 1943. Taking control of either side, your goal is to drive the opposing forces out of the area.
This all takes place over two phases. There’s the turn-based operational phase, which allows you to move, reinforce, and resupply your squads via a traditional map view. Then there’s the real-time tactical phase, during which you’ll fight skirmishes with any enemies you came in contact with on the operation phase in a familiar RTS format. The mixture of the two gives Achtung Panzer access to a wide audience of players, but while the operational phase works well, the tactical phase suffers from a few significant problems that ruin an otherwise decent game.
The most noticeable issue is the camera. Often, it will switch between two extremes, either being far too sensitive or unresponsive. The viewpoint suffers, too, giving you the option to zoom in from a bird’s eye view but angling to isometric as you get closer to the ground, which ultimately provides a poor view of the battlefield.
The visuals don’t help matters, either. The terrain lacks detail, making it difficult to make out elements that may give you an advantage, and during the night missions everything becomes even harder to make out – although the lighting effects from weapon fire looks very effective.
The problems with the tactical phase unfortunately don’t stop there; the phase suffers from a slow pace that will test even the most patient simulation fans. Units generally move slowly; increasing the game speed helps, but with events such as enemy contacts and the loss of control points causing the timer to revert back to default, the phase can drag on into the zone of uncomfortable easily and often.
That said, this slow pace does encourage a more tactical play style. Well placed units can hold ground instead of chasing all over the map, and having time to rethink your tactics is useful if things start to go wrong. Ultimately, though the pace is often excruciating rather than beneficial.
ON THE OTHER HAND
The attention to historical accuracy is impressive, though. The terrain is shaped to photos and footage from 1943, and the AI follows tactics used during the operations based on footage, documentation, and eyewitness reports. Add to that random elements such as engine failure, tread damage and weapon jams, and the realism can’t help but impress.
It will, effectively, comes dow to which kind of player you are. Those who put hardened simulation above polish may be able to forgive the shortcomings of the tactical phase, 
simply due to the credibility of the whole thing.
Indeed, the problems with Achtung Panzer as a game are countered by its strengths as a simulation and educational tool. Historical facts are shared with the player between turns, and there is an undeniably interesting compulsion to try out ‘what if’ scenarios, either in the six prepared operations or through creating one in the editor. It’s just a shame it struggles to maintain your interest over long stretches of time.
In the end Achtung Panzer proves to be an interesting game, and further tweaks through patches and mods may unlock the potential behind the curtains. For now, though, it remains a detailed and accurate simulator that will impress a certain niche, but a game too rough around the edges to recommend to anyone else. By Greg Giddens
5/10
