Panzer General III: Scorched Earth

There has been an alarming trend recently to release what amounts to an add-on pack, repackage it and try to convince the public it's a new version. Although Panzer General doesn't do this, it comes very close. The original Panzer General 3D broke all the rules for turn-based hex games. Great graphics, full 30 views and above all, no hexes. Set on the Western Front, it put you in control of either the Allies or the Axis, in battles ranging from Africa to a hypothetical German invasion of Washington. Any game that means you can send Stukas over the White House has got to be good.

So along comes PGIII: Scorched Earth. Is there a new engine? No. Have the graphics been updated? No. It's basically the original PG. The German units are unchanged from its predecessor and, although the Russian units are well modelled and very pretty, it still feels like you're playing the first version.

Now the old adage "If it aint broke, don't fix it" springs to mind and, in that respect, SSI should be given credit. But seeing as they either forgot - or avoided - putting the Western campaigns on, it kind of ruins the moment. Sure, you can still play multiplayer games with either the German, British, Russian or American units, but it would have been nice to see the imagination that was used in some ol the PG3D scenarios being put to good use here.

For example, Patton wanted to attack Russia after the defeat of Germany. There are the units in the game, America Vs USSR 1945, and all it would have taken is a bit of lateral thinking. Sadly the game is devoid of that... Pretty good, but definitely not exciting in any shape of the word.