Panzer Tactics DS (Hands-On) (Nintendo DS) Preview

Just like Sproing's other recent DS release, Undercover: Dual Motives, Panzer Tactics DS is set in a war-torn period

Since the game is far more in-depth than Nintendo's own Advance Wars, it is definitely advised to take a run through the various training aspects of Panzer Tactics. The basics are all there, such as being able to use the terrain to your advantage, yet there is so much more included, such as certain areas of land being great to hide in, but slowing vehicles down or even restricting their own vision and making the subsequent situation far more dangerous as a result. Weather effects come into play as well (you can get a weather forecast of up to two days in order to plan ahead), with specific times when planes cannot fly due to fog, for instance. Not all vehicles can attack opposing vehicles either, due to the logistics of what equipment you have in your arsenal at any one time, meaning careful thought must go into what is used and when. After all, what is the point of a moving something with a ridiculously strong weapon towards a unit if it cannot actually do any harm to said enemy?

Upon making contact with an enemy, the screen changes and a singular image of whatever unit you are fighting with (tank, infantry, aircraft

The beauty of Panzer Tactics is that whilst clearly a lot of effort has gone into making it as authentic as possible and intricately in-depth, the developer has balanced this with ease-of-use to appeal to the general DS audience. The amount of information packed onto the top screen during play is astounding, but in the same breath it is just as amazing how it is all clear and understandable. This is a prime example of how to make best use of the two screens to save going through complex menus all the time. And you are certainly going to want that ease of use when traversing the massive maps on offer and attempting to beat the missions within the set amount of days (represented by 'turns', with you ending your turn once all units have been moved). On the presentation front, the colour scheme is suitably brown, grey and 'dull' looking, in keeping with the period, whilst the overall quality of the graphics is mightily impressive and even the soundtrack has a pleasing wartime feel to it. Panzer really does feel like the whole package.