Panzer Corps 2 will soon be wheeling out the tanks as the world once again descends into war. Slitherine and Flashback's follow-up to the 2011 remake of Panzer General is another hardcore operational wargame, and you'll be able to start playing in March.
Publisher Slitherine announced the March 19 release date with a new cinematic trailer, and while it's not exactly representative of the maps or turn-based battles, Panzer Corps 2 does look a lot more handsome than its predecessors and, frankly, most wargames.
It's not a genre known for its looks, but this time Flashback's employing Unreal Engine 4 and 3D graphics and bears more of a resemblance to modern Civs than grognardy wargames. It's a big improvement.
Jon Bolding took it for a spin recently, where he confessed his love for Panzer Corps 2's undo button.
"No amount of do-overs can make up for bad strategy, but mistakes get made—sometimes five moves ago—and the developers of Panzer Corps 2 understand that," he said. "This isn't a matter of letting me undo bad strategy, or making the game easier, it's a matter of respecting the player's time. Penalizing a player for honest mistakes in a turn-based game is bad design when scenarios are designed to take an hour or more. Panzer Corps 2 understands that."
I'm also very much for undo buttons. Seeing a brilliant plan undone by an errant click or a single stupid mistake isn't a learning experience; it just sucks. Games like Panzer Corps are daunting enough as it is, but if you're not a fan of the do-over option, you can just ignore it. Wargames could do with a bit more optional accessibility.
