Campaign is a classic strategy game with a World War II setting. As a general, you take control of either the Allies or the Axis and lead them through several campaigns from Africa to Russia. As a good general you will have to take care of all aspects of warfare: You will have to manage the production of your facilities, protect your air force bases and provide your troops with enough reinforcements, ammunition and fuel. Last, but not least, you will have to make sure that the opposing general won't be able to do likewise.
The game mostly focuses on tank warfare, but there are also air and sea units, and you will need a lot of tactical finesse to succeed in combat. Not every fight can be won by sheer strength. You will have to use barrage fire as well as artillery support or ground bombardment with your aircraft. If you are defending, you might consider 'digging in' your troops or using minefields.
Most of the time you will operate on the tactical map, which gives you an overview of the terrain, your troops and those of your foe. All troops are commanded in squads, so you don't have to bother with single unit management as in <a href=http://www.abandonia.com/games/258/download/PanzerGeneral.htm">Panzer General</a>. If this is still too much for you, you can hand control of single squads over to the AI. Once your forces engage the enemy, you have to choose whether you wish to lead the battle yourself or whether you want the AI to auto-calculate its outcome. The manual battle interface looks a little bit like the full-sized minimap of <a href=http://www.abandonia.com/games/378/download/Command&Conquer.htm">Command & Conquer</a>, where you can command your tanks, along with air strikes and artillery support. If that's not enough action for you, there is also the possibility of hopping into one of your tanks and shooting the hell out of your enemies. Be careful when you have to retreat, as every tank left on the battlefield can be captured and repaired, so it's possible you might be facing your own tanks in the following fight.
Maybe you're wondering why I haven't mentioned sound or graphics so far. Well, both of them are clearly below average. The tactical map looks very boring and I am sure you will play your own music instead of listening to the game's sounds. The 3D view of the tank battle is very limited, but the intro looks great. The interface isn’t too easy to understand at first, but right-clicking on every icon will bring up some help text.
On the bottom line, Campaign is a very good and original combination of strategy and arcade elements, which will hopefully not only please hardcore generals but occasional gamers as well.
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