Blitzkrieg is a pc game created by Nival Interactive and released in May of 2003. It is a real time strategy (RTS) game and based on the events of World War II. Blitzkrieg is the first title in the Blitzkrieg series. The game allows players to assume the role of commanding officer during the battles of World War II that occurred in Europe and North Africa. Each country has its respective historically correct military units. similar to the Sudden Strike games, Blitzkrieg focuses on battles rather than real-time strategy aspects like base building.
Blitzkrieg isn’t particularly flashy, and it doesn’t have any especially innovative features or revolutionary concepts, it does have some strong gameplay elements that give it some real substance and help make it deserving of your attention. Considering the game’s release in 2003, Blitzkrieg’s graphics were ok for its time. The environments were somewhat bland consisting of greens, browns, and grays. The terrain is modeled in 3d but the maps are 2d and due to the age you will see some graphical glitches every so often. While the graphics may not stand up to modern standards, they still hold up well and contribute to the game’s overall atmosphere.
The gameplay mechanics strike a balance between accessibility and strategic depth. Rather than constructing a base and a bunch of units, you’ll simply be given an army for each mission and set out to complete your objectives. In some cases, you’ll be given forces that make the missions rather challenging, though in others, you’ll end up with an army that lets you accomplish your mission fairly easily. The game is based on historical World War II battles, and in some cases, this means that some missions are rather boring. However, the game has a wealth of other gameplay options, so the game as a whole, does have some depth to it. The game offers a range of unit types, including infantry, tanks, artillery, and aircraft, each with their unique strengths and weaknesses. There are a great variety of units at your disposal, including many kinds of artillery, tanks, trucks, and infantry. You’ll often be surprised at what you can do with them: Infantry can throw grenades to destroy tanks, if they get close enough; engineers can build trenches, bridges, and tank blocks and plant or disarm mines; artillery can be ordered fire automatically at specified points that are so far away as to be out of view; trucks can ferry troops; and troops can enter buildings. You can also steal unmanned enemy artillery. All these options help make the actual unit vs. unit combat interesting and strategic.
The game also offers plenty of other strategic elements. Though Blitzkrieg focuses on ground combat, you can call in different kinds of air support, including bombing runs and paratrooper drops. You can also transport slow-moving troops in trucks and in tanks. You have to keep track of your troops’ ammo supply, though. Each unit has primary and secondary ammunition, and once you run out, you must get more from either a supply warehouse or a remote supply station, where you must order truck crews to resupply your armies. However, the game has some noticeable pathfinding problems in these tight areas–vehicles can go in reverse, but they often waste time needlessly repositioning. The concept of supply definitely adds more strategic depth to the game, but the actual process of supplying your army can be cumbersome.
Blitzkrieg’s multiplayer component allows players to engage in intense battles against friends or strangers online. The multiplayer mode supports up to eight players and offers a variety of maps and game modes to choose from. The competitive multiplayer scene was vibrant during the game’s prime, fostering a strong community of dedicated players. However, as the game aged, the player base dwindled, making it more challenging to find opponents. Despite this, Blitzkrieg’s multiplayer aspect remains enjoyable for those who can gather a group of friends or participate in online communities.
