Battle Academy 2: Eastern Fronts
The travels to World War II’s Eastern Front, where players work through Battle Academy series four campaigns (two Soviet and two German) on an upgraded game engine that adds a few new wrinkles to a simplified, but very solid, tactical combat model.
Taking turns, players fight a wide variety of tactical engagements, to include partisan attacks, commando raids, armored breakthroughs and gritty urban combat. Maneuver units are historically modeled individual guns,vehicles and teams of footsoldiers. Air attack, anti-aircraft defense and indirect fire also play important roles.
The game mechanics are easy to understand, the 3-Dgraphics are a bit cartoonish,and the intermediate scalefore shortens combat ranges.Yet the gameplay is believable,and as in real life, achieving victory requires effective planning and good use of combined arms tactics.
Battle Academy 2: Eastern Front hits the sweet spot in the balance between ease of play and realistic complexity. It is a great choice for novice war gamers and grizzled veterans alike.
Originally published in the May 2015 issue of Armchair General.
