Panzer Corps Downloads Mini-Review

[airboy]

Background
I have downloaded and played all of the Panzer Corps add-on content excepting War in the East 1944.  This is a total of 5 additional downloads ('39, '40, '41,'42, '43).  I have played everything through all of the missions.  I am now playing on a higher difficulty setting.

The Panzer Corps downloads cost $4.99 each with direct download.  I had no problems downloading the material.  Billing was efficient.  The files are small and on my internet connection the download completed in 5 minutes or less.  You can also purchase a hard copy for an additional fee.  Activation was not a problem.  In sum, the payment, downloading and activation were all very smooth.

The scenarios all require the core Panzer Corps game.  The downloads run about twenty linked scenarios from the year in question.  For example, the 1939 starts in Poland and concludes with three missions in Norway.  The 1940 download starts in Belgium and continues with multiple scenarios in France.

In all downloads you are a strategic commander for the German forces.  You cannot play as the allied commander.  The game play, graphics, etc...... are identical to Panzer Corps.  Read full reviews of Panzer Corps (I did one for Armchair General) from multiple gaming websites if you are unfamiliar with the game. 

You have a limited number of core units which can gain experience.  If the units survive a scenario then they continue on in next scenario in the game.  The units retain their experience (and damage) as you progress through the scenarios.

The scenarios are fun.  There are a couple of defensive scenarios.  There are even a couple of scenarios where you capture a unit and then escort it back to a set of target hexes.  The defense/capture & move scenarios are "new" to Panzer Corps and they improved the gaming experience.

Where the downloads really shine is the ability to play multiple, professionally constructed scenarios within the same general campaign.  You can play 18 or so missions in Poland instead of one or two.  This gives you a lot more gaming experience of your core units versus an opponent with a specific force structure.

Experience is capped.  For example, in the 1939 scenarios the maximum experience you can have is two stars which allows a maximum of 20% overstrength compared to regular units.  I'm guessing that this was done to prevent someone from building a bunch of 5 star units in 1939 and using them to blitz France.  It is a reasonable design feature, but you tend to top out in experience after 2-4 scenarios within a campaign.  This makes the loss of a core unit far less traumatic than it would be otherwise.

You can import your core force into the next year's campaign.  For me I imported the core force from the completion of the 1939 campaign into the start of the 1940 campaign.  Importing a core force is optional, but it is a nice design feature.  The importing process worked very smoothly.  Even better, when I'm replaying the Campaigns it will give me the option of importing different core forces when I completed them with the accompanying date.  For example, when I started the 1940 campaign when playing through a second time it gave me the option of importing the core group which completed 1939 the previous day OR importing the core force that I had a month and a half ago.  This gives the player the ability to assess the impact of different core forces over the course of a long war if they are motivated enough to do so.

Units can win metals and also core improvements (like +1 movement or +2 defense or improve initiative).  So even though the experience is capped the player can occasionally get an extra bonus.  Decisive victories in a scenario can also gain bonus units which do not count against your core force maximums.

Like regular Panzer Corps, I found my recon units were the hardest to keep alive.  The AI is pretty good on defense and will counter-attack and destroy exposed units.  Ambush attacks can be devastating.  Players make a real trade-off between rushing ahead with the risk of ambush versus moving more cautiously and limiting ambushes.

Are the $4.99 additional campaigns worth it?
On the plus side there is excellent play balance.  Going from one difficulty level to a higher (or lower) difficulty level is noticeable.  All of the Campaigns and each scenario within each Campaign was winnable without excessive reloading or the use of trick strategies such as long-run paratrooper drops when none existed historically.

Play balance is key for a game like this.  You either have it or you don't.  The Lords Game Studio deserves credit for not botching any of the scenarios and keeping that "one more turn" mania going for those who like Panzer Corps or Panzer General.  Some of the scenarios are novel and are for the most part done well.

But the game does ship with an editor.  There is nothing in the add-on campaigns that an experienced modder could not come up with.  But...... the campaigns have an adequate number of scenarios, good play balance, and are very polished.

If you like Panzer Corps, want more scenarios, or especially want more scenarios within a set timeline - then I would recommend the add-on Campaigns.  If you had enough scenarios, are interested in building your own with the editor, or think that for $5 you should get additional game mechanics or new units then you will be disappointed.

I'm happy with the purchase and within the limits discussed above I would recommend it (Say an 85% ranking on a 100% scale).


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Comment:
Remarkably, neither Armchair General nor the Wargamer were interested in my doing a full review.  Somebody is really dropping the ball over there.

[Marty Ward]

I love Panzer Corp and the added content is a great idea. It's cheap enough, it's not required that you but them all (for example you can start in 1942 if you like) and there are also tons of user created mods that keep it fresh. All in all I second Airboy, I am very happy with the game and all the add ons.

[MikeGER]

THX for the review, Airboy  8)

... i wait for a bundle (all DLC's in one) and hope to buy it in Autumn
(when the weather start getting bad, and activities shifting back from 'outdoor to wargaming'  ;))
proably i will get a  'DLC boxed copy'? on the Spiel 2012 in Essen (10/18-12) at the S&M booth (...or a special price if i take all 5)   

[LongBlade]

Comment:
Remarkably, neither Armchair General nor the Wargamer were interested in my doing a full review.  Somebody is really dropping the ball over there.

Well, Airboy, you know you've always got a friendly editing staff here.

[Bison]

THX for the review, Airboy  8)

... i wait for a bundle (all DLC's in one) and hope to buy it in Autumn
(when the weather start getting bad, and activities shifting back from 'outdoor to wargaming'  ;))
proably i will get a  'DLC boxed copy'? on the Spiel 2012 in Essen (10/18-12) at the S&M booth (...or a special price if i take all 5)

The bundle is not happening anytime soon.  S&M does not sell bundles, ever.  However the winter sale should see a pretty reasonable mark down on the game price.