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By Greg Norman
A few years ago, when I was living on a military base in Germany, I was completely addicted to a game called M1 Tank Platoon made by Microprose, at that time the reigning champion of simulator games. The combination of my living environment and the stark realism of the game made me want to go into the military just to drive a tank. I never did, but M1 was just about the only game I played for a couple years. Imagine my anticipation when I heard there would be a sequel. M1 Tank Platoon II is a masterpiece of battlefield simulation. The game combines excellent graphics, photo-realistic settings and authentic sound and speech to plop you down right in the middle of a warzone. Gameplay Since I was a bit of a veteran of the original Tank Platoon, I was able to jump right in and play with only a little bit of adjustment to the new keyboard settings. And there are a LOT of keyboard settings. I started with a single player random battle. Boy was I not ready. With my platoon of four tanks I waited on a ridge until artillery shells started exploding around me and tanks started charging over a nearby hill. I picked off one or two, and suddenly there were 15 tanks heading to my position. This is reflective of the overall game. You are almost always outmatched, and under pressure to take out multiple enemies in a short period of time. Luckily, the M1 is the most powerful tank in the world, and the game sticks true to that. Often, it will be your four tanks against many, many enemies. Microprose had military consultants on hand while creating the game, and all the tank armor and weapons ballistics are straight from real life. In fact, the game was a little too real. I read that the developers had to pull back a little because it turns out an M1 tank is nearly invincible in real life, and the game was a bit too easy, so they cranked up the enemy's firepower. The most incredible aspect of the game is its sound. The sound effects are staggering. Listen to this game with a stereo or a nice pair of headphones. You are IN the warzone. The game uses real voices to speak every command you issue. When you want something done, press a key and hear it called out. While waiting for the loader to put in another round, you can hear him banging around with the mechanism as shells explode outside the tank.
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