Panzer Elite Action

6.2
Average

Gameplay	6.0	"Lots of tanks, but where's all the fun?"
Graphics	7.0
Sound	6.5
Value	6.0

By Tristan Clark

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When I first started playing Panzer Elite Action, I wanted to jump out of the tank and blast some opposing soldiers on foot – I just felt too restricted sitting inside a lumbering hunk of metal. Then I realised that I had been playing a lot of Battlefield II recently, and spent a while trying to shake off the feeling that this game was a Battlefield clone, that for some reason, didn’t let you exit your vehicle.

Once I got over that, I began to see how a tank-centric game could work quite well –it could go into more detail about the types of shells you use to fire at different targets, or incorporate some detailed gameplay involving aiming and firing the turret. Unfortunately, what Panzer Elite Action provides is a bland arcade experience that really does feel like half a game – and while there are fun moments to be had, they are far outnumbered by the long stretches of boredom and repetition you are likely to experience. It doesn’t help that the game is set in WWII, the most overused setting in videogame history.

PEA’s campaign begins with the invasion of Poland, played from a German perspective, and switches to the Allies later on, culminating in the storming of Berlin. You’ll be rolling your tank over green pastures, along snowy roads, through cities, and up beaches, as World War II unfolds around you. However, whatever your current setting is, you can be sure that the gameplay will unfold as follows: advance, spot enemy forces, blast enemy forces away, find healing station, and repeat.

This uninspired level design really sheds the game of any character, a situation that isn’t improved by – as mentioned before – the gameplay mechanics. Your tank controls like any other arcade-like game that features vehicles, which is both a plus and a minus. On the one hand, it means that more people can easily get into the game – but on the other hand, it means that all of those people will have exhausted the gameplay options 15 minutes into the game.

You have two weapons available – a machine gun prone to overheating (but with unlimited ammo), and your main turret. You’ll use both these weapons indiscriminately, as you’ll soon find out that whatever your enemy may look like, they all act the same. Whether you’re up against artillery guns, foot soldiers, or other tanks, you can rest assured that everything will blow up after 2-3 shots. When you couple that with the often long-ranged fire fights you’ll be involved in, you’re left with combat that is rarely engaging.

It’s a shame that the game is so shallow – I had great fun in the first 10 minutes or so, but it was a disappointment to discover that that 10 minutes of gameplay had been stretched and duplicated to cover an entire campaign. While the presentation of Panzer Elite Action is fairly polished and consistent, with adequate graphics and sound, none of that matters if there isn’t a fun game underneath it all. If you’re after an engaging tank simulator with deep gameplay, there are several other games that should satisfy you. On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re after a fun action game with tanks, there are many better games out there that will serve your needs. The problem with Panzer Elite Action is that is occupies an uncomfortable area between these two types of games – and instead of combining the best of both worlds, it often manages to combine only the worst.

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