80/100
Players11 ratings

Where to get it

1997 · Strategic Simulations · Grand strategy · Strategy

Panzer General II

Will you fight as a Wehrmacht Officer, or perhaps lead your comrades in the Soviet Army? You may want to hit the beaches at Salerno and Normandy as an American or British General. No matter what path you choose, you will need all your skills to triumph. The successful Panzer General devises sound strategic plans, and carries them out with unswerving commitment.

Released: 30 September 1997
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Grand strategy Strategy Turn-based strategy World War II
Developers: Strategic Simulations
Publishers: Strategic Simulations Mindscape
Modes: Local multiplayer Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Warfare
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB E USK 16
Languages: English
Composers: Kevin Manthei

About

Panzer General II is a computer wargame by Strategic Simulations, Inc. Released October 15, 1997, Panzer General II is the sixth SSI game in the Panzer General series and the first in the "Living Battlefield" series. It takes place during World War II, covering events from the Spanish Civil War in 1938 to hypothetical battles in 1946. In the April 2000 issue of the magazine PC Gamer, it was voted the 44th best computer game of all time, and the highest rating in the Panzer General series. The game was re-released in 2010 on GOG.com.

Keywords

turn-based
tank
digital distribution
tactical turn-based combat
nazis
fascism

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game of Panzer General II is divided into scenarios, each representing a specific battle. All are played on a hex map, which is divided up into hexagons that represent between one and two kilometers. At the beginning of the game, the entire map is revealed to the player, but enemy units are covered by fog of war and are not visible.

Each hex is assigned one of thirteen terrain types that penalize or assist the movement of units. Mountain, city, and forest types block line of sight. The game also features four kinds of capturable hexes marked by a flag indicating the country owning it: ownership, designating a player's ownership of a city, town or other important feature; supply, allowing unit deployment; victory, indicating critical cities or objectives; and victory-supply, combining victory and supply. The objective is to defeat an enemy by capturing all of their victory hexes in a specified number of turns.

Reception

Panzer General II's initial shipment of 100,000 copies sold out within roughly one week of the game's release. In the United States, the game sold 42,481 copies during 1997.

PC Gamer US named Panzer General II the best computer wargame of 1997. It was a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1997 "Wargame Game of the Year" award, but ultimately lost to Sid Meier's Gettysburg! The editors called Panzer General II "a clinic in how to properly develop a sequel".

Legacy

In 1998, PC Gamer US declared it the 15th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "the perfect introduction to wargaming".

There are only two official game patches released for Panzer General II, 1.01 and 1.02; they are available only for UK, US, German and French language versions (no patch was ever released for the Japanese version). Because the game in version 1.02 had many bugs left and severely limited the freedom of designing custom game data (scenarios, campaigns, maps and units), a number of unofficial patches were made. A fan-made 2.20 patch is available, and the GOG.com release of the game offers both v1.02 and v2.20 out of the box. Any further updates are unlikely, due to lack of activity from the unofficial patch maintainer and because of closed-sourceness of PGII.