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Computer Version of Lock 'n Load Heroes of Stalingrad

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12 Feb 2014 09:34 #171791 by repoman
Saw on Facebook that this is available for download today for $40.

I'm a big fan of Lock 'n Load: Band of Heroes. Yah, it ain't ASL but I actually learned the rules to this game.

That it's from Matrix makes me think it will be a decent production. I'll probably download it when I get home from work tonight. The one thing that gives me pause is that there are 33 single player scenarios but only 9 for multi-player.

That suggests repeated PvP play will be limited once the optimal positions for the 9 scenarios are figured out. We'll see I guess.

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14 Feb 2014 09:55 #171890 by repoman
Alright, I took the plunge and bought this.

Played one scenario and the beginning of the campaign game. So this is by no means definitive.

My thoughts are these:

1) It's technically nice. Almost an exact port of the board game to a computer. It's got a few clouds floating over the board for some reason but other than that it looks just like the physical game. The graphics are flawless in that regard. The game hasn't glitched in anyway for me. The display that shows the die roll along with applicable modifiers and the target number is cool and allows you to see the game's workings rather than just a result. Again, very board game like.

2) Mark Walker, who is Lock 'n Load, has a way of being half-genius. He seems to find a way to leave a bad taste even with such fantastic games like Lock 'n Load. I've mentioned some of his bullshit scenarios where he tries to be cute (The Private Ryan scenario in Band of Heroes is a good example). Here, you start off the campaign which is a series of linked scenarios where a particular sergeant has to survive and that's kind of cool and very reminiscent of the original Squad Leader where you could have a personal leader that could advance and improve over the course of several scenarios. But then....THEN...he has this atrocious series of comic book panels appear to tell the story. Jesus Christ. Don't know who did those drawings but they should be ashamed. I'll stow the hyperbole and believe me when I say they are some of the worst art I've seen in a very long time.

3) Too early for me to make a judgement of the AI. It didn't do anything really stupid in the couple of games I played but like I said...too early. Haven't tried any of the PvP stuff yet.

3) The cost is steep for this game though. $40 for the download. It's too much really. The game really seems comparable to an iOS title that should retail for maybe $10. I'd be raving about it if it were. As it is...unless it suddenly does something super awesome...I'd hold off on dropping the dough.
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20 Feb 2014 11:09 #172215 by repoman
Further impressions following a couple scenarios where I was on the attack:

First, to provide a better idea of what I'm talking about with the really inexcusable art. Feast your eyes on this visual abortion:



And that's one of the better pictures.

Ok so playing through the German Campaign and having completed the first two scenarios successfully.

The AI is very passive on the defense. The Russians start "hidden" which means they are invisible until you expose yourself. All well and good but that just means you move forward with no real way to avoid a reaction shot when you become exposed. Then once revealed, the enemy sits in place and only seems to move when there is a chance to engage a shaken unit in melee (an auto success). That's a shame because it emphasizes the biggest weakness in the game system which is melee.

The scenario victory conditions, in these two scenarios at least, seem to boil down to "kill all the enemy". The first one does have victory locations but as the Russians just sit on them, in actuality it's a "kill 'em all" scenario as well. I find that unsatisfying.

So we take those two factors and add in the strict time constraint, only so many turns to kill 'em all, and it boils down to very few options of possible strategies. You must advance, shake the enemy, and then melee to be assured of unit elimination. It felt like it all came down to luck as to whether or not I could get a good enough die rolls to break enough units per turn.

Perhaps these are just weaknesses of Lock 'n Load in general and not specific to the computer version and only the rapid pace and number of games I've played allow them to be seen more clearly. Or maybe it's more the limitations on a computer AI vs. a real player. Not sure.

I really was getting frustrated when I had a panzer and a MG42 team firing point blank at a half squad in a building for four turns and was unable to shake them.
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20 Feb 2014 11:49 #172219 by ThirstyMan
Christ. That art is absolutely shit.

Mark H Walker goes down a bit more in my estimation.
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22 Feb 2014 08:04 - 22 Feb 2014 08:21 #172282 by Cranberries
I just read a glowing review of the game over at ToS, so I'm glad to see this. I've been sort of shopping around for a turn-based wargame to replace Uniwar for Android/IoS. I've downloaded the demo for Conflict of Hero: Awakening the Bear, which was produced by Matrix, so we'll see if that's any good.

Panzer Corps is getting rave reviews, both the PC and the iPad version. You can get the iPad version with a kajillion scenarios for $60, and it seems to be a mature system. I'm pissed off at my wife right now, so I'll probably buy it to punish her, and remove the media hint plugin from her laptop so she can't watch Netflix and Hulu in this media-forsaken country. Then I'll pretend like I'm not sure why it isn't working.
Last edit: 22 Feb 2014 08:21 by Cranberries.

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22 Feb 2014 09:43 #172285 by ThirstyMan
Nah. Give her a kiss and do make up sex.

Life's too short for that bollocks.
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22 Feb 2014 15:44 #172297 by Matt Thrower
Before slapping down $20 for Panzer Corps, you might want to check out the fully-featured and totally free game based on the same mature rules system, Open Panzer:

itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id775273884?mt=8&affId=1720307

I haven't tried it, but I'd be interested to hear a comparison from anyone who has.

(And there's an HTML 5 version for non-iOS owners)

www.linuxconsulting.ro/openpanzer/
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