M1 Tank Platoon II is one of the most challenging games I have ever played. It is not a game that you can just jump into without studying. The mammoth 280-page manual is the place to start, followed by the War College program. Even if you manage to make it through these two read-only phases of the game, you still are not ready for battle.
There are so many controls to learn in M1 Tank Platoon II that I actually felt like I had joined the military. Virtually every key on the standard Windows keyboard controls something in your tank and the developers still recommend that you use a joystick in addition to the keyboard. It is a good thing they give you three quick reference control charts in the package because getting lost is amazingly easy.
Graphically, M1 Tank Platoon II is amazing. The animation is so realistic that playing is almost like watching a movie. Peering through the gunner's sight is a breathtaking experience. The driver's point of view is slightly artificial but it is still quite good. The tank Commander's two vantage points are also well rendered.
The scenery and the motions of enemy vehicles are also great but not quite as good as the closer views of your own platoon. As odd as it may seem, things look better close up than they do far away. I realize this seems to hold true for most situations but some smaller (far away) graphics in M1 Tank Platoon II are not as good as they should be when compared with the brilliance of the close-up graphics.
If anything draws you into the game more than M1 Tank Platoon II's graphics, it has to be the sound. The clanks and bangs of loading shells, the roar of enemy aircraft flying overhead, the crackling sound of orders over the radio and the pat-pat-pat of machine gun fire are all amazingly realistic. If nothing else, this game sounds real.
Ever Since Battlezone (The Original arcade game, not Activision's action/strategy hybrid) blasted onto the scene way back in the 1970s, gamers the world over have been hooked on tank games. A decade later, when the original MI Tank Platoon stormed onto the scene in I 989, it set a new benchmark for ground war simulations, winning numerous awards and a place in the hearts of dynamic war game fans. M1 Tank Platoon is a video game published in 1989 on DOS by MicroProse Software, Inc. It's a strategy and simulation game, set in a real-time, tank, vehicular combat simulator and war themes, and was also released on Amiga and Atari ST. This tank sim shipped out way too soon. The original M1 Tank Platoon was king of all tank sims in its time, and by 1998 it was high time for a sequel. The game ships with five campaigns: Gulf War, North Africa, Far East, Moldavia, and a fictitious War World III scenario. This is the one point of the game where you can choose difficulty settings.
The great audio and video presentations help make gameplay amazing. Spotting enemies, aiming at them and blowing them off the ground or out of the sky is exhilarating. War might be hell but it's great fun when you are in the comfort of your own home.
With all the controls to memorize, the game can be a bit tricky at first. It took me several plays before I realized how to call in air and ground reinforcements effectively. That little step improved my mission success rate immensely. I also found that you could move from tank to tank. Before that, I had simply been aborting missions if enemy fire damaged my tank and could no longer return fire. Reading the manual is very important in M1 Tank Platoon II. Unlike many other games, you cannot simply jump in and swim.
The developers at MicroProse have apparently taken great care to make this an accurate and realistic simulation. They have done a great job. M1 Tank Platoon II has given me a newly found respect for war simulations. If this game isn't in your library, you are definitely missing out.
Graphics: Superb visual presentation. Some smaller graphics are grainy but, overall, everything looks great.
Sound: The sound is amazingly realistic from the clanking of the shells to the crackling of the radio.
Enjoyment: Hard to get a handle on at first, this game becomes more fun with each new attempt.
Replay Value: As you learn more about the game, the more you want to play. Replay value is great because it is never the same game twice.
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Overview
Take command of a tank platoon and supporting units in a variety of topographies and campaigns or single combat missions. As platoon commander, you will be responsible for getting your unit through tough odds and heavy fire. Can you identify and use your strengths to expose the enemy's weaknesses?
Gameplay
Before you even begin to play, M1 announces itself loud and clear as a simulator. The large, fold-out quick reference, which takes a few minutes to look over, makes that very clear. The controls become complex fairly quickly, as Microprose openly declares in the documentation. There are four pages of instructions devoted specifically to listing the keyboard controls before describing their functions. I take care to mention the complexity of the controls not to knock the game, but as a warning to those gamers not looking for a complex simulator. Microprose spent a great deal of time and effort to create a realistic-yet-playable simulator of tank warfare.
As with any game, there are a few glitches. The attention to detail Microprose included during gameplay impressed me. They created the typeface, language, and format of mission briefings consistent with military operation orders and incorporated information on the standard operating procedures for US and Russian tanks in the game's AI. However, I was not far into the game when I began to find typos, repeated words, and rally points described with two different names. Although none of these directly affected gameplay, I found the errors distracting and disappointing given the rest of the detail included. Another problem I found was with the game's AI. During gameplay the effectiveness of the AI was uneven. The enemy computer units, while not perfect, are well done and made intelligent decisions. However, the AI for your allied computer units failed to come up to the same standard. This made for challenging missions, especially considering the already tipped odds. Rather quickly into the game, I found myself playing babysitter for my allied units from the top view map, instead of behind the wheel of an M1.
M1 Tank Platoon Download Video
Graphics
For all the complexity Microprose put into the controls of M1, they put an equal amount of effort into the graphics. They are impressive and incredible, to say the least with texture rendering few games attempt to include. Detail on individual infantry units reveals the care and time put into the game. Like other 3D rendering engines of the day, there are some shaky frames and goofy looking polygons at times. However, this is definitely near the top of a short list of games that have impressed my eye with pure graphics.
M1 Tank Platoon Download Youtube
Audio
If the graphics do not raise your heartbeat to new heights, then the audio will finish the job. Although the game does lack, or ignores, the consistent background noise of an engine, or the wind whistling through the open view ports, it goes overboard on the sound details. The crackling radio, inter-tank communication, and battle sounds erupt in 3D around you. Beyond the radio sounding like a radio, the callbacks and operation of the radio greatly add to the game becoming more than a game, but a true simulator. Calling for artillery support has the artillery calling you back with appropriate status. Watch the ground erupt around your enemy while you hear the radio announce 'Splash!'
System Requirements
IBM PC 133MHz Pentium compatible or faster, Windows 95 and DirectX version 5.0, 16 MB RAM, SuperVGA graphics for 640 x 256 colors, hard drive (200 MB free), 4X CD-ROM drive, mouse, DirectX-compatible sound card
Documentation
As with any simulator, the documentation contains a vast amount of information. However, the 280 page 'Operating Manual' actually measures fairly light in my experience with simulators. Page 125 marks the end of the game instructions and details, and marks the beginning of the facts and details about the vehicles, weapons, military doctrine, and other facts simulator fans will find immeasurably important for game play, or interesting as trivia.
Bottom Line
Simply put, if you enjoy simulators M1 should find itself onto your must buy list. However, if you find simulators too complex to enjoy, then M1 will not change your mind. Microprose has put together an incredible package with M1.