Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943
A real-time strategy game set in the Third Battle of Kharkov.
Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943, a 2010 real-time strategy game by Graviteam and Paradox Interactive, puts players in command during a short slice of the Third Battle of Kharkov, covering just six days of fighting between Germany and the Soviet Union in March 1943.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Graviteam
- Publisher
- 1C Games (RU)
- Paradox Interactive (NA)
- Mamba Games (UK)
- Released
- 11 September 2009 (RU)
- 25 February 2010 (NA)
- 14 May 2010 (UK)
- Genre
- Real-time strategy, wargame
- Platforms
- Windows
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The game covers a short period of the Third Battle of Kharkov, from 2 to 8 March 1943, while the actual battle lasted from 19 February to 15 March 1943. It offers six scenarios based on historically accurate engagements around Kharkov; two scenarios put the player in command of German forces, and four place them in control of Soviet forces. An editor allows players to create custom scenarios, and several training scenarios are included. Units are organized in platoon-sized groups, with 250 types of soldiers and officers and 40 types of combat and tactical vehicles. A 3D encyclopedia displays the capabilities of both German and Soviet units. Vehicles simulate penetration values, with each part of a vehicle and individual crew members modeled separately; a tank may become immobilized if hit in the tracks or engine, or a Molotov cocktail may set it alight. Shells can ricochet or fail to cause damage. The game has two modes: a strategic map and a tactical map. The strategic map is a 2D topographical grid where players move units to positions, including key points, while the enemy does the same. Units left in a grid can dig trenches and foxholes. When two units meet in a square, a battle may begin on the tactical map, also involving units from neighboring squares for reinforcement. Each strategic turn represents four hours of in-game time, so battles can occur during day or night, with simulated light sources such as parachute flares and burning vehicles.
Reception
Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943 landed with critics in a middle ground. It scored 70 out of 100 on Metacritic from six reviews, and 80 percent on GameRankings from five. The tutorial was widely panned: one critic called it a boring, slow procession of large tooltips that explain interface elements one by one. The GamersGate download includes three PDF manuals, but their English translation is poor and hard to follow. Rock Paper Shotgun agreed, noting the manual needs more pages and better translation, and that the stripped-down RTS interface is too compact, forcing players to spend days experimenting with movement, attack, and formation commands. The AI also drew fire. Pathfinding was unreliable, with units often refusing to go exactly where ordered. Units do not automatically seek cover when shot at; players must click a "go on defensive" button, which increases micromanagement. The developer claims the AI studies player movements and picks strategies on the fly, not from scripts. Yet one reviewer saw the enemy fail to flank clearly visible approaching forces, and on another occasion, units under heavy fire stayed in the open instead of retreating a short distance into nearby woods.
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