Panzer Tactics DS - first look

Decades of tabletop wargames have lived and died on one central conceit: the hex-based map. German wargaming factory CDV has adopted this six-sided cartography and plans to put it to use in the first ever World War II strategy game for the Nintendo DS this fall, Panzer Tactics DS.

The tactical possibilities of hex-based games are much more complex than what is possible on a simple grid. Not only enabling unit movement in six directions, hex-based wargames also demonstrate clearly the importance of combined arms tactics. Surrounding enemy units is the most effective way to snuff them out - and the quickest path to defeat if you let it happen to your own army.

Video games of tabletop wargaming had a heyday in the mid-90swith the success of the incredibly addictivePanzer General series on PC. Panzer Tactics DS looks and feels remarkably similar - something that Senior Producer Matthias Siedlaczek promises isn't a fluke. "We had an opportunity to make a strategy game for the DS, and we immediately knew we wanted to make a portable version of Panzer General. But we also loved Advance Wars: Dual Strike, and wanted to borrow some ideas to make something even better".

Panzer Tactics DS puts you in command of the German, Russian and allied US/British armies during their biggest offensives of WWII. You'll have a second-in-command advisor, so you won't need to be a history professor in order to enjoy rolling over Poland with the Wehrmacht.