Strategic Command

by Softek International

Product Features

• Play six major campaigns from either the Allied or Axis sides
• Command the armies of Germany, the USA, the USSR, France, Italy, Spain and more
• Wide variety of gameplay options - fog of war, declarations of war, strategic bombing and more
• Unit types cover all major facets of land, sea & air combat -- from HQs and submarines to tanks and aircraft carriers
• An easy-to-use campaign editor lets players create their own scenarios

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000191ZVI
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: December 16, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,659 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Strategic Command: European Theater is World War II action at its best. Take command of an entire nations' militaries, and guide them from the beginning to the end of the war! Exciting multiplayer modes including LAN, TCP/IP and PBEM(play by email)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Fast Playing, March 9, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Strategic Command (CD-ROM)

Great Game, easy to learn and fast playing with lots of strategic depth, especailly against another Human player. Your actions influence the actions of the other neutral powers. Take London and Spain may join the Axis, attack more countries as the Axis and Russian War Readiness increases, leave your border with Russia under garrisoned and Russia will accelerate its prepartions for war.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid grand strategy game with no eye-candy, August 29, 2005

By 

Martin Omander (Mountain View, CA United States) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strategic Command (CD-ROM)

This game reminds me very much of the old Avalon Hill game "Hitler's War". Die-cut counters move across an uncluttered map of Europe. Combat is relatively simple, allowing the players to focus on the bigger picture.

The map is a great example of the game's strengths and weaknesses. On one hand it is the easiest to read map of any strategy game I have tried. On the other hand, it is a primitive-looking hex map and has no eye-candy whatsoever. The same goes for units, research, politics, etc. Everything is functional and clean, but it looks like the game was made 10 years ago.

The reason I give this game such high marks is that the AI is quite good and that the game's apparent simplicity allows you to think like a WWII statesman instead of thinking like a computer game player. The game is simpler than most other similar games, but all the abstractions seem well-thought out and add rather than subtract from game-play.

For example, provided you have the resources, you can buy any unit at any time, without any waiting time. While this is unrealistic (in real life it takes many years to build a new battleship) it also means you don't have to learn a complex UI. And in this case, the simplification doesn't take anything away form the feel of the game. In other areas the game authors have kept some complexity, for example in the way HQ units work. This slight complexity adds flavor to the game because it is relevant.

I heartily recommend this game to any armchair general who wants a grand strategy game with a nice learning curve.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Dire, December 9, 2005

By 

Donaldo "Book lover" (Manchester, England) - See all my reviews

= Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Strategic Command (CD-ROM)

It's not the graphics or the hex gameboard that is the problem in this game. Graphics are pretty minimal, but given good gameplay, this could be easily forgiven. Unfortunately, the gameplay is pretty awful.

I have persevered with this game a few times, but I cannot say I have enjoyed any of the time I have wasted on it. The combat system is really bad. It's a bit like Axis and Allies the board game, minus the fun and the fast play. You can build tank units, planes, bombers, ships, etc. When it comes to infantry, you can build Army or Corps. But you cannot combine Corps into Armies, or divide Armies into Corps. The combat system is even poorer than that in Civ games.

The political possibilities in the game are also overestimated. I played Germany three times, and on each occasion, no matter what I did, I always ended up at war with the Soviet Union and America, whether I declared it or not. There are nuetral countries that can be invaded, but frankly, you would be wasting your time invading them as it only speeds up other powers declaring war on you.

Development of industry and weapons it pretty samey as well. Whilst they do give you an edge over the enemy, there is so many categories that you really find it hard to care. The problem is that in a day an age where you have Hearts of Iron II, this game is simply not good enough. Hearts of Iron has so much more depth and detail. Even if this game was produced some 10 years ago, you would still think it pretty samey, but by today's standards it is simply not good enough in any sense of the word. A total waste of money. I have a copy in good condition if anyone wants it.