Cheap East Front 2 (Software) (Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows 98) Price

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Customer Reviews of East Front 2

EF2 is designed by one of the founding fathers of the classic Avalon Hill "hexagons and hundreds of cardboard counters" boardgame Squad Leader, but actually more closely resembles the Panzerblitz game from the same company... i.e. platoon, not squad level units.

I always loved those games as a kid, and a PC version solves the two main problems-- finding opponents and all the time it takes to set up. The artwork is really great and quite clear.

However, I'd like to see more of a breakaway from the turn-based boardgame paradigm. Also, even with fog of war rules on, you still know far too much about the condition of your opponent's units.

As a game, it is fun, but as a simulation it could be substantially improved. Sequential, turn-based movement is the worst problem. Just as artillery strikes are "lagged" in the game, you should have to issue your movement orders in advance and then watch your poor troops try to carry them out in real time, as the enemy simultaneously does the same. Your ability to alter these orders in any given turn (based on what you've bumped into) should be limited and based on your experience, nationality, degree of unit mechanization, etc.

The best tactical level WWII simulation ever
East Front 2 is not perfect, but it is simply the best tactical level World War II simulation ever made. Really. It follows in the tradition of the Panzer Blitz/Leader board games (and to a lesser extent the Squad Leader games) but adds a tremendous wealth of details and realistic game features. The game includes 600 different types of units, everything from 8 different models of PzKpfw IIIs to Polish wz.06 mountain guns, to Finnish Jaeger engineer platoons. The game also features historical information, specs and photos of each unit type.

Having played and enjoyed the game thoroughly I was distressed to read Ray Crawford's notes above about a faulty and/or biased game algorithm and decided to test his observations myself. I found that they were wrong. He maintained that German MG units had about a 50% chance of destroying Soviet T-26 tanks at a 2 hex range. Actually, MG units can't even fire on armored units at 2 hexes, the game won't permit it. At 1 hex, T-26 tanks were destroyed only 6 times out of 84 attempts or about 7% of the time. This may strike people as strange though "Machineguns destroying tanks with 25mm or armor?!" but remember that that's the maximum armor thickness and not the average. Tanks and armored cars are always more thinly armored along the sides and rear. And that defensive rating each unit is assigned also reflects things like the size of the tank, its silhouette, speed, how well the armor is sloped etc., etc. From my observations I noticed that Soviet MG units can also destroy German armored vehicles: PzKpfw Is, IIAs, and PSW 222 armored cars. Crawford also wrote that all Soviet guns under 76.2mm typically had no effect against German armored cars at any range. Again, my observations didn't bear this out. Soviet 45mm guns knocked out PSW 222 armored cars 11% of the time (out of 65 attempts) at 3 hexes, their maximum range against armored targets. They were also effective against light and medium tanks (the latter at short range though). Overall, my results were in line with expectations based on the game's combat system and I didn't find any bias in the game mechanics.

It's true that in the game German infantry is much more powerful than Soviet infantry, but that was the historical reality anyway. For every German soldier who died on the Eastern front, 6 Russian ones died. Russian armored units, on the other hand, are extremely powerful in the game. The T-34 M40s are really tough to stop with just PzKpfw IIIs and early IVs to say nothing of the super heavy IS IIs and IIIs that show up in the later scenarios. The game designers seem do have done an thorough job and the unit characteristics seem reasonable and realistic.

Having said that, the game isn't perfect. The spotting rules don't seem accurate. Infantry moving through woods are typically spotted from over 1 km away. I don't like the way units are 'blind' when scouting in unfamiliar territory and can't spot enemy units until the end of the turn. Sometimes you end up blundering into a large enemy force out in the open or even finish your movement next to them and are given no chance to react. The simulations during movement and combat run too slowly as well and the AI isn't all that great. The computer will sometimes vacate a victory objective to advance and engage the enemy, and it generally acts too predictably. But in a game this complex, it's not terrible and the scenarios are generally interesting and somewhat challenging.

So in spite of these shortcomings East Front II is a really wicked game. I find that the most successful tactics are the most realistic ones. You end up basing your plans on the maps, weather conditions, supply situation etc, and end up fighting for the best tactical position instead of just slugging it out mindlessly. The infantry assaults work best when done in a true to life fashion: artillery bombardment, smoke, infantry advancing with MG support and a final close assault when the enemy is disrupted or 'pinned down'. The game also has a virtually unlimited replay value. It comes with over 130 ready-made scenarios plus some in depth campaign scenarios. You can generate your own scenarios in minutes with the scenario generator or carefully design your own. And then there are the on-line and play by e-mail options. After playing EFII for more than a year I still feel like I've only scratched the surface of its full potential.

So, summing up I give the game 4 and a half stars (rounded up to five). Having played war games since I was a kid I'd have to say that EFII is the best one out there in its category. If you love detail, realism, the chance to plan and execute well thought out attacks, you'll love this game.

Be Warned: Best Suited For The Hardcore Wargamer
The other reviewers are more articulate than I, so why am I bothering? Mostly because if you're reading this review, then you're probably interested in buying EF 2 and maybe already know something about it except the most important thing: will YOU enjoy EF 2? I think EF 2 is the sort of historical military game that usually only hardcore wargamers love: detailed unit statistics, complicated supply and movement restrictions, and so on. If you're not a veteran, this EF 2 is not likely to be as enjoyable. For one thing, it is sloooooow: waiting for the AI to make its moves can seem interminable. I find the drama greatly reduced (in comparison to games like Steel Panthers and Combat Mission) but far more distracting is the predictability of the AI with its inflexible attacks. You can learn to love EF 2 (I did) but it was work: ask yourself why you're playing...