Sound and Gameplay

"Achtung!"

The sounds in SS are realistic enough if a but muted, due to the distance that separates you, the commander, from the field of battle. Go by a bunch of infantry just standing around waiting, you might hear marching. Go near a tank column and hear the rumble of their engines, the squeak and clang of them turning and moving. Bombs from airstrikes whistle, mortars have a concussive boom while a JadgTiger's 128mm gun mutes out all the rest. They may be distant, but they're still the sounds of battle.

I just paid off the mortgage!

Property values are gonna stink

Gameplay

Pick yourself an army. British, American, French, Soviet or German forces will be available. With every main-stream and high-profile unit available (as well as quite a few lesser-known ones), you'll have a lot of options about what to command. You must fight the battle as well as you can, since there are no replacements, there are no resources and no buildings that make units for you. This is, like Myth and Myth II, pure tactics and control. Just as your men must outfight the enemy, you must outthink the opposing commander. If you fail to do so, you will lose the battle. Not only is there the enemy force and terrain that you must take into consideration, but minefields (yours or his), dragon's teeth, barbed wire fences and the possibility of air strikes/artillery aimed at choke points where your forces are likely to get stuck.

'House is an investment' my ass

The Germans are waiting in ambush

Fog of war is, like in Myth, especially brutal. Sending a unit to scout ahead might mean losing it - at the very least it will take damage. Don't send anything and you don't know what's coming at you, or what you're heading for. Send something weak, it might not penetrate far enough before being driven back. Send something strong, and you're losing a powerful combat unit, since strong units aren't the kinds that can usually turn around quickly and run.

Bridges are always important targets

Is all of Russia invading this town?!

Speaking of which, if you're under the illusion that tank combat in World War II was dynamic, think again. Those tanks didn't have computers to aid in aiming, a lot of the time the turrets were manual and not hydraulic. To fire while in motion was like juggling gold bars while snowboarding off a cliff. You're not doing anything productive and wasting something of value. SS makes it clear that tanks move into position, stop, aim, fire a few times and move again before being overwhelmed by enemy fire. This is as good a representation of World War II combat as we've seen in a long while.

Multiplayer promises to have 12 simultaneous players divided into 4 different teams. Ever wanted to see the Russians go up against the Americans? How about the French and British taking a few swipes at each other to settle old disputes? No problem.

They're taking heavy losses though

If only the Germans had Stukas...

Sudden Strike looks to be a very promising first step into the world of realistic RTS games. Taking its cue more from the classic Myth than the typical RTS, you can expect a great deal of tactical involvement and micromanagement. That coupled with the detailed combat model that offers as much fun as possible without compromising realism definitely makes it a game to look out for.