Author: scharfschutze
Type: PC Game
Released: 2000
Designer: Fireglow
Publisher: CDV Entertainment AG
Genre: Real-time strategy
Dozens of German paratroopers swoop into France, supported by bomber squadrons that shatter the landscape. Masses of Soviet tanks rush towards a few dug-in German guns on a hill. Wave after wave of American infantry push towards the bunkers on a forlorn French beach, as shells from ships pound the shoreline. These are just a few of the scenes of war that you engage in Sudden Strike. An offering from the same publisher as the later Blitzkrieg series, Sudden Strike takes RTS gamers into the world of the Second World War, with all the subtle and not-so-subtle aspects that entails.
At first glance, Sudden Strike might seem like little more than an earlier version of CDV's Blitzkrieg, and in many ways, it might be. But the difference between Sudden Strike and Blitzkrieg is the same difference between a company and a battalion in an army: size. In Blitzkrieg, you are never in command of more than a dozen or so vehicles. In Sudden Strike, a dozen vehicles would be considered a medium- or even small-sized map. There are often literally dozens of vehicles moving across the map. Hundreds and even thousands of infantry also take part, not to mention the possibly dozens of heavy machine-guns, mortars, and artillery weapons that add their "voices" to your efforts.
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Sudden Strike is visually simpler than other games of the period (including Blitzkrieg), but this is a good thing, because once the guns open up, there will be literally hundreds of shells smashing across the map. However, despite some simplification, the game is still incredibly detailed. Explosives shatter the landscape, bringing down bridges, smashing buildings, and blasting forests and vegetation to fragments. Unlike Blitzkrieg, aircraft that are shot down actually crash onto the ground, killing any soldier and destroying any vehicle/gun underneath it.
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Like almost every RTS, Sudden Strike bases damage on the concept of hit points. Hit points reflect a vehicle or weapon's general capability to resist damage; a huge Jagdtiger tank destroyer (78 tons with a frontal armour of over 200mm) has far more hit points than an infantry soldier (70-80kg with a khaki vest to keep out the weather), and a 75-mm anti-tank gun (10-mm gunshield and armour-piercing ammo) has more hit points than a 150-mm howitzer (no gunshield and high-explosive ammunition lying all over the place). However, Sudden Strike was the first game I played where armour actually made a realistic difference in game terms. More specifically, shooting a tiny 15-mm anti-tank rifle at a massive Tiger tank will do absolutely no hit-point damage, simply because the weapon physically cannot penetrate the armour.
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Sudden Strike has excellent tactical depth through its use of engineering vehicles. Although you cannot dig trenches (like in Blitzkrieg), your vehicles can lay wire entanglements ("hedgehogs") and tank obstacles ("dragon's teeth") and build pontoon bridges across rivers; your infantry can lay mines to stop tanks, although there are no anti-personnel mines in Sudden Strike. As well, you have access to air support, including bombers, recon aircraft, and transports (which can drop either "sticks" of paratroopers or supplies). One concept of Sudden Strike that is quite unique is the concept of spotting. Unlike most real-time strategy games, where a unit's sight range is effectively the range of its gun, Sudden Strike balances the fight between infantry and tanks by making all tanks effectively "buttoned up". In other words, a tank has a long range with its gun, but cannot see as far as it can shoot. The same dilemma befalls anti-tank guns. The solution: having a single infantryman ahead of the main force, acting as a spotter for the heavy guns of tanks, anti-tank guns, and heavy artillery. The other option, of course, is to use spotting aircraft, but this isn't the best approach if the enemy has a large number of anti-aircraft ordnance. You'll just lose the spotting plane and (if you're lucky) identify the position of a single AA weapon.
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Although the game is graphically far less detailed that its "successor", Blitzkrieg, Sudden Strike is still visually striking. The game's maps are all incredibly detailed, with cities, villages, roads, ridges, and forests (all of which can be blasted down). I have only two real problems with the graphics: firstly, several of the aircraft models seem incredibly un-detailed and almost unrecognizable; secondly, several of the vehicle models are very simplistic - they're recognizable as the specific vehicle (Sherman tank, Puma armoured car), but they're not nearly as detailed as they could be.
Effects: 9/10While graphics are a tad underdeveloped, effects are hardly poor. Explosions, gunfire, rocket trails, bombing runs - this game has everything a relatively accurate depiction of war needs. The only real problem with this game is the fact that every explosive weapon, from 20-mm cannon shells to the massive 380-mm rockets fired by the fearsome Sturmtiger, produce the same-sized crater and (it seems) explosive radius, although the specific damage is different.
Gameplay: 7.5/10Although the game is quite detailed, Sudden Strike also possesses several problems. Firstly, there isn't an effective "attack move" option, making offensive movement very difficult; secondly, there is no way to force high-speed units to move at the same pace as slower units, leading to extremely high casualties amongst armoured cars and the like. Still, the game is certainly enjoyable, especially on the defensive, where these movement problems are less acute.
Replayability: 8.5/10The campaigns in Sudden Strike are long, detailed, and extremely enjoyable (except when the aforementioned house-to-house searches develop), and the individual scenarios provided for "skirmish" play are also quite fun. With Sudden Strike: Forever, a Map Editor was added, allowing the player to create his or her own missions. Unfortunately, this editor, while detailed, is not nearly as easy to use as, say, StarCraft's map editor.
Overall: 8/10Sudden Strike inevitably suffered from the popularity of Blitzkrieg and its successors, but it's still a solid real-time strategy game that accurately displays large-scale tactical combat in the Second World War. If you can get it, Sudden Strike and Sudden Strike Forever are excellent games for tactical enthusiasts.