Under the Radar is a new feature that will pop up from time to time to showcase upcoming games that are not getting much press and may go unnoticed much to the disappointment of the game developers, marketers, and most importantly me. In the past many great games have fallen by the wayside due to a lack of early knowledge (Psychonauts, Beyond Good and Evil, Godhand). So I am hoping to alleviate this issue. However I want you know right up front that this is a summary of what I think looks great or interesting about an upcoming title and it is in no way a review or guarantees that the game will be fantastic. Now join me under the radar as I share with you what (hopefully) will be THE DS game to play this winter, Panzer Tactics DS.

Panzer Tactics DS is a World War II turn based strategy game from German developer Sproing, who while creating games for quite some time have had few titles see this side of the pond. What instantly got my attention turned to Panzer Tactics was the fact that it is based in WWII, and coming off of a Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts binge I want more historical strategy. With Panzer Tactics offering 3 campaigns covering the German Wehrmacht, The Red Army, and the Allies hopefully my desire for more WWII tactics will be well sated.

Why though would I need another WWII game when I already have Company of Heroes? Portability my friend. As an adult with so many parts of life taken over with responsibility my DS is a constant companion to give me little game fixes whenever time permits. As I have found out thanks to Age of Empires for the DS, turn based strategy offers the ultimate in stop and start minute here minute there play.

Another quality of Panzer Tactics DS that I am really looking forward to is the 150 unique air, land, and sea units. These are not units like TANK and FIGHTER PLANE, but instead are historically real vehicles and include even the Messerschmitt Me262 the very first Jet-craft used in war and small production run weapons like the Calliope (a tank mounted rocket launcher). What this all means is hopefully a variety of tactics and approaches to any given battle will be available. Tie into this a great variety of terrain that has varying effects on all of these units and the strategic element grows even greater.

Wait, why is a multiplayer specialty site telling me all about this game? Well, from everything promised Panzer Tactics DS is offering a very full multiplayer package. First, the most basic hotseat play (where you pass a DS back and forth) which is not uncommon for turn based gaming. Secondly, LAN play with others close by (it has not been stated if this will be single cart or multi-cart, but considering the amount of information I could only reasonably expect multi-cart). Finally the big one is Wi-Fi play which will even include a Highscore Ladder. Press information says that this will be 4 players with a choice of 10 different maps, but I am uncertain as to which modes of multiplayer this pertains.

For the fine details I would first like to praise Sproing for allowing the choice between button and touch screen control because forcing one or the other can cause much frustration. Some might be initially turned off by the graphics, but if you take the time to study these screen they clearly display a great amount of information and should make decision making easier. I have not read or heard much on how troops are recruited and resources are handled, perhaps these details will surface soon. One final nit-picky concern is if battle animations can be turned off, because while I enjoyed them for quite a time in Age of Empires I found that cutting them off could really allow for more progress in less time. I guess we will have to wait and see on these bits.

I will make it clear that I have not gotten any play time with this game and this is only details I have read and quality that I am hoping for, however if you are interested take some time to check out our Panzer Tactics DS gallery of screen shots. Also you may want to head over the the Panzer Tactics official site for more details including downloadable gameplay videos. Well here is to what I hope was a good publishing decision by 10tacle Studios and is a new addiction on the DS. If nothing else they gave us a turtle with an army helmet.