FIRE BRIGADE

 With FIRE BRIGADE, Panther Games of Australia has given the computer gamer a
beautiful simulation that may well be the first in a new generation of wargames.
FIRE BRIGADE combines a superior user interface, outstanding graphics, and
sophisticated play in a highly enjoyable package that establishes a new state of
the art for historical gaming. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version.)

 Following the abortive German offensive at Kursk in the summer of 1943, STAVKA
(the Soviet Army Command) went over to the offensive. All along the Eastern
Front, the depleted German forces were pushed back. In southern Russia, the
German forces attempted to hold their ground on the west bank of the Dneiper.
However, the Soviet forces were able to push across at Kiev and quickly deployed
on the west bank. Field Marshall Von Manstein hurried reinforcements to the
threatened area, including the elite 48th Panzer Corp -- the Fire Brigade. After
weeks of ferocious combat, the line held with the Soviets across the Dneiper,
but stopped in the area surrounding Kiev. FIRE BRIGADE simulates the weeks of
combat near Kiev in the late fall and early winter of 1943 at the Corps/Division
level (Army/Corps for the Soviets).

 FIRE BRIGADE uses a command-oriented system in which you issue orders to a set
of units. These units then attempt to carry out their orders during the
subsequent turn. FIRE BRIGADE is set at a strategic/operational level, with the
basic organization being a Corps, and individual units representing Divisions.
This also means that strategic considerations such as supply, replacements, air
disposition, and reinforcements all play a major part in FIRE BRIGADE.

 The system of play for FIRE BRIGADE is elegantly simple. Each day, you review
your current situation, issue orders, and then instruct the computer to perform
the day's activities based on your orders. Of course, actual play is a bit more
involved than this.

 To begin each turn (one turn comprises a day of game-time), you'll first want
review the results of the previous turn. FIRE BRIGADE allows you to study your
victory point status, the results of battles fought, and the results of air
activity. You'll also wish to view the status of your individual units, and
gather intelligence concerning enemy forces. You may retrieve all of this
information via menus, or by using icons and selecting individual units on the
map.

 Once you've reviewed the results of the previous turn, you'll then determine
your orders for the next turn. Air power must be allocated between intercept,
interdiction, and ground support missions. Corps must be assigned objectives and
dispositions. Objectives may either be victory areas (towns and cities) or enemy
corps. Disposition determines the tactical posture of the Corps' units for the
next turn. Enemy objectives may be approached in assault, attack, or pursuit
modes. Allowable postures for Corps assigned to friendly objectives are hold,
defend, delay, or withdraw. Units must also be assigned a frontage. Frontage
determines the area covered by the unit and its ability to concentrate strength
at the point of combat. The choice of disposition and frontage will impact
movement rates, combat effectiveness, and supply usage.

 In addition to the combat modes, units may use a road travel mode (if
disengaged). Units may also be ordered to force march. This causes the unit to
move and fight through the night, with commensurate impact on its combat
effectiveness.

 Unlike many games of this type, FIRE BRIGADE's force organizations are not
fixed. Individual divisions may be detached and assigned to either reserve or
another corps/army. This gives you a nice degree of flexibility in juggling your
forces.

 In addition to the standard move and combat routines described above, you must
also manage your strategic resources. Supply must be allocated on a corps by
corps basis, along with transportation to ensure its delivery. Replacement
strength must be allocated to units, and reinforcements assigned to corps. You
also need to juggle the time of departure for some units that historically were
withdrawn to counter other threats; you may choose to keep them at the cost of
some victory points.

 FIRE BRIGADE is an enormous game in the amount of detail it tracks and makes
available to the player. Information is provided in a dizzying array of forms.
For example, unit status displays the following information: command quality,
supply status, current strength, combat effectiveness, troop quality, armor
strength, anti-tank strength, engineer presence, artillery strength, assigned
bombers, and current orders. Despite this, the mouse-driven interface and the
clever use of graphics render the data in FIRE BRIGADE very manageable. A
well-designed tutorial provides further aid to new players who are trying to
ease into the game.

 The IBM-PC version of FIRE BRIGADE is distributed on two 5-1/4" disks (3-1/2"
disks are available). It supports CGA (640x200x2), Hercules, and EGA/VGA
(640x350x16) graphics standards, but does not support sound boards. There is no
on-disk copy protection, so you may install the program on your hard drive
without difficulty. Copy protection is handled by a rules check at the beginning
of play. The program requires 640K of memory, and a mouse is recommended (except
in Hercules mode, in which the mouse is not supported). Support is provided for
one or two players, and an option to play via modem is also available.

 On the down side, there are some minor problems with FIRE BRIGADE's IBM
implementation. The new game dialog box asks for a file name, but does not
provide a list of existing game files in the directory (as does the Macintosh
version). A list of the files is provided with the IBM supplement, but you still
have to remember saved game names. When a game is finished, FIRE BRIGADE exits
to DOS automatically, rather than giving you the option of starting another
game. As mentioned above, the Hercules mode is incompatible with the mouse, so
you have to run the program from the keyboard (booting without the mouse
driver). Unfortunately, keyboard cursor movement is so glacial as to be
virtually unplayable. An occasionally extra screen refresh tends to slow down
response time, forcing you to re-enter your selections. Finally, many actions
are performed on the _bottom_ unit in the stack. This is both awkward and
confusing, though it becomes fairly routine after a while.

 Despite these minor flaws (and they _are_ minor), FIRE BRIGADE is an
outstanding game. The situation features evenly matched forces and plenty of
fluid action. The shifting tides of battle gives each player a chance to attack
and defend, and the interface assures quick play. The main caveat concerns
playing without a mouse. Also, the detail and wealth of options may prove
daunting to inexperienced gamers. But for fans of armor battles, World War II,
the Eastern Front, or wargames in general, I rate FIRE BRIGADE a must-buy.

 FIRE BRIGADE is published by Panther Games.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253