M1 TANK PLATOON

 It is generally acknowledged that when MicroProse sets out to do a serious
simulation, it comes up with designs no other company can touch. Other companies
might have more in the way of visual and aural splash, but for detail and
ingenuity in game design, MicroProse is unmatched. M1 TANK PLATOON may be its
best simulation-and-strategy game ever. (This review is based on the Amiga
version.)

 The problem with doing a tank simulation is that, at one level, it's simply not
"sexy." Unlike any air combat sim (even the weakest: a tank simulation), if it's
going to be at all realistic, it's going to involve lots of time spent in
anticipation and preparation before the moment of actual battle. And, in the
battle itself, the dynamics of the moment are going to require the player to
have some knowledge beforehand about what to do. In other words, there's almost
more to do and think about _prior_ to engaging in the simulation than there may
be during the simulation itself. The challenge in design, then, is to provide a
system that helps facilitate the process of analysis leading up to the actual
battle (including some means of training the player in the art of platoon
tactics), and to do it in a way that's absorbing and exciting.

 It's in the meeting of this challenge that M1 TANK PLATOON really shines. From
the extensive documentation, to the layout and handling of the platoon and
related equipment, to the inclusion of trainable computer "staff" who handle
tank positions while you're somewhere else, M1 TANK PLATOON provides the means
to develop an in-depth understanding of the immensely complex nature of
on-the-scenes armored land warfare. And, as if that weren't enough, a solid-fill
animation of the actual battle (from the various available tank positions, as
well as from a wide range of outside views) puts you in the hot seat with as
much detail of presentation and accuracy as FALCON achieves for the F-16.

 The simulation is really three different kinds of games rolled smoothly into
one. At the top-most level, you're engaged in a small-unit tactical wargame, and
it's indeed possible to remain in an overhead, "over the board" position and
play M1 TANK PLATOON all the way through. From this position, orders can be
issued to all available units and tank operators, the status of units can be
checked, group and formation commands can be issued, and enemy positions and
status (when known by your own units) can be considered. Assistance can be
called onto the battlefield in the form of helicopters, artillery fire, and
A-10s, and supplementary IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) units can be included
as part of the attack plan. The overhead map is zoomable to eight different
levels of detail, allowing you as much overview of the different components of
the battle as you'd like.

 At the next level down, you're no longer engaged in a boardgame-style wargame,
but instead managing the platoon and related units from the position of the Tank
Commander. As Tank Commander, you give orders to the platoon by reverting
momentarily to the overhead map, as well as by directing one particular tank's
actions (thus influencing movement, direction, and targeting of the platoon).
You also give orders from this position to the three other manned positions in
the tank. These positions are all handled by computer players, whose abilities
improve or decrease based on performance in each battle. So, essentially, a
role-playing element is involved at this level of the game, and part of the
challenge can be to organize and train a crack team for each tank. Manning of
tank positions is organized by rank, and failure to follow proper protocol, for
instance, can have negative effects on the ratings of each platoon member (16 in
all, four per tank). Successes and failures in battle lead to medals and points
being awarded to the platoon, which you can subsequently allocate as platoon
commander. Even this allocation can have either positive or adverse effects on
the characteristics of each soldier, depending on the "rightness" of the
recognition given for performance.

 Finally, in the thick of it all, you can choose to man one of three positions
at any time in any tank: TC, driver, or gunner (the loader is always a computer
player -- there's not much fun in playing that position, anyway). At this level,
you can also step out of the tanks entirely, and watch the progress of the game
across the battlefield from a fully controllable "spotter" view (much like those
available in FLIGHT SIMULATOR). Here is where the solid-fill graphic animations
come into play, and where the game starts to operate more like a vehicle
simulation. From each tank position, the landscape is portrayed in solid-fill
from that position's perspective. In the TC's case, for instance, even things
like binoculars and night-vision aids are simulated (the gunner also has thermal
sights). Tank and platoon movement is portrayed in real depth, and all units,
friendly or enemy, are present and animated as well. Care has been taken to
design landscape commensurate with the potential realities of a battle
situation, and hills, bridges, roads, rivers, and trees all come into play as
elements in the simulation.

 The detailing at each of these three levels of design is simply immense. While
the actual battles are comparatively small-scale, there's nothing small-scale at
all about what you must pay attention to as the simulation progresses. The
rhythm of the battle is duly felt, with an initial period of expectation and
blindness to where the enemy is going to actually appear, followed by the sudden
shock of having to change tactics to deal with the actualities of enemy
positioning and advance, and then with settling down into the routine of taking
up hull-down positions, covering advances, deciding on group formations,
choosing how to defend or assault positions, and all the other sweaty
nitty-gritty that constitutes the excitement of the development of a
confrontation.

 The miracle in all this is that despite the complexity of the reality
represented, the design and simulation interface are both logical and intuitive
enough to facilitate smooth and rapid movement between fundamentally different
elements in the game. You can jump from strategy to tactics without a blink (at
least in terms of simulation control), and step in at any point, at any level,
where intervention is necessary.

 Without going into a lot of detail here, it should also be noted that
MicroProse has taken great care in the creation of each of the units involved in
the simulation: There are no major oddities in terms of unit strengths or
techniques, on either the human or the computer player's side. (You can only
play the U.S. side, of course -- this _is_ M1 TANK PLATOON, after all!)

 The game comes with an endless series of single engagement possibilities, as
well as a campaign option. Engagements (including battlefield design, units
involved, time of day, and weather) are all randomly created by the computer
each time, so that there's no problem with having finished all the scenarios
included. The campaign option is also dynamically produced over the course of
the battles; in fact, what the enemy throws at you in the next battle will be
affected by how well or poorly you've done in the one just before it. Win a
number of battles in a row and the computer will step up the quality and
intensity of its attack units. M1 TANK PLATOON is therefore infinitely playable
for this reason alone.

 On the Amiga, the whole simulation from start to finish can be controlled with
the mouse. Keyboard commands are also available, and over time, they may be more
efficient in some cases than the point-and-click interface. All relevant
controls at each tank position are activated as buttons, and can be clicked on
and used with the mouse pointer, making for a real "hands-on" experience in the
M1. While the frame rate of the solid-fill graphics is surprisingly low on full
detail (I can think of a number of Amiga-original solid-fill designs that push
more polygons around onscreen at a _much_ faster rate), it's still quite
adequate for the purposes of the game (and a lot better than some recent
solid-fill conversions from the IBM to the Amiga). Perhaps the detailed
calculations involved in the strategic side of the game slow things down some.
Documented on disk but not in the manual is the fact that the balance between
frame-rate and simulation accuracy can be changed by using a shift-keystroke
combination; be sure to type out the included "readme" file.

 M1 TANK PLATOON comes on one disk, and includes a full 200-page, nicely bound
and printed manual, and a full, detailed, and carefully written 10-page
technical supplement (which identifies differences introduced into the program
since the writing of the manual for the original IBM versio). It runs on A1000s,
A500s, and A2000s with 512K of RAM, and speeds up when run with 1Mb or more of
RAM. Copy-protection consists of a vehicle identification routine integrated
nicely (and realistically) into the game design. The simulation can be loaded
either from power-up or from the Workbench. Hard-drive installation is
absolutely simple: Just copy everything from the disk into a drawer and go! M1
can be controlled entirely with the mouse, or with the mouse and keyboard, or
with the mouse, keyboard, and a joystick (the last for certain tasks, like
driving or aiming).

 I have yet to read a review that has done full justice to the incredible
richness of this program, and I doubt I've captured it here. M1 TANK PLATOON is
simply a quantum leap beyond all but a very few other software simulations, in
terms of both variety and depth. Not something to pick up for a few minutes
after breakfast before going off to work, but a design, game, and system that
pays back double every hour spent learning and understanding what it has to
offer. I expect to be playing it for years to come.

 M1 TANK PLATOON is published and distributed by MicroProse.

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