There are hundreds of Second World War action games out there, but Codename Panzers: Phase 2 has carved itself a niche by bringing something new to the combat party. Instead of hurling players into the heat of battle via a first-person point of view, this third- person real-time strategy game invites you to fight your battles with finite resources.

Players set out on most missions with a limited number of tanks. If lost in action, they are rarely replaced, so it is essential to protect the hardware at all times. Now and again a unit may stumble upon an abandoned tank and commandeer it. Alternatively, enemy soldiers can be forced to abandon their vehicles (taking flight when flame- throwers make the going too hot for them in their cockpits), and these can also be used.

Most missions have two levels of goals: primary goals must be achieved to complete one mission and move on to the next, while secondary goals will unlock various bonuses. Getting your troops to occupy the few buildings dotted around the landscapes can also prove advantageous, since snipers, for example, can easily pick off enemy soldiers.

Developed by Stormregion, Codename Panzers: Phase 2 brings a clutch of challenging new missions to the series and enough refinements to please hardcore fans. And while it may lack the visual splendour of, say, Brothers in Arms, it does fire up the imagination to deliver an authentic, atmospheric war experience that exhausts as much as it excites.

TIM WAPSHOTT

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