Panzer Corps 2

After having played the previous game (Panzer Corps 1) for a bit over 200 hours and finishing most of the Grand Campaign and now having around 100 hours in PC2 with the main campaign and the AO Spanish Civil War (SCW) finished, I feel like that I can give a somewhat fair review.
In terms of the baseline mechanics PC2 is a solid upgrade over the previous game, at least indirect fire for AT weapons, the substantial improvement of recon units and the slot system are well-implemented and feel like a natural evolution of what PC1 had to offer. The new medal system is also appreciated and gives minor stat-boosts in addition to providing similar aesthetic "upgrades" to veteran units, as it's always nice to see highly-decorated units deep into a campaign.
The base game main campaign is also a massive improvement over the one from PC1 as it's longer and has (in my opinion) better individual scenarios. In addition you get a variety of different historical battles as was the case with PC1 (though I have to admit, that I haven't properly played the yet), as well as 10 puzzles, that are increasingly challenging and require adequate knowledge of the mechanics.
On the other side I also have to admit that PC2 feels a lot more "gamey" or "arcadey" in comparison to the previous part. Especially the new hero system is in theory very interesting and gives a wider variety of play-styles. But at the same time, as you get more and more heroes (the base preset is one new hero per scenario, which is fine for the base campaign, but spirales completely out of control in the Axis Operations (the new Grand Campaign)). Hero abilities are at times significantly stronger than anything seen in PC1, since they aren't just raw stat boosts, but they literally change the rules for some units. When combined with the fact, that you can freely switch heroes from unit to unit and even put a lot of them on the same unit, that really starts to break the game.
You can of course choose to start with the setting of no new heroes per scenario or lower the chance to get one at least below 100%, which is standard, but that also feels weird to an extent, as the differential between having that mass of heroes and having basically no heroes at all is massive and would make playing on the same difficulty a completely different experience.
That's the point where I feel that PC1 felt a lot better balaced and contained, but that is only really an issue in the Axis Operations as you use the same core army over dozens and dozens of different battles.
Something I want to criticize is the sound design, it's horrible in my opinion and that's a topic many other people have noted in various discussions. To put it simple, it absolutely lacks the punch that it had in PC1.
Hearing your Tiger I, Panther or Flak 36 8,8cm fire in PC1 felt absolutely satisfying and the movement sounds were also very good, while all of that just sounds "bland" in PC2, so regrettably this area is just a straigt downgrade from PC1.
The new 3D-graphics are okay I guess. Being able to change the camoflage of units is quite nice and the variety of different patterns is appreciated. I honestly think that on larger maps with more stuff going on, PC1 gave you better overview and felt less cluttered. I honestly speaking miss the old 2D-art style quite often and wish I could get the new mechanics with the old art style and sound design (would be very nice as an optional, alternative view, but probably too expensive to implement and maintain, so more along the lines of wishful thinking...).
So, as a final conclusion, a wide variety of improvements, some that might be a bit devisive and some that will probably be enjoyed by anyone who likes this type of game. The base game is absolutely worth the money even at full price and since there is a mod-pack with the entire Grand Campaign from PC1 for PC2 you can theoretically play for hundreds of hours without ever buying any of the DLCs.

My Thoughts:
Panzer Corps 2 is a turn-based, hex-based, strategic wargame set during World War 2. This is my favorite in the genre.
What I Like:
Presentation
Best presentation in the genre. Clear tooltips, easy to understand interface. A visual pleasure to look at.
Graphics
The best in the genre right now.
Unit Roster
The most units out of any hex game I've played.
Content
Plenty of stuff to keep you busy. There are campaigns, one off missions, multiplayer against humans and AI and a couple of one off co-op missions.
What I Dislike:
CO-OP
I would have loved to see a campaign co-op mode. Campaign is only single player.
Theatre of War
No Pacific Theatre. There was a DLC in development but it was announced on live stream that it has been shelved indefinitely.
ZOC and Supply
Zone of control and Supply mechanics are both in this game but you would never know because there is no visual representation of them. I would like the tile to be marked with an icon which is what other games in the genre do.
Competitor Comparisons:
You may click the title or review links below to take you to the respective locations.
Unity of Command II - Review
Nice presentation with emphasis on the supply system and puzzle elements.
Order of Battle - Review
Has a ton of different theatres including the Pacific, but poor graphics and UI.

TLDR an excellent turn based WWII game ,better than its already great predecessor Panzer Corps Gold.
Panzer Corps Gold is my most played game in Steam with some 360 hours so I bought this as well plus all DLC (minus the General Edition. Have not bought Fall of Poland yet either).
It's a considerable improvement over its predecessor. I was skeptical at first about the 3d graphics but I changed my mind : they are very nicely done and they improve the immersion.
There are two drawbacks though :
a) you could play Panzer Corps Gold in a potato PC but for this one you ll need a more modern GPU
b) because of the 3d perspective, at times, it is a tad harder to distinguish what you are looking at. For instance, an air unit may partially cover a ground unit behind it and you need to pan/zoom the view a bit to see things better
More importantly there are new and improved mechanics and quality of life improvements such as :
- optional buffs/debuffs selection for your general
- richer customisation of gameplay and difficulty level
- nice briefing per scenario
- commendation points
- unit awards
- improved AI that feels more alive and dynamic ( in previous game AI was largely static, sitting and waiting for you)
- mechanics such as : encirclement, overrun, high ground, forced march, recon units buff attacks of adjacent friendly units, recon planes, anti aircraft guns now support not just adjacent units but everything within their attack radius, anti tank units provide support to adjacent units against hard attacks, phased recon unit movement, special artillery with counter artillery support, engineers buff entrenchment build speed of adjacent units, mass attacks, two types of airfields plus option to relocate aircraft, split units, exchange units.
Another major change is that now, in each scenario, you have a given amount of unit slots, say, 50 slots. Now, a not so good tank may require 2 of these slots. A better one might require 3 or 4. So you get to choose, you can have more but not so good units or fewer but better ones. Which I think gives one more option to customise your play and improves replayabilty.
Having completed the first DLC Spanish Civil War I can now provide some more input :
- scenarios, overall, last longer. Turn limit is typically around 20 turns (if u dislike turn limit however it can be switched off). Last scenario of that campaign had a massive 36 turns limit. It felt epic but also dragged a tad longer than I should like to be frank, alas, not much spare time for gaming anymore
- AI feels better than its predecessor: it is very active and alive on the battlefield and it makes less mistakes. Bombers will almost always be supported by fighters. Air units will try to avoid your anti-air umbrella if they can help it. Recon units will use their phased movement to slip through gaps of your front line and hit vulnerable units. Artillery and AA guns will reposition to attack your units. They will think twice before attacking your units if they are supported by artillery or anti-tank guns.
That said, AI remains far from perfect:
- infantry will sometimes attack tanks in open space
- tanks will sometimes attack infantry having close defence
- units may move and remain on vulnerable positions
- units near death, instead of retreating & repairing, will sometimes go ahead and perform doomed suicidal attacks
- units will move within encircled space getting encircled themselves
- infantry will abandon the safety of close defence and/or entrenchment to attack some badly wounded enemy but, in doing so , expose themselves to painful counter attacks
- AI units seem to behave each on their own. They don't seem to be aware that they have their buddies around them. (Fighters which will support their bombers are excluded from this). AI also seems to only consider the circumstances of current turn only. Does not "look ahead" at what might happen in the next turn

Just a fun, stress free strategy game, a lot like checkers... Does not take up a lot of time and not all consuming. I use it as a stress reliever.

Introduction :

the whole saga of strategy games like honeycombs has been ground by me, games with hexagonal maps have always been good and will be good ,25 years of experience in this section , I know what i am talking about.

1.Dune 2 Amiga 500
2.Panzer general 1 SSI on 436SX (first PC with NC System before windows)
3.Panzer general 2 which was for plenty of years on the market with plenty of mods and many other generals at the time.

I remember when Panzer Corps 1 was new and many admins complained about the cheated 2D graphics in Panzer corps 1, despite this I bought the entire saga on CD and I have it to this day and I do not regret it.

Review :

Panzer Corps 2 is a great game and I do not regret buying it, it is the best of all editions and fills all the holes and gaps that were in earlier versions, personalization of commanders, units, camouflages, experience and prototypes, as well as new solutions such as political successes for big points that can give us transfers of famous commanders between front lines and new tank models for testing plus Main general perks before each campaign.
We also have a large number of mods and cosmetics for the game and free campaigns as a mods.

Only one problem is with Slitherine Ltd. which uses every next mod as a money grabber and they shouldn't be as expensive as they are, it's something that frustrates and starts to discourage you from playing.

If you are a fan of the Panzer General saga then buy this game and don't look at the money and you will be happy , this is the way.

Game 100% Score
Publisher 10% Score for poor customer service which is stabbing you in the back financially and asking to pay pay extra for every extra extras which should be extra free as standard content ,no one buys a car and then buys an engine and wheels for a premium price later on.

Boil a cup of tea, play some rekaxing background music and use map editor to test and try various attack and defence scenarios planning your grand campaign.
I've played original Panzer General series and still this one has same smell and addiction.
Downside? Honestly I've more enjoyed good old flat 2D animations. There was something romantic about them. UI tends to be bit too crowdy with too many details and contrast graphics.
And worst thing of course is that this game is time sinker, true classics from time when people just didn't care about time so much. If you are truly dedicated to genre you can spent 2 hours just for couple of turns.
I wonder are there actually out there people playing this game that are not just continuing memories of golden original Panzer General. Well I guess it's one of those special games for special people.

I've been playing these kind of games going back to the original 'Panzer General' series from the mid-90's and I'm in the middle as far as recommending it or not.
- As technology advances so do the graphics. Outstanding in this case, but... it's far over done for what's necessary. To really appreciate the quality you have to zoom in so far that it makes the game incredibly difficult to play, in a practice sense.
-At times the Axis operations campaigns, battles are exactly that. I don't know many battles that you go from being the primary force, then cutting it to a fraction to support allies forces. it doesn't sound like an issue until you have to completely reorganize your units as well as all the heroes' to fit the changing mission. If you don't know what you'er doing this can take a significant amount of time that could be used for actually play.
In addition to that, you sit there watching the computer fight itself and some of the battles are big, with two or there friendly forces plus the enemy. Sure, you can set the AI turn to fast, but still... The way I see it, is that it's just robbing your core forces of experience.
- Now to the biggest issues with any of these games. The AI programming itself. There are numerous ways to make the game more difficult for the player; give you less core slots, making the enemy stronger among other ways to hinder the player, ect.
No matter how difficult you make the game it still doesn't fix the root problem- the AI has the tactical/ operational sense of a tree stump. Imagine kicking over a nest of fire ants. It swarms and attacks everything in range until they are all dead. Except when the programming tells them to stay in place and do nothing. (even when they should)
It doesn't matter what the mission is, just assume that you start in a defense mindset or cautious movement to contact. Let the enemy come to you when you're in a favorable position and destroy themselves. Bound forward a little more and let them do it again. Rinse and repeat.
That programming doesn't take things into consideration that the player does, like economy of force or force preservation, because they start out fresh and strong at the beginning of every battle.
- As the game progresses beware of the sucker punch. Just when you think the enemy is on the ropes, you've fought your way through several waves of what you 'thought' was the bulk of the enemy, then the enemy 'cheat' units attack. Or they are sitting on some Elite objective. They will be stupid powerful, most times beyond what you could ever have, with the equivalent of 4 or 5 hero perks. It's all about having bigger and tailored units instead of having an AI that 'thinks' smarter in a tactical sense. Find these guys and tear them up before they do the same to you.
-There are steam cheat codes and I use them in moderation; nothing more than evening the odds, as I see it. Especially when you keep getting worthless heroes after a battle, over and over again.
- Despite all that, I've played this game a lot and it is fun. It could just be so much better is all.