Producer: CDS Software
Author: Stuart Middleton, game design by Ake and Henrik Anderson and CDS Software
Price: £12.99 cassette, £14.99 +3 disk

Mechanised tank combat is the subject on today's agenda with the follow-on to Brian Clough's Football Fortunes and it s questionable as to which is the more violent. As with Football Fortunes the computer program serves merely as referee and judge to what is basically a board game.

The game pack contains a 40cm x 40cm board 121 x 23 hexagons large if you count the edge hexagons), small but detailed plastic playing pieces (48 in all), a comprehensive manual and, of course, the computer tape.

The game is based around four warring countries - Armanis, Kazaldis. Sarapan and Calderon. Two to tour players can take part, controlling either one or two countries each. If four players are involved alliances can be set up. The objective of the game is to reach and occupy the enemy's HQ.

All this is clearly set out in the manual, which is quite comprehensive in explaining the game. But what it also helps make clear is that Tank Attack is for sure no Desert Rats, and the game's relative simplicity may not be to everyone's liking.

The basic gameplay revolves around the movement and combat of tanks and armoured cars across satisfyingly mixed terrain. Most of the terrain doesn't help progress and bad weather can slow down a country's attack completely. Combat is line-of-sight based, with tanks firing upon one another once within four hexes range. When engaged in combat main battle tanks pack the most punch but are relatively slow moving and can suffer at the hands of fast moving light tanks and armoured cars- Damaged vehicles can be repaired at depots, and even totally destroyed can be brought back from the dead - at a severe cost in time. Meanwhile the enemy draws ever nearer to your increasingly vulnerable HQ!

The specific amount of damage you take is decided by the computer program which calculates the results of combat based on the strengths of the tanks involved. The computer also takes the role of a War News paper, providing vital information on the ongoing battle and how it is affecting the movement and performance of each country's forces. Despite some neat animated sequences the command system is particularly slick in execution and speed once the basics are mastered. However, while the program does indeed play an integral part in the game, seasoned computer wargamers may find the computer's presence as referee, coupled with the somewhat limited scope of the game, perhaps too restrictive.

One aspect of Tank Attack I particularly liked was the presence of notches on the rear of the pieces indicating a piece's strength. Only the commander can see it and this brings into play the ever subtle 'Fog of War' factor - you may have a thoroughly useless spearhead force but your enemy doesn't know it and he'll have to worry about it until combat reveals all. Another good touch is the teamwork factor when four players are taking part, this is often lacking from computer wargames and is very welcome here.

To its credit Tank Attack brings together the two often very different worlds of board wargames and computer wargames in one successful halfway house. It must be remembered though, that Tank Attack is primarily a board game and should be played like one (ie with 4 like-minded people!). A relatively simple a game it may be, but TankAttack is still worth consideration - provided of course you've got at least one other person around to play it! Thankfully such a fresh idea as this hasn't been abandoned by CDS - a follow-on is planned, titled Marine Attack, and revolves around, yes you guessed it, all things marine. I can't wait to see the plastic aircraft carrier!

CDS Software
£12.99
Reviewer: Richard Blaine

I had high hopes for Tank Attack after reading the press release that came with it. Nice solid box. 40 cm square board (yes, that's right, board) divided up into hexagons just like a real wargame, glossy rule-book- all right, so the 'Made in Taiwan plastic playing pieces were a bit of a let down, but you can't have everything...

Unfortunately, after loading up and sitting down to play through the game, I realised that what I had in front of me was a major disappointment. So much so that not only would I not buy it, I wouldn't even bother playing it if I hadn't been given it.

For one thing, you can't play against the computer the game can only be played by two, three or four players. You never actually input any moves or positions into the computer, because it doesn't have a map in its memory and all movement is conducted on the map, in full view of all players. This is ridiculous. The whole point of marrying a computer game with a board game is to get the best of both worlds. The computer should be used to simulate the 'fog of war.' You should only get to see enemy units when your troops on the 'ground' actually see them. The computer should also be handling logistics, morale, weather, propaganda, intelligence operations - and handling them properly, not just acting as a glorified dice-rolling machine, as here.

In fact, in Tank Attack the computer is used throughout as nothing more than an electronic rules book and a random number generator.

The object of the game is to get one of your units into the enemy's headquarters hex, then destroy it. But the icon for 'attempt to destroy enemy HQ' is on the screen at all times: so you can just select it, press fire, and that's it, the game is over. Great. Big deal.

Label: CDS
Author: A&H Andersson
Price: £12.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various

Cor lumme lawks! Here's another one of those 'board games with a bit of computer interaction' that CDS keep bringing out. I remember the last one well. Brian Clough's Karate School it was, and I remember not thinking much of it when I saw it. Mind you, not long after that, a friend of mine got hold of a copy, and we didn't stop playing it for weeks. This time I've taken the time out to play it with a friend, and you know what, it ain't bad at all.

You, and one to three other people, are commanders of a country's armoured forces. The aforementioned countries, who by some ingenious stroke of luck all beckon on each other's borders, just happen to be at war, so like good soldiers, you have to beat the crap out of the enemy.

Each player starts the game with an equal amount of units. Eight tanks of varying strengths and four armoured cars ditto. These they place within their own provinces around the 40 cm by 40 cm board that comes with the game. Then the game begins...

It is played like a standard wargame, but the pieces and board add a 'real' feel and make it easier to understand battle situations. Each player in turn checks the computer to see how many action points they have for the round, and allots them accordingly. One action point will move one vehicle two squares across flat ground. On hilly ground, they can only move one, and mountains and rivers are out of bounds.

If any kind of conflict occurs, e.g. one of the current player's units encounters an opposing unit, or a player's unit comes across an enemy factory or even the HQ, then the respective icon is selected on the main game screen. The players then get to feed in all the relevant info on the encounter (type of vehicle(s), distance etc) and then get to view the action on screen in glorious technicolour. The computer then prints up the result and reports any action that needs to be followed, i.e. the removal of destroyed pieces.

Tank Attack is presented very professionally. The packaging and pieces are high quality, though due to their small size I can see little tanks getting lost very easily - camouflage colours can work on rugs too!

On-screen presentation is attractive. Between turns a newspaper front page is displayed telling you in dramatic headlines 'how goes the battle'. Colour is used very well, especially on the action sequences, where there is a lot of colour, but surprisingly little clash.

It's well worth buying if (a) you've got a friend (that's Chris out - JD) (b) you like strategy.

Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £12.99, Diskette: £14.99

WHEN DIPLOMACY FAILS...

CDS - now primarily retailers - go back to the earliest days of Spectrum gaming, and they aren't unfamiliar with the concept of combining computers and board games - Brian Clough previously signed up with them to make his Football Fortune - Tank Attack is one such.

The scenario involves four countries bordering one another. Armenia, Kazaldis, Sarapan and Calderon maintain an uneasy peace, but this is about to end abruptly. Mechanised forces are crossing the borders and the shooting is about to start.

Depending on the number of players involved, two countries can form an alliance against the other two, or all four countries own division of tanks (light, medium and main battle tank) and armoured cars (light and medium).

Offensive tactics aren't all, the headquarters of each country must be defended, since the objective is to reach the enemy's HQ and remove it from the war. Each country also has a repair depot to remove the dents from tanks damaged in battle together with a rebuilding yard for no-hope cases.

The computer plays the role of game moderator providing details of battles, weather conditions (which affect movement), troop morale and activities in the form of the newspaper War News. All variables which play a part in the game are determined by the computer, including the amount of movement possible per turn and the results of combat.

Terrain plays its inevitable part, restricting tank movement in certain regions. and confrontation takes place using line-of-sight rules, the outcome depending on target range, strength and other variables.

Like Football Fortune, Tank Attack is primarily a board game, the computer is only used as a moderator and the emphasis is thoroughly on boardplay. The 2-4 player rule backs up the hexagon-based board game, and so its appeal may not be immediate.

The mechanics of play are easy to grasp but there's no real reason why the game should be so simple, an attempt at appealing to both mainstream computer owners and board game enthusiasts perhaps?