I spent most of yesterday evening issuing orders to men dressed head to foot in Disruptive Pattern Material. After a couple of absorbing hours in 1980s Northern Ireland I headed to 1980s West Germany, and – courtesy of Armored Brigade 2 – choreographed a gripping Chieftain- and Harrier-supported assault on a Soviet-held village. Said assault went swimmingly right up until the moment it didn’t.
With the benefit of hindsight, I really should have kept my tracked Rapiers closer to my MBTs.
On reflection, it was foolish of me not to scout and smoke-shell more thoroughly before moving those squaddie-stuffed FV432s into the fringe of the settlement.
Blessed with a huge seven-country Cold War arsenal, and sporting arguably computer wargaming’s best battle generator, AB2 balances complexity, realism, replayability, and performance, remarkably well. While the new 3D visuals are functional rather than fetching, they make reading battlefields that bit easier, ensure frame-rates always remain healthy, and facilitate the sort of ground-level violence viewing Combat Missionaries and Graviteam Tacticians can’t do without.
To celebrate AB2’s arrival on Steam, publisher Slitherine has sent the Corner three activation codes for the game. If you fancy one of these codes, you’re going to have to do some sleuthing.
At the foot of this post is a collage created by Roman, my Chief Foxer Setter. It cryptically references seven of the myriad AFV types that appear in AB2. Correctly ID at least four of the incorporated vehicles before midnight GMT on Sunday (Send your answers to tim at tallyhocorner dot com), and your name will go into the hat for Monday’s prize draw. Correctly ID all seven and your name will go into the hat twice.
Realising that not everyone has defoxed before or has an encyclopedic knowledge of Cold War conveyances, merciful Roman has added a vexillogical clue to each of the seven collage components. As the flag indicates the nationality of the vehicle you’re after, if there was, for example, a curved Middle Eastern sword tagged with a Union Jack in the image, it would be a pretty safe bet to interpret that as a Scimitar.
(Winners will be notified on Monday or Tuesday. If you’ve not heard anything by Tuesday night – better luck next time. Only one entry per person, and no answers in the comments, please.)
Oh yes I think this is a foxer I can get a fix on!