First impressions of Sherman Commander

As Sherman Commander A) explores one of my favourite game themes, B) releases tomorrow, C) has had almost no attention on THC previously, and D) has done a grand job of enhancing my evenings this week, I reckon it deserves Cornering, sabbatical or no sabbatical.

The work of Iron Wolf Studio, the Destroyer: The U-boat Hunter people, SC is a WW2 Western Front tank sim with a couple of novel twists. Armour sim aficionados and wargamers are sure to find its enthusiasm for combined arms tactics refreshing and stimulating, and realism relishers will probably, after some early misgivings, come to appreciate its puritanical approach to cameras.

There are two ways to play. Choose ‘simulation’ rather than ‘action’ mode, and all you’ll ever see of your perambulating pillbox is a turret top, a protruding gun barrel, and some periscope and vision block surrounds. At first, I found this unusual limitation irritating, but the more I played the more I liked it. Because SC doesn’t provide PESE-style third-person views, it forces you to grapple with a decision that led to the death of many a WW2 tank commander: “Should I unbutton in order to get a better look at my surroundings?”.

Having made this bold realism commitment, it’s a shame Iron Wolf didn’t follow it to its logical conclusion, and model binoculars, incremental peeping, tank interiors, and dismounted scouting. Already uncommonly evocative, FP-tanking would have even more immersive had such subtleties been present.

SC’s other USP forces you to think like a Combat Missionary or Close Combatant during missions. As most (all?) of the nine maps, are liberally sprinkled with perfect hiding places for AT guns and Panzershreck teams, leading the way with infantry is always wise.

Every friendly unit in a scenario is yours to command via the map, or, if they’re nearby, via terrain clicks in the 3D view. Currently commands are limited to ‘go there’ and ‘engage that’. Even so, dyed-in-the-wool tacticians are sure to enjoy the stream of miniature tactical puzzles dynamically generated by a typical scenario.

Another important thing SC gets right is combat intensity. Whoever designed the nine scenarios that make up the campaign, understood that M4s weren’t crossing swords with Panzers every five minutes in Normandy, Belgium and Germany. As tank encounters are relatively rare, when they do occur they are all the more exciting.

More often than not, that excitement is heightened by the restlessness of tracked targets. During my six hours in the turret, I’ve often seen enemy armour manoeuvre when threatened. Yes, sometimes their attempts at repositioning or ‘shooting and scooting’ aren’t particularly successful or wise, but at least the unpredictability ensures lively engagements.

In contrast to the game’s HE rounds, which are somewhat overpowered (you can demolish a large city building with a few shots), SC’s AP and improbably-common HVAP projectiles feel a tad feeble. For example, last night I pumped a couple of HVAPs into the flank of a Panzer III at very close range, and somehow failed to kill it. To gamers used to sims such as Steel Fury and wargames such as CM, SC’s ballistics will probably smell a bit fishy. In sim mode, single shot kills seem extremely rare. Without SF-style armour penetration arrows, it’s difficult to say exactly what’s going on, but, judging by the behaviour of my own steed, I suspect tanks in SC have armour integrity hitpoints on each face. Once these have been whittled away by impacts, penetrations/kills are inevitable.

Non-lethal hits can temporarily slow you down, disrupt loading, or prevent turret traversal. However, permanent side-effects of damage don’t seem to be modelled.

Also MIA at present are smoke rounds, arty, mortars, aircraft, and useable pintle-mounted Brownings. Sadly you can’t emulate Audie Murphy in SC.

Similarly, if you’re in the mood for a spot of 76mm sniping, this isn’t the armour sim to reach for. The maps might be atmospheric and abound with tactical possibilities, but sight lines tend to be short. I doubt any of the AFVs I’ve bagged thus far, were more than a quarter of a mile away when slain. A venue short on abodes and long on large fields and pastures would have helped leaven a campaign dominated by urban locales.

None of these gripes mean I’m not enjoying Sherman Commander or would hesitate to recommend it in its current state. As I already own three excellent WW2 tank sims, and several other solid ones, I was concerned Iron Wolf’s effort might up end up feeling redundant. Largely thanks to its spirited commitment to combined arms tactics and its claustrophobic camera rules, it avoids the dragon’s tooth of superfluity and looks set to keep me slinging shells, issuing orders, and searching in vain for a binoculars key, for at least another week.