ORIGINAL: PzKw43
I think DC is the best operational level game engine on the market. What John Tiller (excellent well researched games, dated graphics) should have developed by now. DC has excellent maps, good unit graphics (to cartoonish but can be changed), intuitive interface (some rough spots) and it just plays well. The DC series will be my favorite games for years.
If DC2 covers Operation Barbarossa or a portion of it I would recommend reading Kiev 1941 by David Stahel. It describes the importance of force, time, space and logistics when planning operations on the eastern front. "A thoroughly enjoyable read, it injects a healthy dose of realism into the history of this dramatic battle. Dismantling myths left and right, the book sets right one of the most significant stages of Operation Barbarossa." -David Glantz
Couldn't agree with you more on how excellent DC is. (I actually really like the stylized unit graphics though!)
I do hope DC2 will move us into Barbarossa territory. I think it would make a terrific complement to GG's War in the East. I do find WitE enjoyable but something about it just doesn't 'click' for me with it. Once I really got into Decisive Campaigns, I couldn't stop playing it, whereas I keep see-sawing back and forth between being absorbed by WitE and then feeling little urgency to play it. There's just something that feels kind of sterile about it -- the presentation & overall look is a little too bland, uninspired, and 'non-immersive.' When I go back to DC, I really feel the difference of how the sharp, clean, elegant presentation pulls you in, and the gameplay just keeps you hooked. So I'd love to see what DC2 could do with the Eastern Front.
Glad to read your recommendation of Stahel's new book -- I was excited to get it for my kindle a few weeks ago, but it does not seem to be available in e-book form yet. I picked up Antony Beevor's superb "Stalingrad" instead, and would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone looking for a primer on the German-Soviet war -- even though it's main subject is 'just Stalingrad,' Beevor does an excellent job providing in-depth context and a 'big picture' view of Barbarossa, Case Blue and the events preceding. (Much superior, I think, to Alan Clarke's book, which I found rather too breezy and often felt like it was skimming the surface rather than really getting to anything in much depth.) Anyway, "KIEV 1941" is next on my reading list.
but i strongly believe all the little graphics really help immersion and historical feeling.
