" You will find yourself amazed at how involved you get. "

      Title: Panzer Front by Agetech

      Format: Tank simulation for PS

      Reviewing Monkey: Simi N.

      The Hype: Command up to 16 tanks as you take on all enemies in over 25 scenarios. This simulation game will test your skills in tactics, targeting, determination, and raw guts as you roll over the battlefield in the best WWII has to offer. Or, at least, that's what they say…

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Graphics: This is probably the least impressive area in this game. There are just tons of things that are not cool about the way this game looks. The first thing that I noticed when playing is that you can see the tracks left by your tank's treads through the tank! And the tracks are just long rectangles so the tracks are very segmented, and look crappy around corners. The other big problem is with the buildings and forests. When you hit them with your ammo they at first appear to flay apart (walls fly off, ceilings, windows, etc.) but when the debris leave, the building is still there. You can't destroy it at all. They shouldn't have included the exploding pieces if nothing could be damaged. Otherwise the graphics are good, although it isn't going to tax the PS too much. 2.5 out of 5.

      Sound: The sound is great. I love listening to the tanks engine as I driver over the terrain, and there is nothing more satisfying then the sound of an enemy tank exploding. Of course the worst sound to hear is that of your shell bouncing off another tanks' armor. The music is cool too. Depending on what country you are fighting for, you get a bunch of rousing marching band type songs that help you get into the game and make it all the more fun to blow the crap out of your enemies. 4 out of 5.

      Game Play: The game offers three control styles to play with. The rookie style is a very simplistic on that makes driving a tank seem more like driving a car. But the other two styles are very cool. They allow you to control both treads independently (the way it should be), and you can choose to have an automatic, or manual transmission, and whether or not you want to have an automated turret, or an independent one. I have to say that the more complicated the scheme that you choose the more real the connection seems to be between you and your tank. The game itself places you in one tank, and allows you to choose how to best destroy the enemy. You can take them all on yourself, or you can order the other tanks in your group to do just about anything you want to. Basically this game is all about strategy. 4 out of 5

      Level and Environment Designs: The levels in the game manage to be varied and accurate to the war. The different situations that you will find yourself in, with the location of obstacles and enemy tanks and so forth, will make you come up with brilliant tactical decisions if you want to survive. But the environments are sometimes lacking in interest. 3.5 out of 5

      Multiplayer: N/A

      Replayability: An awesome thing about this game is that, due to the lack of a story, you can play any mission you want in any order you want. This makes it so that if you find a mission that you really like, you can go back a play it as often as you want. Another cool thing is that the game provides you with six different "fantasy tanks" that you can use on the levels to experience them in new ways. 3.5 out of 5

      Story/Dramatics: There isn't really a story, which is strange in a simulation game based on an actual war. In this game rather than being given a storyline to follow, you are simply presented with a bunch of different scenarios that you have to find a way to survive in. The scenarios all seem to be very plausible, but don't really follow any storyline.

      Instructions and Learning Curve: The instructions that come with the game are very thorough. They tell you exactly what all of your options are. They explain what the commands are that you can give to the other tanks, and generally make the game much easier to understand. But learning how to effectively pilot your tank will take a while. And the less automated you want the controls to be, the more time it is going to take for you to get any good. 4.5 out of 5

      Installation and Real System Requirements: Well as I stated earlier, the game really doesn't have great graphics. The load times are reasonable. The mission areas were not all that were populated with interesting objects, nor are they really large. The game doesn't require a whole lot of the Playstation's capabilities, but manages to be fun anyway. 2.5 out of 5

      The Verdict:

This game isn't fast paced, it isn't really pretty, and it doesn't have any kind of story to keep you playing, but apparently it doesn't need any of that. The game is incredibly fun, if incredibly hard. You will find yourself amazed at how involved you get.

      The Good: Awesome play control, tons of levels, plenty of tanks to choose from, and the game requires you to think.

      The Bad: Poor graphics, the environments are very sparse, and the lack of a story might turn some gamers away.

      The Overall Ugly: This is a good tank combat game. There is a ton of stuff to blow up and a load of tanks to blow it up with.

      What it's Worth: $19.99