Fall of the Reich

Few topics lend themselves to wargame simulation like the massive battles fought between the Germans and Soviets on the eastern front during the Second World War. Many periods of history have important and interesting battles worthy of a gamer's attention, but none can match this epic struggle in terms of sheer size, variety and the utterly viscous nature of the fighting. It's no wonder the Ostfront has long been a favorite period among hardcore wargamers. Contrary to popular belief the fighting didn't die out on the eastern front after the "turning point" of Stalingrad. The German Wehrmacht still had plenty of fight left in it and the Nazi leadership was determined to fight to the very last. Talonsoft has picked the latter part of this struggle for the title of their latest expansion to the venerable Campaign Series - Fall of the Reich. Fall of the Reich is not a stand along product, but rather an add-on to East front II. Fall of the Reich is similar to Talonsoft's other add-on products Operation Sea Lion and the West Front Battle Pack. It includes 3 all new campaign games and 17 scenarios. The expansion pack also upgrades East Front II to the latest version (version 1.03). The upgrade makes a few small changes to the game system and also adds the night fighting feature found in Talonsoft's last addition to the Campaign Series - Rising Sun. Although these changes are welcome additions to the game system one can't help but feel some disappointment in the minimal amount of material included in this release. In contrast Operation Sea Lion included 34 scenarios, several new units, an upgrade to version 1.05 in addition to the campaign games. Of the 17 scenarios included in Fall of the Reich 5 were already available for free from the Talonsoft War Room! Gamers have been clamoring for new units, an expanded OOB database, revised victory condition options and many other enhancements. With the exception of the night fighting rules Talonsoft seems to have turned a deaf ear to its customers. The fighting on the eastern front ebbed and flowed all the way from the gates of Moscow and Rostov through Poland, Romania and finally into Germany itself. The battles fought there were fought on perhaps the most varied terrain of any European theater. From the swampland of the Pripyat Marshes to the barren steppes of the Ukraine, throughout the mass of rubble and debris that was Stalingrad to the frozen shore of Lake Lodoga. Yet East Front II is the only member of the Campaign Series to include a single building and terrain set. Unlike Rising Sun and West front which contain at least two or three terrain and building sets each, in East Front II it doesn't matter if your fighting in Smolensk or Berlin the cities and terrain will be identical. Fall of the Reich fails to include any new graphics or terrain for the series at all - a major oversight on the part of Talonsoft. One can only wonder how cool it would have been to have seen new graphics added for famous landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate or the Reichstag. Written documentation is nearly non-existent with Fall of the Reich. The CD ships in a plastic case similar to a DVD container and includes no written installation instructions or player's manual. This is probably not a critical omission for veteran Campaign Series players, but could prove troublesome to newcomers or if problems occur during installation. There is installation information and documentation of the new night fighting features included in the Readme file, however, this is only available after the game has been installed. A beginner's start file is also included which is a nice feature.

An interesting side note is that the Readme file states that there are 50 new scenarios included with the CD, however, it then goes on to list only 17. Was Talonsoft originally planning a much larger release? It's possible considering the recent shakeups and personnel reductions. Fall of the Reich is available only from Talonsoft's online store and at the time of this writing retails for $19.99. Is Fall of the Reich worth the price? Yes and no. It is perhaps a must-have for the diehard wargamer who is interested in maximum PBEM compatibility, but more casual players can probably live without it. All the included material is certainly a welcome addition to East front II, especially the night fighting enhancements. However, considering that Talonsoft just released World at War which contains the entire Campaign Series and all the add-on's and battle packs (including Fall of the Reich), it seems hard to justify the cost.