Panzer Corps 2: Frontlines — Westwall takes you to the Seigfried Line with a surprising start
Easy romp across the fields of Westwall? Don't think so.
For Slitherine’s next entry in their Panzer Corps, Frontlines series, Panzer Corps 2: Frontlines – Westwall, they take us to the pushback after the liberation of Paris. You’ll command US forc
Leave it to Slitherine’s Panzer Corps 2 to catch me off guard me again… this time with their latest DLC, Frontlines: Westwall. (The last startling starting time was my review about Panzer Corps 2: Frontlines – Cyrenaica).
This time, with Westfall, they surprised me with the very first scenario. As this takes place immediately after the recapture and liberation of Paris — as the US forces pushed back to the Siegfried Lines — you don’t buy then deploy your forces. Instead, those segments are already on the board. Your units are already assigned and deployed.
This first scenario is clearly supposed to be a rather quick, clear-the-map (remove any Germans along the way) circumstance. Intelligence says they have very low numbers and are almost to the point of fleeing. Additionally, some of the target buildings are even empty!
However, there’s no mention of German reinforcements (which definitely appear)… plus some of their troop numbers are much higher than the “intelligence” report. This quickly turned the ‘easy ride’ into quite the nightmare.
Actually, for my tastes, I really liked the ‘surprises’ (not all of them are disclosed here). It was actually quite invigorating that there was more going on than I originally thought. Plus, the extras they received weren’t exactly ‘wienies’ either… they were full force, often overstrength.
If you succeed, the next scenario is ‘normal’ (buying and upgrading units… all the way to deployment), but I don’t know the mechanics of every single one of the other 12 missions… yet. I do know that the theme here is resistance, and not the normal kind that you’d expect (French), with Germany holding strong against your pushback.
Interestingly a couple of new units make an appearance, notably Dragon’s Teeth, which work as a perfect counter to your Field Armor Sherman Tanks (which are only rewards). Pillboxes are also present in a big way, which is a fascinating addition as while we’ve had building fortifications before, it’s never been as clear cut and specific as this.
Needless to say, if you’re a fan of Panzer Corps 2, then Panzer Corps 2: Frontlines – Westwall is another great DLC from Slitherine.
