Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles

Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles is a 1996 computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Simulations. It is the sequel to Steel Panthers and the second entry in the Steel Panthers series. The game was designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors.

Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles
Developer(s)Strategic Simulations
Publisher(s)Strategic Simulations
Producer(s)Carl C. Norman
Designer(s)Keith Brors
Gary Grigsby
Programmer(s)Keith Brors
Gary Grigsby
Artist(s)Maurie Manning
Composer(s)Danny Pelfrey
Rick Rhodes
SeriesSteel Panthers
Platform(s)DOS
ReleaseNovember 1996
Genre(s)Tactical wargame
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Like its predecessor, Steel Panthers II was a commercial hit.

Gameplay

Steel Panthers II is a computer wargame that simulates modern warfare.

Development

A key goal for Steel Panthers II was offering improved animation.[1] The game was released on November 1, 1996.[2]

Reception

Following Steel Panthers' strong commercial performance, Steel Panthers II was a "major success", according to author Rusel DeMaria. Among other theories, he speculated that the deployment of tanks in Operation Desert Storm could have influenced its sales.[7] Steel Panthers II was nominated as Computer Games Strategy Plus's 1996 wargame of the year, although it lost to that year's Battleground games: Shiloh, Antietam and Waterloo.[8] It was also a nominee for CNET Gamecenter's "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which went to Civilization II.[9]

William R. Trotter of PC Gamer US was largely positive toward Steel Panthers II, but felt that it was held back by its technical problems, glitches and oversights. He concluded, "If not for the numerous little flaws that keep it from realizing its own best intentions, this would have been my nominee for Wargame of the Year."[5] In Computer Games Strategy Plus, Robert Mayer was less impressed: he considered it visually impressive but unrealistic, with numerous historical oversights. He nevertheless called it "a worthy successor to a very successful game".[3]

Steel Panthers and Steel Panthers II were named, collectively, the 62nd best computer game ever by PC Gamer UK in 1997.[10]

Legacy

The game was followed by Steel Panthers III: Brigade Command 1939-1999. The Camo Workshop released a mod based on Steel Panthers II called SP2WW2 (Steel Panthers II: World War 2) in 1998.

References
  1. Udell, Scott (June 20, 1996). "Steel Panthers II Preview". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on October 7, 1997.
  2. "Modern Warfare SSI Style!" (Press release). Sunnyvale, California: Strategic Simulations, Inc. November 1, 1996. Archived from the original on February 13, 1998.
  3. Mayer, Robert (November 28, 1996). "Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles Review". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on November 7, 1997.
  4. Miller, Patrick C. (February 1997). "A Penetrating Success". Computer Gaming World (151): 218, 219.
  5. Trotter, William R. (February 1997). "Steel Panthers II". PC Gamer US. Archived from the original on March 8, 2000.
  6. Morris, Daniel. "Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles". PC Games. Archived from the original on July 11, 1997.
  7. DeMaria, Rusel (December 2018). "Opportunity Knocks: The Story of SSI". High Score! Expanded: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games (3rd ed.). CRC Press. pp. 166–171. ISBN 978-0-429-77139-2.
  8. "Computer Games Strategy Plus announces 1996 Awards". Computer Games Strategy Plus. March 25, 1997. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  9. The Gamecenter Editors. "The Gamecenter Awards for 96". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on February 5, 1997.
  10. Flynn, James; Owen, Steve; Pierce, Matthew; Davis, Jonathan; Longhurst, Richard (July 1997). "The PC Gamer Top 100". PC Gamer UK (45): 51–83.
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