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| From: PC Combat Simulations! M4: SHERMAN TANK SIMULATOR by J. Bender Report from Bastogne, Belgium 10 January, 1945 Somewhere in the Ardennes Forest. We're heading northeast now, toward our assigned map coordinates of 58/51, and the town of Noville. German opposition has been heavy, with no short supply of German tanks, field guns and troops. Our tank crews are experienced now and we've learned from the experiences of the last few weeks. These improved Sherman tanks, the M4A3 models, have heavier frontal armor and we can pack in more main gun rounds, but we're still no match in a head-to-head gun fight with a Panther or Tiger tank. The only way to win these skirmishes is to hit and run, and hope our luck holds out! But we're pressing on toward Germany, through this bitter winter weather. We've fought our way south to the town of St. Hubert, then east to Barriere, northeast to Bastogne and now to Noville. Our company has lost a lot of tanks; our platoon has been refitted three times so far! We're still optimistic, as the enemy seems to be falling back. Additional reports will follow. Captain R. Boylan, Commander, Charlie Company. This progress report from Charlie Company only hints at the excitement to be found in Deadly Games' new tank warfare simulation: M4 Sherman Tank. This program, hard to recognize in an almost camouflaged brown box, is a lot better than it looks at first glance. As a Windows game, this simulation turns out to be easy to use, challenging and realistic. It's really a role playing tank crew simulator. Your crew consists of a tank commander, gunner, loader, driver and front machinegun operator. A large geographic area is provided for your campaign, including France, Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany. M4: Sherman Tank comes with a set of headphones, which add realism as you talk with crewmembers in the heat of battle. The crew's voices are well modeled to give that WWII Army dogface feel to the program. A communications network is available via the tank's radio. Charlie One calls with orders on the standby Frequency 120.0. Have your code manual handy as verification codes are occasionally requested. The 25th Cav. Reconnaissance Squad is your direct link to scouts in the field, on Freq. 80.0. Continuous weather reports are available on Freq. 20.0, from the Army Meteorological Office in Paris, updated every six hours. Freq. 50.0 is your direct link to air support, available in daylight hours, weather permitting. Artillery support is also available, on Freq. 40.0, and you can transmit coordinates of the target sector. Remember: do NOT enter the target area until artillery fire has ceased! Action takes place inside the venerable M4 Sherman tank. The Sherman, the Army's primary fighting vehicle in WWII, was notoriously undergunned and lightly armored. The 75mm cannon is only useful against light German tanks such as the Panzer IV, in a frontal attack, against light field guns (50mm), personnel carriers and infantry. Side or rear shots are usually successful against heavier Panther and Tiger tanks, but don't press your luck! The tank's machine gun provides good results against infantry and machine gun nests. The commander can view the action through the tank's periscope or through binoculars from the commander's hatch position. Arrow keys traverse the turret, and loading and fire commands are given with a point and click of the mouse, which also controls the intercom, radio, map and compass. Charlie One calls with your coordinates and you set the compass heading after referring to your map. Instruct your driver to move out and you're on your way. When you reach the next sector your crew will report any targets. To attack, identify your target, move into a hulldown position and fire away. It's sometimes advisable to retreat and try a different approach to a difficult or heavily defended sector. With a little practice this game really picks up speed and you'll find that you and your crew can cover territory quickly and rack up a good point score. Occasionally in combat you'll find that your tank takes a damaging or sometimes fatal hit from an enemy gun. You may choose to reverse and retreat or to abandon your tank. You'll receive a report on crew status, who was injured or just dazed and you'll be issued a new tank if your performance has been acceptable. Caution: Headquarters may replace you for poor performance! Copywrite © PC Combat Simulations! |
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