Review by: Emil Pagliarulo
Published: April 8, 1998

You may not know the name, but chances are you’ll never forget the images from the nightly news. 73 Easting was the most decisive, most famous battle of the entire Persian Gulf War. On February 26, 1991, only a couple of days into the ground war, American forces rolled across the desert, making military history. In approximately six minutes, 50 Iraqi vehicles, including over 30 T72-M1 tanks, were reduced to burning wreckage, while the Americans reported not a single casualty. It was a staggering blow to the Iraqi Republican Guard, and one hell of a confidence booster for the U.S. Army. The deciding factor in this complete annihilation? The M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. Fast, powerful, and operated by a meticulously trained four-man crew, the American M1A1 Abrams proved to be the ultimate modern war machine.

Imagine taking control of not one, but four of these beasts, in a variety of environments and combat situations. In Microprose’s original M1 Tank Platoon, the player could do just that. Now, it’s time to get serious. In M1 Tank Platoon II, the M1A1 has been cast into the shadows, replaced by the next generation of ground warfare excellence — the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank. More than just a higher number, the M1A2 is a vast improvement over the M1A1, mostly in terms of the commander’s ability to direct his platoon effectively. Included in the new version of the MBT are the Inter-Vehicular Information System (IVIS), a small tactical computer which greatly improves the commander’s situational awareness, and the Commander’s Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV), a night-vision scope which not only affords the commander a 360 degree view around the battlefield, but also allows him to track the movements of the main gun, assign targets to the gunner, and even take direct control of the main gun when necessary.

What all of this means for the player of M1 Tank Platoon II is a game teeming with options, and plenty of methods for easily controlling the four tanks directly under his or her command. These improvements to the M1A2 directly translate into improvements of M1 Tank Platoon II over the original game. With the IVIS and CITV, the commander’s effectiveness is greatly improved. And since you the player take on the role of commander, you’ll find that these additional systems make the task of coordinating a four-tank platoon that much easier.

Granted, the approach of M1 Tank Platoon II (and its predecessor) is a unique one, as military simulators usually center on the control of only one vehicle, vessel, or aircraft. But the fact is, tanks operate in platoons of four, and once you get into the game the logic of this design becomes fully evident. By giving the player full control over all four tanks in the platoon, the designers ensured that he or she would get the full mechanized warfare experience. Besides, nothing beats the ability to jump into another tank if yours gets wasted by an enemy missile!

M1 Tank Platoon II really does give you complete control over all the tanks under your command. Just about all of the tanks’ systems and crew positions have been modelled, and can be accessed using the function keys. The Tank Commander (TC) Cockpit is a tank’s “center of operations.” Here, the commander can monitor the state of the battle using the IVIS computer, or keep tabs on the gunner’s targets or the rest of the battlefield using the CITV. During the course of the game, this is probably the best position for the player to monitor, simply because it’s possible to remain aware of every aspect of the battle while allowing the other crewmembers, like the gunner, to do their jobs. The CITV has several modes, and can be set to automatically scan the battlefield, show the gunner’s line of sight (LOS), or remain free for the commander to control directly and search for targets, turning the M1A2 into a true hunter/killer.