Battlefield Academy is my newest addiction

Right on the heels of my total addiction to Field of Glory comes a new test for my lack of sleep and that is a great WW2 turn based gem Battlefield Academy.

Battlefield Academy, a slight touch up of a 2004 game, has been shuffled and fixed by Slitherine and offers the same addictive goodness. Not only does it feature Slitherine's revolutionary multiplayer server, it also has extensive mod capabilities and great support. The game auto patches itself so need to go fishing around for patches to download and all that nonsense.

In short many people compare Battlefield academy to Steel Panthers. Only a light version. If you are not in the know about what Steel Panthers is it is probably one of the greatest computer wargames to date and has survived over 10 years to provide great gameplay. You can find out more about that game here but for now we are focused on my first attempt at playing Battlefield Academy (or BA from here on out).

Out of the box (or digital download in my case since I don't bother going to the store anymore) BA provides the following features:

• Control British, US, Polish, Canadian forces in 3 epic campaigns covering more than 30 varied battles or take control of Italian and German forces in multiplayer.


• Select from a vast array of equipment including 100 units from 6 nations - Shermans, Fireflys, Panthers, Tigers, Stukas, Hurricanes, P47s and much more!


• Gameplay features include ambushes, line of sight, artillery barrages, airstrikes, scouts, morale, APCs, flame throwers, heavy bombers, snipers and suppression.


• Your units gain experience as they fight. Get promoted to Veteran and Elite status and gain new skills.


• Addictive multiplayer modes using Slitherine’s revolutionary multiplayer server that’s linked into an online ranking system.


• Huge modding opportunities. The game has been designed so that it’s easily moddable and accessible scripts control all aspects of combat, user interface and the game's appearance.

That is just the start but I immediately dove into the single player game before I hit the multiplayer challenge. I first did the tutorial which was pretty basic considering all the game has to offer. A simple north african campaign tutorial consisting of blowing up some infantry a few 88's and another Italian tank. Once you finish that you are allowed to start the campaign game in earnest and that is where I left off.

So far the game is intuitive, easy to control and features great keyboard commands to get around the map which I love. More on the gameplay later but I have uploaded a YouTube video showing the very first tutorial a new player will encounter. Be warned however that on my machine with a newer nVidia card and running Windows 7 64 bit the game is not fond of alt-tabbing as this disables the ability to click things in game once you return. I don't want this post to be a full review so I will continue with more on this game as the weeks go by. They have also announced a new expansion as well:

After taking the wargaming market by storm with its revolutionary fast paced gameplay system, Battlefield Academy is back with this amazing add-on pack. Players will be able to take command of German forces and lead them to the conquest of Paris.

With 9 single player missions and 4 multiplayer missions, 25 new units and a host of additional features, Blitzkrieg France takes Battlefield Academy to a new level. Blitzkrieg France is and add on for Battlefield Academy and requires Battlefield Academy to be played.