Ever Want to Drive Your Own Steel Beast?

• Author: Silbergeld, David LL.
• Position: Steel Beats, military tank simulation game - Brief Article - Evaluation

No matter what your driving experience, wasn't there a time when you wished you were driving a tank, surrounded by armor and armed with a 120 mm gun, almost impervious to damage or harm?

Now, your dream can come true--at least in a realistic new simulation. Not only can you operate two of the most modern tanks in the world--the U.S. Abrams and the German Leopard--you also can enjoy the thrill of combat, either as a crewman of an individual tank or as a leader of a formation of tanks.

Developed by eSim Games and published by Strategy First Inc. (Montreal), "Steel Beasts" is a commercial tank sim used by the U.S. Military Academy, at West Point, as a realistic and relatively inexpensive teaching aid to demonstrate the principles of war.

Ground-maneuver warfare theory is taught using the "Steel Beasts" sim in conjunction with West Point textbooks. Playing various roles as a crew member in an armored vehicle or a commander of several ranks in specific tactical simulations--such as attack, defense, patrol or reconnaissance, with realistic actions and sounds--teaches concepts that previously required a vast training area, immensely detailed preparation and considerable cost.

Conceptually, the sim player gets to see the whole battlefield, or picture, as well as participate actively in it. The ability to replay an event and learn lessons from it in a classroom environment is a great step forward, especially in a commercial sim, available to the military historian.

An overview of the main menu reveals several play options:

* Instant action, where you assume the role of the tank's gunner.

* Tutorials, designed to introduce you, step-by-step, into the M1Al Abrams or German Leopard 2A4 tank.

* Tank range, where you develop and measure your gunnery skills (you maintain a training record to show your progress).

* Single or multiplayer roles.

* Mission editor, allowing you to tailor your mission to a specific set of circumstances, relive an actual battle (i.e. Desert Storm), or develop a specific maneuver skill.

* Map editor, for use in tailoring a mission or replaying a battle.

In playing a mission, you will use planning, execution and debriefing phases. Perhaps one of the most useful tools in planning the mission is the line-of-sight (LOS) map. Looking like a terrain map, a click on a point reveals the picture that you would see if you were at that exact spot. Tinting of the LOS map determines safe or dangerous areas. Want more? How about clicking [Fl]...