Anyone into Panzer General 2 or TOAW III?

I just bought PG2 over at GOG.com and boy what a gem. I remember buying it back when it came out in the late 90's. It's still a classic.

I know it's a dumb down version of The Operational Art of War and now that i've been enjoying PG2 is it advisable to make the jump to TOAW III if I can find it? No luck over at GOG.com, maybe one day.

Another game that has intrigued me is Hearts of Iron III since it's now real cheap. For anyone into these types of games what's the difference between TOAW III and HOI III?

 

tow IS FUN TO PLAY- BUT HOI IS MICRO-MANAGEMENT TO THE DEATH plus freezes and CTDs- very bad support- you can get tow from matrix games new version of PG coming out in 5/11 and grand strategy WWII ala PG also coming out in April 11-

 

I prefer HOI2 over HOI3. HOI3 is much maligned, but I've managed to enjoy it. I've never played TOAW, so I don't know how it compares to that.

 

I know it's not exactly what you asked, but if you liked PG2 (and I did), then you might like People's General. It uses the same engine as PG2, but (more) modern weapons. People's General is my favorite in the series. Unfortunately, since it's not yet available on legitimate digital distribution platforms, buying the game off eBay can be expensive.

You would probably also enjoy the original Panzer General, Allied General and Pacific General. All three of these games are built from the same engine which is older than the PG2 engine (obviously). Therefore, graphics are a little more worse for the wear and the interface is more cumbersome. Gameplay is just as fun once you learn the not-so-intuitive interface. Again, these games are plagued with the inflated pricing on eBay since they can be difficult to find. (Can I say abandonia.com here? Are they considered legit?)

And to more specifically answer your question, I don't know about TOAW III. I own (and still play) Century of Warfare (TOAW II with all the expansions). The strategy and 'micromanagement' can be more tedious and difficult than the General (5-Star) series, but I also find it more rewarding. And I'm just amazed at how flexible the engine is (which doesn't really add to the gameplay). I usually find myself playing the second US Civil War scenario over and over and over. Norm Koger along with Gary Grigsby were the premiere PC wargame designers in the 90's. If TOAW III is as good as (or better than) Century of Warfare, and you have time for a bit of a learning curve, then I would highly recommend it...very highly recommend it.

I've played both Hearts of Iron II and III. I enjoyed II more than III, but neither as much as the 5-star series or TOAW (or Steel Panthers or Harpoon 2 or Talonsoft's Battleground and Campaign series). It almost felt like Master of Orion to me except I didn't get to design ships (similar to Gratuitous Space Battles) and it's just not as much 'fun' for me as MoO. If TOAW is on a slightly grander scale than PG2, then HoI series is on a still grander scale. I think, by design, you feel more like a President or Prime Minister than a General. And I guess that I prefer to be a General. I picked up both HoI games from Steam greatly discounted.

 

Thanks everyone for your input

Yeah i'm not into micromanagement which is why I luv PG2. So maybe that rules out TOAW III and HOI series. Can any of you provide some links for the new PG games?

 

I just read a little about Panzer Corps, is this the game you were referring too?

www.panzer-corps.com