Team Assault: Baptism Of Fire Bursts Into Action

Apparently taking some cues from Silent Storm (a good thing), Zeal Game Studio's Team Assault: Baptism of Fire is a turn-based, skirmish level WWII tactical wargame. With an emphasis on realism, including morale management, and bullets that penetrate cover and have a tendency to kill rather than chip away at health bars, it sounds like exactly the sort of thing I often rudely expect other games to be. Put a point and click adventure in front of me and even if I'm enjoying the plot and humour, I'll be making mental notes about the lacklustre attention to damage modelling and the over-simplified chain of command. Trailer and more details cowering in the foxhole below.

My biggest reservation at the moment is the lack of a campaign, although the ability to customise forces and edit maps makes Team Assault seem more like a box of toys, laden with rules. Pick units, deploy them and fight against the AI or a friend, all the while learning systems and improving skills. That could be plenty, provided all the systems work well.

You can buy it over at Matrix Games, £13.99 as a download or £20.99 if you'd like a boxed copy. I'll hopefully find the time to put a platoon or two through the meatgrinder in the near future and, if so, will let you know if this is my particular cup of war-tea.