Enemy tanks are fine - the game has obviously been carefully crafted to ensure their tactics are accurate - but the enemy infantry is awful. Whilst if you join one of the teams everything works fine and dandy, if you join the other then the first team decides just to sit there and not attack! Very annoying! The enemy AI is also a little suspect. On one of the German missions, half a dozen tanks splinter into two teams to commence a pincer movement on some Russians. The 'auto' positions are fine - but when you are working with friendly units things can be a nightmare. Arggh! Whilst mitigated by an 'invulnerable' setting in the menu, this merely adds to the issues with regards to the playability. This means you can spend ages getting into position only to suffer some bad luck in the initial firefights and have to restart. This is compounded by the game's lack of an 'in mission' save game ability. Your tank can withstand a few hits but if the engine goes, if a track is damaged or a crew member dies - it becomes a frustrating experience. If you're unaware of traditional German/Russian tank strategies then you will suffer - TvsT is a game for enthusiasts. The simulation theme is re-enforced by the damage your tank can take, i.e. So the non-AI positions are left with little to do. However the issue with using auto does raise the 'where is the game'? As Commander the action does sort of go into auto - the Gunner will shoot targets in his sights, auto select ammo and so forth. This had mixed results, it took a while to get used to the specifics of the tanks - the Tiger for example is better shooting when stationary - but it soon becomes fairly clear how your tank and crew will respond in a given situation. This meant I could just con the tank to the location I wanted and direct fire.
As I just wanted a tank shooter, I found the game played well with me as the Commander and the other two positions, both of which are the simulator heavy elements, in auto.
The pure simulation is made a little easier by the ability to put the Tank positions into auto - you can choose to select upto two of the three tank positions (Commander, Gunner and Driver) to be controlled by AI.
Clearly the players this game is suited for will relish such features though. And when you do get going some of the missions are slow to start - one mission requires you to drive some distance before you see any action - and even then only if you overtake your own forces to move to the front of the column. The instructions on ranging and firing the cannon, complete with formulas and associated maths, tells it's own story. It took me awhile to get the tank moving let alone fighting. Gameplay is what you would expect from a simulator, i.e. The market seemed quite split between pure arcade and simulation - so cautiously I thought I would try the latter.
I am not really a simulator person, but the tank action in Call Of Duty and Brotherhood In Arms series wetted my appetite and so I went on the look for a tank game. Just completed WWII Battletanks: T34 v Tiger