by Interactive Magic Review by Brian G. Johnson Interactive Magic has filled a void in the PC gaming market for an authentic tank simulation. It puts you at the helm of a very realistic armoured combat vehicle. That said, this game is definitely not made for those in search of a shoot-em up arcade/simulation that you want to quickly pick up and play without reading the manual. I quickly read over the manual (a whooping 190 pages!) and began a quick game scenario. Yikes! Even with the Quick Reference Card open to help tell me which keystrokes controlled each device, it was still overwhelming after 1.5hrs of play; and ultimate death each time even in the easy beginners level. M1A2 seems to have a lot of detail to it; numerous selections of support allies & enemy forces, 3 campaign areas, choice of night/day fighting, ability to jump into different seats of control and modem/Internet play. You can choose single battle, instant action or play a full campaign. You have the ability to command a single tank or a complete platoon from a map view, or hop into a tank and take control. Inside the tank, you can choose to drive the tank (don't stop or you become a sitting duck....the best advice....CHARGE!), you can sit in the seat as the Commander, or take the seat of the Gunner. Meanwhile, the computer controls the other positions you're not occupying. A neat aspect, especially given the complexity of the game. Now the bad news. Considering this game was recently released, the graphics really aren't up to par. (Just look at the box the game is packaged in and you'll see what I mean.) The tanks were drawn realistically on my machine (166MHz MMX, 32RAM,4MB Matrox Mystique video card, etc.), but the smoke from crippled tanks and especially the virtually featureless terrain were very disappointing. The other aspect I disliked was the inability to stealthily hide and attack....they seek and kill you easily if you shut down your engines and hide behind an object. Brute force is necessary for this simulation. In conclusion, the game has what it takes for the true tank aficionado with it's complexity; but for the average gamer looking for some ‘eye-candy' fun without having to be immersed in tank technology, the learning curve is too frustrating. For myself, I'd prefer a tank simulation that takes you on a chase down the streets of Los Angeles highways with multitudes of police attempting to slow you down to no avail while helpless people try to rescue their vehicles from their ultimate destruction....oops....that's been done; just not in game form! Summary Installation: 10/10 It was a breeze Gameplay: 5/10 Okay for true tank fans, not so great for arcade/simplistic simulation fans Graphics: 4/10 Not up to par compared to new graphics-intensive games Sound: 8/10 Pretty darn good; voices announcing weaponry loaded a little annoying Overall: 5/10 (I guess that's one joystick up....too generous?) Too difficult, not the greatest graphics System Requirements: Pentium 60 16MB RAM Windows 95 2x CD ROM SVGA Sound Card Joystick (recommended)