Mirzayev

Difficulty: A fairly straightforward mission: clear two objectives of enemy presence. You've got sufficient forces to accomplish both, and a little bit of planning will go a long way. Difficulty can be subjective: I'm going with easy overall IF you properly employ the assets that you have available with advantageous terrain. Failure to do so elevates it to "Medium" quickly. The T-72B3 is the bright shiny object here to serve as the proverbial hammer, but don't neglect employing your BRDM-2s to identify *how* the enemy has established his defense, and how you can exploit it. The Swingblade 600 is also fun to play with, but don't neglect the recon capabilities that it offers you. 

[X] Easy
[ ] Medium
[ ] Hard
[ ] Kobayashi Maru

Duration: Completion fell in around the 45 minute mark with some creative maneuver involved. I could definitely see this mission taking over the hour mark, depending on the player's tempo. 

[ ] Less than 30 minutes
[X] 30 Minutes to 1 Hour
[ ] 1 to 2 Hours
[ ] Longer than 2 Hours

Balance: BLUEFOR is slightly favored in this mission based on the enablers available to you (Recon, Swingblade 600, T-72B3, plenty of artillery.) You aren't an unstoppable juggernaut where you can just rush in and expect to win, but you've got enough to handily do the job *if* you use all of your available assets appropriately. 

[X] Favors BLUEFOR
[ ] Favors OPFOR
[ ] Favors Neither

Overall: Definitely a good mission that highlights the "big ticket" items introduced in version 4.3. The mission set feels plausible, and there is definitely some fun to be had with tackling some of the tactical problems that present themselves in the scenario 

without feeling overwhelming. 100% worth a download and a playthrough.

[ ] Awful - A Waste of Your Time
[ ] Bad - Significant Design Flaws
[ ] Average - Limited Replayability
[X] Good - Worth a Download
[ ] Excellent - A Benchmark Scenario; Must Download and Play

Feedback: I would recommend the following changes to take this scenario from "good" to "excellent:"

1. Place a deployment zone to enable the player to remount troops, change formations and spacing, etc. Size can be dependent on how much freedom you want to give the player in regard to deploying his forces.

2. Add events on the blue side to signal when objectives are considered captured. This'll give some needed feedback to the player on if they have completed that task.

5. Add an event that ends the mission; a radio message to the player telling them they are successful would also be helpful so they know they are successful. It removes the "guesswork."

6. The Swingblade is fun, but due to the low quality it *might* be useful to give it a specific high-value target to hit. Destroying an enemy HQ in the town could activate an event that causes certain elements (as mentioned under the spoiler) to arrive much later, or not arrive at all, for example. 

Anyway, a good mission overall. I look forward to some updates and some of your future work. 

Difficulty: This is possibly the hardest mission that I have ever played for Steel Beasts. I found myself having to switch from a hasty defense into a full on delay, based on the sheer number of enemy assets being sent towards you. The enemy's COA is exceptionally devious. I won't spoil any surprises, but you need to be an expert to even hope to survive. 

[ ] Easy
[ ] Medium
[ ] Hard
[X] Kobayashi Maru

Duration: This mission took me around 1 hour to plan and 2 hours to execute, and believe me, you will be counting down the seconds until this mission is over, saving you from the sweaty mess that you will have become. While it lasted me a good three hours, it seemed like even more due to how stressed out I was during the entirety of this. I'd book an entire afternoon or evening solely for this mission to get the maximum level of enjoyment. 

[ ] Less than 30 minutes
[ ] 30 Minutes to 1 Hour
[ ] 1 to 2 Hours
[X] Longer than 2 Hours

Balance: The 801st, 802nd, and even the 803rd are coming at you with the latest and greatest T-90 and BMP-3 fleet, and absolutely outnumber you by 5:1, and in some cases, 9:1. It will take every ounce of your skill and well being to just try to hold on and survive. While you can request reinforcements, they are an absolute necessity to surviving this Donovian onslaught. The enemy additionally has superior CCA, and Fires, so you are gonna be on the struggle bus hardcore for this entire operation.

[ ] Favors BLUEFOR
[X] Favors OPFOR
[ ] Favors Neither

Overall: This mission put all ten years of my skill and experience to the test, and then some! Apocalypse has created a masochistic masterpiece with this one. If you want to experience the closest thing to a waking nightmare possible within the Steel Beasts framework, this is the mission to do it with! I was kept on my toes for the entire mission, especially with having to hold the enemy off in their northern avenue of approach, which was some of the most intense tank on tank combat I have ever experienced! 10/10, would recommend if you want to face the ultimate challenge! Be warned: this is NOT for the faint of heart!

[ ] Awful - A Waste of Your Time
[ ] Bad - Significant Design Flaws
[ ] Average - Limited Replayability
[ ] Good - Worth a Download
[X] Excellent - A Benchmark Scenario; Must Download and Play

Difficulty: While you are fighting African Rebels in this scenario, they are not pushovers. They have a decent defensive plan with flexibility, and will try to play to their strengths. Knowing the vulnerabilities of your equipment, and knowing the effects of the terrain, is essential to prevent yourself from fighting in a manner that the enemy wants you to fight. The Scenario Designer gives you enough assets to complete the task at hand if you employ them properly. This is also one of those few scenarios where I found recon teams to be legitimately useful, as they will help protect your "glass cannon" style vehicles from making initial contact with the enemy. It is very possible for the enemy to win if you don't fight this appropriately.

[ ] Easy
[X] Medium
[ ] Hard
[ ] Kobayashi Maru

Duration: This mission took approximate 30 minutes to plan, and around 35 minutes to execute, resulting in my overall time of around 1 hour and 5 minutes. While it is certainly possible to spend more time on both planning and execution, I find it would be hard to push this scenario into an overall time of longer than 2 hours. It is certainly possible to get this play-time to be between 30 minutes to 1 hour, especially if using an increased tempo during execution.

[ ] Less than 30 minutes
[ ] 30 Minutes to 1 Hour
[X] 1 to 2 Hours
[ ] Longer than 2 Hours

Balance: Balance of forces slightly favors BLUEFOR in this mission. While the enemy technically outguns you with the deployment of T-62s, French forces dominate the infrared spectrum, and will win any engagement where they have an appropriate level of standoff. The MB 300D with MILAN is a
notable standout here, and can decimate the enemy's T-62s and BMP-1s when firing from the proper terrain. Both sides have indirect fire, and the enemy will employ it to great effect if you remain static. 

[X] Favors BLUEFOR
[ ] Favors OPFOR
[ ] Favors Neither

Overall: A great mission with an unconventional force composition that reflects how the French Army fights in Africa! The Force composition is easily manageable with a single player, with co-op being another good option with players occupying key leader positions. This mission definitely showcases how, with proper understanding of the effects of terrain, and knowing both the enemy and your capabilities and limitations, you can achieve success with what some might consider an "inferior force" on paper. The scenario leaves plenty of flexibility for your plan, and gives you some interesting options on outmaneuvering the enemy. The OPFOR is tough but fair; I never felt like any tactical surprises that occurred were outside of the realm of possibility. Download this and play it; you'll be glad you did!

[ ] Awful - A Waste of Your Time
[ ] Bad - Significant Design Flaws
[ ] Average - Limited Replayability
[ ] Good - Worth a Download
[X] Excellent - A Benchmark Scenario; Must Download and Play

Difficulty: This mission can present a challenge, and presents moments where you have to deviate from your initial plan. Massing and synchronization of your available forces and effects is essential to win while preserving enough combat power to achieve a major victory. Weight for scoring is well established and laid out, with 60 points allocated to the seizure of Objective Bull, and 40 points for overall combat power at 100%. The enemy responds in a dynamic manner to your plan, and will adjust to fight you. You absolutely must do some form of planning to achieve a major victory here. Difficulty can be adjusted to become easier through the use of AVEPs on the BLUEFOR side, though this skew the scenario's balance in favor of BLUEFOR.

[ ] Easy
[X] Medium
[ ] Hard
[ ] Kobayashi Maru

Duration: This mission took me approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes total, with a split of around 1 hour for total planning time, and 45 minutes for execution. Allocated time for execution is 90 minutes for seizure of Objective Bull, so this could conceivably last for longer than 2 hours if more time is spent on planning, or execution to meet the overall objective. Time allowed for execution is sufficient, but may be a problem if there is not a synchronized maneuver plan created by the player.

[ ] Less than 30 minutes
[ ] 30 Minutes to 1 Hour
[X] 1 to 2 Hours
[ ] Longer than 2 Hours

Balance: Balance of forces is excellent, with the BLUEFOR's numerical advantage offset by OPFOR's defensive plan, engineering efforts, and flexibility in responding to your actions. BLUEFOR's Challenger 2s, and Pizarros are excellently mated with the OPFOR's T-90s and BMP-3s. Employment, mass, and synchronization of all of your assets are essential to defeating the OPFOR. The enemy never felt undefeatable, while BLUEFOR definitely had to position forces appropriately to exploit the enemy's vulnerabilities.

[ ] Favors BLUEFOR
[ ] Favors OPFOR
[X] Favors Neither

Overall: This mission forces you to understand the terrain you are fighting in, the enemy's capabilities and limitations, and requires a well synchronized plan to achieve success. This is definitely manageable by a single player, though I wouldn't recommend it for your first company-level scenario. This is a good candidate for co-op without a server license with up to eight players controlling Platoon Leader/Platoon Sergeant, and Company Commander position. The terrain you fight in within this scenario is both scenic and interesting, and will slow your tempo if not properly analyzed. Engagements are immersive and possibly even stressful, with the enemy forcing you to make decisions while under direct and indirect fire. This is not a "beer and pretzels" scenario experience if you are gunning to get that Major Victory. Overall, this is an excellent scenario that does a great job showcasing what a UK Armored Company Team is capable of achieving when faced with a modern "Donovian-style" Mechanized OPFOR threat. Absolutely recommended.

[ ] Awful - A Waste of Your Time
[ ] Bad - Significant Design Flaws
[ ] Average - Limited Replayability
[ ] Good - Worth a Download
[X] Excellent - A Benchmark Scenario; Must Download and Play

Difficulty: A very newbie-friendly mission, excellent as a candidate for moving from Platoon-sized to Company-sized missions. The overall mission requirements are simple: seize the Objective held by the enemy. The enemy plan is very straightforward, with their elements being arrayed in general where you expect; the surprises are not so catastrophic that they will result in the destruction of your entire element. Adding AVEPs is a good way to lower the difficulty even further for new players.

[X] Easy
[ ] Medium
[ ] Hard
[ ] Kobayashi Maru

Duration: This mission took me approximately 1 hour overall to play through from planning to execution; I expect this to take slightly longer for newer players, with this being around 1 hour and 30 minutes or so.

[ ] Less than 30 minutes
[X] 30 Minutes to 1 Hour
[ ] 1 to 2 Hours
[ ] Longer than 2 Hours

Balance: There is a slight favoring of BLUEFOR during this mission based on the added capabilities from Leopard 2A4s and CV9035s compared to the enemy's use of T-62s and BMP-2s. Both sides have indirect fire assets in sufficient number. Charging headlong into the enemy without a plan WILL result in significant losses for BLUEFOR; this is not a steamroll style mission, and requires a decent plan to pull off a victory.

[X] Favors BLUEFOR
[ ] Favors OPFOR
[ ] Favors Neither

Overall: This is an excellent mission that is very manageable for a single player, and is a good candidate for co-op without a server license. The enemy's plan is decent, but can be easily deduced with application of Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB). The enemy responds in a dynamic manner, your adjacent unit responds appropriately, and the battlefield "feels alive" as a result. This mission forces the use of all of your assets to proceed; if you lead with your tanks the entire time you will not have success. An absolute must download and play!

[ ] Awful - A Waste of Your Time
[ ] Bad - Significant Design Flaws
[ ] Average - Limited Replayability
[ ] Good - Worth a Download
[X] Excellent - A Benchmark Scenario; Must Download and Play

Fun set of challenging missions that require use of all of your assets to accomplish your mission. OPFOR is realistic in how they fight, and has modern equipment. Don't underestimate the infantry in this one, as the NLAW will do a lot of work against enemy armored vehicles in both the defense, and the offense. 

Definitely worth a download and a play. 

Awesome mission! The terrain gives a lot of room for cooperation between tanks and the mech infantry, with the DF30 and the mortars doing a lot of heavy lifting during the scenario (the DF90... not so much.) The enemy is in general around a Tier 3 threat, leaving room to be able to make a few mistakes without catastrophic consequences, but with enough numbers to force you to plan smartly. 

Destroying Olvanan Command Posts is always great fun! 

Squinting through my binoculars in the early hours of the morning, my eyes strain to see any silhouettes or signs of movement amidst the heavy vegetation standing in stark contrast to the arid environment. BMNT has arrived, leaving my NVDs useless, and making the prospect of determining the enemy's composition on QUINTUS that much more difficult. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I pick up what might be a slight dust trail; though it may very well be another case of my mind playing tricks on me. Overriding control of the turret from my gunner, I scan in the general direction of 11 o'clock. CONTACT, PC! GUNNER, AP, PC! My gunner, previously yawning and struggling to keep from "resting his eyes," is now fully alert, staring at the white-hot image of a BRDM-2 centered in a background of neon green. IDENTIFIED! he yelled excitedly, his voice raising a pitch. FIRE AND ADJUST! My wingman, responding to the previous contact report, moves up to my vehicle on line at close interval. Like a well-lubricated machine, the "talking of the guns" begins, with AP rounds penetrating the hull of the BRDM-2.

The small anecdote above is but a single experience in Panzer_Leader's scenario, Combat Team Advance at Woodhill 1994, and is but also a small part of why any Panzer_Leader scenario is immediately added to my "must play" list of scenarios for Steel Beasts.

The mission itself is not complicated; determine the enemy composition of QUINTUS, before committing the full combat power of BG Leopard to seize the aforementioned objective. While many scenarios will begin with you immediately having full control of all elements in your Company, in this case you begin with control of one Troop (Platoon) of ASLAV-25s, with the remainder of BG Leopard established in their Assembly Area. In this way, you are forced to devote your full energy to conducting a proper zone reconnaissance of the AO. I decided to divide my Cavalry Troop into two sections, and after a short road march on the road, sent them on their way to move in a stealthy manner. While I was able to gain observation of QUINTUS with the western recon section, fairly early, I did not feel comfortable making the assessment that there were only PT-76s. I decided to act a bit more aggressively with my eastern recon section, killed an enemy BRDM-2 an OP in the disruption zone, before maneuvering to establish a support by fire position overwatching QUINTUS. I had my eastern recon section maneuver simultaneously forward to gain better observation, before determining that there were no T-55s located IVO QUINTUS. With this information, the full might of BG Leopard was at my command. 

I sent the Troop of Leopard AS1s to road march to the north-west at top speed, while my artillery rained HE down on the enemy's forward defenses. Two Troops of Mech Infantry followed behind, content to let the tankers do the majority of the killing. As the Tank Troop began to crest a hill just before the enemy's forward defenses, I sent my Recon Troop forward from their hide site to establish a SBF position. From there, AP and HE, of both the small and large caliber variety, rained on QUINTUS, destroying the enemy, and the town. No doubt my superiors would give me an ear-full later for not fully understanding the definition of "acceptable collateral damage." QUINTUS was seized to the tune of 1x ASLAV-25 destroyed by an ATGM; certainly not a bad outcome. From there, it was but a simple matter of repulsing the enemy counter-attack, with the Recon Troop and the Tank Troop acting in the traditional Hunter-Killer roles. With the enemy counter-attack burning on the highway, the mission concluded with a major victory. 

I want to make it clear that this mission could have easily gone quite the other way; the enemy could have been reinforced with T-55s, my Recon Troop could have had less success, and I could have consequently chosen a less-effective direction of attack for my Tank Troop. Replayability is one of the perks of this scenario, meaning that your "perfect plan" might not work during the second playthough, but you have enough combat power available within the Battle Group to allow you the tactical flexibility to try something completely different to what I did above. While my Mech Infantry spent their time taking a nap in the comfort of their M113s, the presence of T-55s would have forced me to employ them in a meaningful manner. 

What strikes me the most about this scenario is the accessibility that it possesses; while you do end up controlling a Battle Group, I never felt overwhelmed by the unit count. Starting with only controlling a Recon Troop certainly played a part, and in my opinion makes this a good scenario for a newish player to Steel Beasts who wants to branch out from only controlling a single Platoon-sized element, but doesn't want to be overwhelmed with a mass of "stuff" upon pressing the Start button. While I haven't played this scenario Co-Op, I have no doubt that it would lend itself well to such play; each player controlling a Recon Section, at the start makes logical sense, as does delegating control of the Tank Troop and the Mech Infantry for the attack. 

Overall, if you haven't stopped reading this review to download the scenario, do so now! You will be rewarded with an experience that represents the best of what the Steel Beasts Community has to offer! 

Bottom line up front: this is an excellent scenario!

The AO consist of a valley with three towns, producing a natural canalization effect on the enemy's movement. Combined with the outstanding observation and fields of fire afforded to friendly forces, the terrain in this scenario provides plenty of options on where to kill the enemy. On a non-tactical note, the views are quite scenic, and the chosen area of this map has a good level of detail, which certainly helps with a bit of immersion. The mission's briefing is quick and to the point. In a single rapid reading, I was able to understand what I needed to accomplish, and the forces I 

The balance of forces is well executed: BLUEFOR has enough combat power to win IF you are smart about unit placement and take the time to plan your engagement area. You will not be facing a Soviet horde, but you will be facing a force that definitely has the capability to crush you if you don't take them seriously. The player is expected to manage approximately two Platoons of combat power; certainly doable in the context of this scenario. The Mechanized Infantry Platoon starts off split down to the individual unit level, with troops already dismounted. This was greatly appreciated for the initial setup!

The execution of this scenario, at least in my playthough, was a dynamic experience, encompassing some reconnaissance by my infantry observation posts early on (one of which was unfortunately compromised, suffering one KIA), followed by a full-scale ambush at Gersdorf with the Leopard 1A5s and Milan ATGMs. The battle then entered a long range attack by fire between my Leopard 1A5s and the enemy's T-64s. After defeating the enemy's advance, I took a quick tactical pause to reload my vehicles, and consolidating the hopelessly damaged ones before conducting a counter-attack with my tank Platoon. The mission ended with all enemy vehicles dead (one dismounted ATGM team survived,) at the cost of 1x infantryman KIA, and 1x tank destroyed. 

Honestly, there were not any glaring flaws during my playthough. You could potentially add in a variant with indirect fire, or have the mission end with the enemy being attritted to a set percentage of combat power (a defeat versus destroy variant), but honestly this scenario is great in its current form! In conclusion, this is a must download! 

I'm surprised no one has reviewed this yet, so I'll chime in. 

First off, this mission makes you really appreciate the herculean effort of Zvi Greengold in fighting off an entire Syrian Brigade in a Sho't Kal. You have no NVGs, no GPS reticle illumination, and very little ambient light to operate in, so expect the Mk1 Eyeball to be stretch to the very limit with this one. Sound, an often unappreciated concept in Steel Beasts Scenarios, is what I primarily used to locate and engage the enemy's tanks. 

The lack of GPS reticle illumination seems to be a game-breaker at first, forcing you to rely on intuition, and a bit of "out of the box" thinking to hit your target. Without putting in too many spoilers, the COAX is good for more than just engaging troops. Once your first target is destroyed, you can use the illumination from the burning wrecks to serve as a back-light for your GPS reticle, at the cost of making it that much more difficult to identify enemy tanks in the darkness. This scenario really highlights just how hard it is to fight at night without any sort of light-intensification source, and further serves to cement Zvi Greengold's legacy.

Of course, with any scenario there are downsides. The enemy approaches in a predictably manner upon each play-though - it would be nice if there was some variation, such as the enemy's tanks attempting to move along a flank after being engaged upon the road. I also found that the enemy being restricted to firing at 100 meters seemed unnecessarily close; I set it to 500 meters and the results seemed a bit more believable. 

I highly recommend moving your computer to a dark closet, closing off all sources of light, and downloading this scenario! 

A great scenario, very useful for "getting a feel" for how the various ATGM systems in Steel Beasts operate! The tutorial is easy to follow, and will have you destroying T-90s like a pro in no time at all. This scenario has found a permanent residence on my hard drive. 

If you have ever been bothered by the camo-mismatch between US Infantry and US AFV Crewmen with the US 2000 camo, this is the ideal solution! This mod looks incredible, and feels like it was included with the base game. A must have! 

This mission was absolutely a joy to play! It was challenging, and inspired me to spend a good amount of time on IPB and developing a maneuver plan. The scenario felt fairly well balanced: the terrain offered advantages, and disadvantages to both sides, and the enemy, while in the defense, didn't feel completely overpowered for the forces at your disposal. Also, variations in the enemy's plan makes replayability high. All in all, a standout scenario that I think every Steel Beasts player should try at least once. So, what are you waiting for? Download it immediately!