Fireglow follows up its near million seller Sudden Strike with a sequel featuring more than 40

new missions, playable separately or in five campaigns, 50-plus new units (bringing the total

to more than 150), and up to a thousand active units per scenario. In the five campaigns,

based on specific World War II events, you play as one of five different nations at various

points in the conflict. In order of difficulty, the campaigns feature Germany (1943), the United

States (1944), Russia (1944-1945), Britain (1944), and Japan (1942-1945), though they can be

played in any order.

The huge array of units in Sudden Strike II consists of multiple types of infantry, artillery,

trucks, supply trucks, jeeps, tanks, armored vehicles, motorcycles, mobile anti-aircraft

cannon, mobile missile launchers and artillery, ships, trains, cruisers, and aircraft. The game

utilizes a three-quarters top-down viewpoint, with non-visible areas enshrouded in a "fog of

war." Orders, unit movement, troop gathering, formations, and other actions are

accomplished through a menu system and a point-and-click interface.

Weather conditions (clear, rain, fog, or snow) and types of terrain (ground, water, or shallows)

affect unit line-of-sight, neutral units can eventually be recruited to play on your side, and the

use of propaganda can actually entice enemy officers or generals to defect. Multiplayer

action is supported via GameSpy, and the goal is to defeat all other enemies and remain the

last one standing, regardless of the number of points earned.