Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets Announced!

May 1, 2008

Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets
Announced!

The New Successor to SSG’s
Award-Winning Wargames!

Matrix Games and Strategic Studies
Group are excited to announce a new World War II operational strategy game,
designed to be the successor to both the award winning Decisive Battles and
Battlefront designs… Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets!

David Heath, Director of Operations
at Matrix Games, said “Strategic Studies Group has a new masterpiece on its
hands with Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets. Not only does this expertly designed
and meticulously balanced title give gamers the ability to experience the solid
gameplay found in both the Battlefront and its predecessor, the Decisive Battles
series, but it brings some truly unique, innovative and fun gameplay elements to
one of the epic battles of World War II!”

Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets is
the latest strategy title from the award-winning team at Strategic Studies
Group. A synthesis of the very best elements of two critically acclaimed and
top-rated game systems, Decisive Battles and Battlefront, and a successor to
both, the new Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets brings to life a campaign of epic
scale and dynamic battles on the Eastern Front of World War II.

Command the Soviet forces, newly
confident after stopping and throwing back the Barbarossa offensive, or try the
elite and seasoned German army now reconstituted after winter losses and ready
to regain the initiative. Two separate forces prepared offensives in the same
area in the Spring of 1942. When the dust had cleared the Germans had managed a
great victory that opened the doors to the drive on Stalingrad. But the outcome
was far from certain and in Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets, history is yours to
rewrite.

This new system allows both
regimental and battalion level combat, while incorporating many innovative
features such as off-map reinforcement decisions and on-map historical areas of
operation with mystery variants to increase replayability and limit the effect
of hindsight. Along with the substantially improved and simplified supply and
movement systems, a new bonus and advantage system for headquarters effects,
simplified direct fire and better combat tables, an improved strong points
system and the ability to create hedgehog defenses make this the most advanced
and realistic SSG design to date.

Perhaps the most innovative new
feature of Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets is the on-map area of operation and
mystery variant system. This new system takes away the advantage of hindsight by
restricting mass unit relocation while allowing the areas to change as you
achieve your objectives, with mystery variants keeping the opponent from
predicting your limits. These new rules represent a realistic modeling of
historical command restrictions and add a new and fascinating layer to each
side’s decision-making.

Features include:

  • Successor to the highly popular
    and award winning Decisive Battles and Battlefront engines, combining the best
    elements of both

  • An innovative and fun area of
    operation system which limits unrealistic redeployments for both players, with
    changes triggered as local objectives are achieved and based on mystery
    variants to keep the enemy guessing

  • Improved and simplified supply,
    movement and direct combat systems

  • Improved combat tables that better
    model diminishing returns and new HQ bonuses that can affect Direct and
    Indirect Fire

  • Improved strong points and new
    hedgehog rules

  • Models both battalion and
    regimental combat

Get more information on Kharkov:
Disaster on the Donets from its product
page