Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945 is a complex turn-based strategy, taking place during World War II. The game focuses on the 1941-1945 conflict between Third Reich and USSR on the Eastern Front.

### Gameplay

The game aspires to be one of the most detailed turn-based strategies that use this conflict as a basis. The authors offer not only a realistic portrayal of the front-oriented warfare, but also offer a view on the economic situation that has a direct influence over the supply lines, and in a broader context – on the whole conflict. The military prowess of a wide range of units (including infantry, air forces, and armored corps) from both sides of the conflict has been recreated with meticulous attention to detail, including traits such as training, experience, morale, and chain of command. The Eastern Front was characterized by its harsh climate, and the game reflects that with a number of factors such as the landform of the currently engaged hex, soldiers’ field of view and the fog of war, as well as weather conditions. To create a realistic background, War in the East incorporates a complex reinforcements system, based on the year-by-year economic and manpower status of both sides of the conflict.

The players are greeted with a map build from 25760 hexes, depicting 2.5 million square miles of battlefields, from Eastern Berlin, through Leningrad and Baku, up to Ural Mountains. Every location that seen major clashes between Soviet and Nazi forces received utmost attention. Aside from complex scenarios and campaigns, the players received smaller missions with varying difficulty levels. As a result, we can either recreate the whole conflict between USSR and Third Reich, or investigate some “what if” situations.

### Technical Aspects

The visuals rather focus on simplicity and clarity, but this shouldn’t be taken as a downside, considering the nature of the title – the simple visuals help in getting control over the situation at hand – however, this won’t be an easy task, as the enemy AI is very unforgiving. Additionally, as a result of a streamlined interface, and automation of certain actions, the game is very forgiving for new players while being a challenge for the genre enthusiasts.

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945