Sudden Strike 2, like its predecessor, lets its players participate in a particularly involving combat game based upon the second World War. Sudden Strike 2 has given its developers the opportunity to refine its game design, iron out the minor creases from the original and produce a more realistic and improved game.CDV's second instalment is far more extensive than the first in the series, and challenges its owners to take control of any of five playable nations that comprise of the Germans, Russians, British, Americans and Japanese. The entire game covers some 50 lengthy and taxing missions that span five campaigns.Perhaps the most subtle but most significant change evident in Sudden Strike 2 is the mathematics that lies beneath the gorgeous 2D visuals and compelling narrative. The attributes that come with each of the allied and enemy units have been completely overhauled and tried and tested. This means that enemy tanks that were all too easy to obliterate in the first Sudden Strike are a little tougher for this update. Conversely, players of the original may discover some of their uber-soldiers ain't so 'uber' anymore. Newcomers to the series will merely accept this fact, whereas hardcore veterans may not be quite as content with the newly refined game mechanics. But given time, Sudden Strike 2 proves to its hardcore following that the new play system offers a new challenge that simply wouldn't exist if things were left the way they were.Players will also welcome the plethora of new features accompanying Sudden Strike 2. These include improved AI, additional weapons, new command options, random weather, fully controllable boats for sea-based missions and a completely reworked multi-player mode.Where many sequels fail to build on their predecessors to create something new, Sudden Strike uses the winning formula of the first release and produces something better, more challenging and more fun. Therein lies the secret of a good sequel.