It's time to set off to those sun-drenched islands in the Pacific Ocean. Just think of it - the warm climate, the sea, the white beaches and the hordes of commie infiltrators for you to blast into oblivion. This is my kind of life.

Pacific Island (PI from now on) is the sequel to Empire's earlier tank game, Team Yankee. However, there are a few changes to the game which make it even more playable. The scenario is that a large force of disaffected Soviet communists, aided by the North Koreans, have invaded the Pacific atoll of Yama Yama. Now this is quite unfortunate due to the fact that Yama Yama is a communications link for the early warning monitoring system in the Pacific Ocean, so the United Nations is understandably concerned about secret - and bloomin' expensive - communications equipment falling into enemy hands.

This is where you come in. You must assemble a team of tank units, four in all, which will be the spearhead of the first offensive, and you must recapture all five islands of the atoll to succeed.

You start on the island Aloha which you must traverse, destroying enemy installations and communications, as well as other commie tanks.
However, unlike Team Yankee, you actually have to purchase your tanks and their ammunition. You are initially given a budget of $55 million to spend (that's not much - Biff spends twice that on T-shirts - Ed) but you are ale to gain more money during the game by destroying enemy installations and vehicles.

The enemy shoot back too though, so after each battle you can purchase replacement tanks for those that have been destroyed, repair damaged tanks and, even increase the morale of your crew by having a booze-up.

All of this costs money unfortunately, so at some point you will find yourself running short. This is where you have the dubious option of selecting secondhand vehicles instead of brand new machines. I can just picture it - a big sign outside a heavily fortified building with the words "Stormin' Norman's Used Warmongering Ware. Lowest Prices Around" written on it.

Each of the five islands you will be fighting on are split up into square zones. Blue coloured ones are free from enemies, allowing unrestricted passage to other parts of the island, while red zones indicate an enemy presence.

Upon entering a red zone, you will be taken to the purchase screen to buy your equipment or repair vehicles damaged in a previous battle prior to engaging the enemy. You are then given the mission description which lists the objectives to overcome in order to liberate that zone. When you have accomplished your mission, the red zone will turn yellow and you are free to move to the next square.

One of the reasons why I enjoyed Team Yankee so much was because it was game orientated rather than being a pure simulation. So the ability to choose your path through an island makes for a more strategic game.
For instance, it is important that you make your way to enemy-held zones, which also contain communications equipment in order to destroy the transmitters. If you fail to do this fairly early on, you will find that the enemy will know of your location and you will be faced with increasing opposition making your life potentially rather short.

This strategy element makes PI slightly more interesting than Team Yankee's rather linear approach to the play, while at the same time not being too much of a brain drain to destroy the shoot-'em-up feel.

The artillery support feature, where you can arrange for HE (high explosive), DPICM (Duel Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions) and SMOKE shells to be fired at certain times on specific areas, has a new addition with the ability to lay mines at critical areas on the map.

You have to remember where you put them though, otherwise you might find yourself running inadvertently over them only to find you are suddenly a vehicle short.

The control system in PI is almost identical to its predecessor with a few minor additions. This is a good thing because the control system in Team Yankee was excellent and easy to use so any major changes weren't required. If you have played Team Yankee, you will quickly be able to get into the game without having to wade through the manual beforehand.

For those of you who have not played Team Yankee, the 3D graphics are quite excellent. Not only do you have vector graphics but all vehicles are bitmapped. This gives greater detail than that achievable through vectors and improves the appearance of each vehicle infinitely. The actual 3D routines have been speeded up quite a bit and you are also able to destroy any object in the 3D view.

Because of the increased 3D speed, you will now occasionally come across a whole village, rather than solitary buildings. Such an object would have slowed down Team Yankee considerably. You will also find that the enemies' intelligence has been improved too, making them harder to overcome (oh bugger). There are no changes in the sound effects department, which is no bad thing at all, with the usual explosions as you let loose that lethal Sabot at some unsuspecting commie tank, or give him a good strafing with your machine gun.

The overall gameplay has improved quite a bit and I enjoyed playing PI. The improved speed in graphics and the ability to blast everything in sight makes the game great fun. The packaging includes six full colour maps of the islands, which mark key features such as road, communications and rivers, helping you to plan your strategy. The manual is well written, making it easy for those new to the game to quickly get into the action. There is also a 'training' island for you to practice on.

Is it my imagination, or are software companies beginning to realise that people with hard drives exist and play games too? Empire have thoughtfully provides a installation program on the game disks for those of you with such hardware. Nice one, Empire.

So, if you have already sampled the delights of Team Yankee, you will not be overly disappointed at what PI has to offer.

The Yankees are at war again, but this time it's a bit different. As always, they're fighting Soviet tanks but the Russians aren't involved because they're busy deciding who owns their army. Instead, you're fighting North Korean because they've just invaded the Yama Yama islands. Why North Koreans? Because they're the nearest, and the Batley Townswomen's Guild (Armoured Division) are too busy fighting insurgency in Peckham. As far as Empire are concerned,, it doesn't matter who you're up against - just accept the fact that they're not very nice, OK?

Specific requirements
Your task is to liberate the archipelagos and drive out the occupying army. You have up to four units (and four vehicles) under your control, with the option to replenish your forces in between battles.

The method of control is similar to Empire's earlier Team Yankee but with a few enhancements. As before, each unit has three displays: a map, a static display and a turret view. Your switch between displays using Workbench-style window controls in the top corner. You can view a single unit's displays at full-screen size or all four units together at quarter-size. This lets you keep track of everything, but you need to be able to multi-task your brain to do this effectively.

The chief difference in Team Yankee is the emphasis on management of the whole campaign. Depending on your success in battle, the amount of damage to innocent villages and the speed of your campaign, you receive a valuable supply of cash. It's up to you to spend it wisely and guarantee a constant supply.

You decide whether and when to rest your troops to get morale back, or repair damaged tanks. Both actions waste time and allow your opponent to lick its wounds and repair its own damage, making it tougher in the next battle.

The longer you take to wipe them out, the less popular the war is "back home" and the less cash you get. But sometimes losing time can work to your advantage, especially if you're deliberately advancing the clock so you can use the cover of darkness on your next mission. You're the one who has to make the financial, as well as tactical, decisions, on the campaign trail. Be prepared to play the same missions over a few times before you get the balance right.

There is a tendency towards frustration at the beginning, but Pacific Islands has plenty of staying power. Five islands, make up a total of 21 individual battles (each lasting around 40 minutes). It takes several attempts (and probably about 10 hours) to complete just the five battles on the first island.

Even when you've liberated it, you could still have problems later on if you've messed up your tactics or spent too much. Those of you looking for a quick Battlezone-style shoot-out are likely to end up tuggin your hair out in handfuls - Pacific Islands is a test of tactical skill first and reflexes fast, but both are indispensable.

Let's talk about tactics
Every mission requires thought and planning, and usually at least two attempts to get it right. The first time you play through the battles, you're likely to suffer a few surprises. After a couple of attempts, you can generally predict where the enemy is likely to ambush you, or where their weakest points are.

To prepare you, there's a training ground and it's worth using this (even if you think you're the best general since Stormin' Norman), just to get used to the strength of each of your ammunition types. High-Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) shells are great for popping tanks, but not so good at piercing thick factory walls where sleeved SABOT rounds are more effective.

By far the best weapon is the guided missile, but this has two strings attached that are worth considering: you need to be stationary to fire missiles, and the missile-firers are the weakest units of all. This means that you really have to prepare properly when launching a missile attack. Testing it all on the training ground in total safety means that you won't suffer a frustrating demise in the real heat of the action.

From a player's point-of-view, it's an uphill struggle, but one that's worth going up. Because you have to work so hard to complete each mission, it's rewarding when you succeed. Part of this is due to atmosphere - the blend of sprite tanks and forests with vector-drawn buildings and roads gives you the best of both worlds. Frame update speed is high, and so is the detail. It's easy to forget the 'virtual' part of this virtual reality.

Sound effects also play a major part in the game, and not just for atmosphere. Knowing when you're under fire is vital and the sound effects make it deadly clear. When you hear shells around you for the first time, you're bound to panic trying to locate the unfortunate unit and then the attacker. War poet, Wilfred Owen, summed it all up by describing this moment as "an ecstasy of fumbling" - if you've ever wondered what that meant, play Pacific Island. Frighteningly realistic, playing is like juggling with smoldering dynamite. Lose your cool once, and you're dead.

Hopefully most of you out there will know what to expect from this, after our excellent playable demo on AP coverdisk 11. Me, I love the thing to death. I am tempted to end the review here, but hey, there is this whole box to fill up yet, so why do I not explain things for those who missed the disk, making it clear exactly the reasons why I have fallen so thoroughly for such a 'technie game'.

The follow up to Team Yankee - perhaps Empire's biggest success yet - Pacific Islands revolves around a group of five (yes, you guessed it) islands in the Pacific ocean. A group of 'disaffected communists (i.e. the Russians, but they are not really) have take over the island, and it is your job to lead a nearby team of tanks across them. Liberating the oppressed people, blasting the hell out of the Ruskies (sorry, rebels) and so on. Money is gained for wiping the floor with the bad guys, while your cas supply is cut off if you go around blowing up churches and the like - just imagine that it is Congress or someone you have to keep satisfied.

It is all very simple, until it comes to the bit about controlling the tanks. There are 16 of them, you see. Thankfully, they are grouped in teams of four - only the leader of each team is controlled (if that tank gets totalled, then control and view passes to the next in line) - which gives you a rair selection of firepower if you need it (especially if you build each team up out of different types of tank).

Sounds fun but perhaps complex to control, doesn't it? Happily, though, it is not - the screen is split into four small windows (each of which can display a 3D tank view, a zoomable map of the conflict area, or a damage status screen) - and any of these windows can be increased to cover the screen any time.

Movement is all achieved via the map screens, so the 3D is used purely for turret and gun control. The route through the islands is partially flexible, so strategies are very important, and after each mini conflict funds can be used (if there are any) to re-supply tanks or buy new ones to replace those which got duffed. There is also morale and that kind of guff to worry about, but I am running out of space here, and what I have not done is say why I like it so much yet.

Well, basically I like Pacific Islands 'cos it is really good (Would you like to elaborate? - Ed.). Well, apart from the ver-so-slightly dodgy sprite scaling routines, it looks well groovy, the sound is actually essential (just try working out what the hell is happening without any sound FX) and the control of 16 tanks is ridiculously well desgined.

Strategy games usually bore the hell out of me, but it is actually the strategy aspect of Pacific Islands which I have enjoyed most. When I was a kid, I always loved playing with my toy tank and now the chance to do it real (or as close as I really want to get) on the Amiga is definitely welcome. Dodging in and out fo jungle, throwing up smoke walls and using infra red to pick off the 'blind' bad guys on the other side (they do not have infra red capability) is a laugh a minute. It all goes to prove that there is nothing wrong with the concept of strategy games at all - just that they are usually executed in such slow and tedious way.

What else is there to say? Well, the war atmosphere is brilliantly done - the grainy graphics, understated sound and intelligently-designed icon system all serving to induce the player into a constant state of enar panic. When you have got a team of tanks just hidden right at the edge of the jungle and four Russian ones roll past, it is almost impossible not to involuntarily hold your breath and sit completely still in your seat.

For once I cannot really fault any aspect of a game. Everything has been thought through from the player's point of view, and although it is all a bit daunting initially, playing General soon becomes second nature (well, as close to second nature as doing 16 different things at ones ever becomes, I guess).

Pacific Islands is simply the closest the Amiga has ever come to those glorious World War II action adventure movies, with the added spice of a fantastic strategy system and a well orchestrated enemy force. Sheer tank heaven (look ma, no bad tank puns).