The boys at Critical Hit, Inc have been pretty busy recently, releasing both the latest issue of Critical Hit! and a new module, Jatkosota.

THE NEW LOOK

The big talking point over these new products is undoubtedly the new scenario format and counter art.

The scenario cards haven't changed much. Essentially, the scenario introduction and aftermath have been combined, and swapped places with the scenario card art, and the SSR are placed before the Orders of Battle for each side.

The counter art, on the other hand, is different. It's not so noticeable with the vehicles and guns, but the infantry and SW look different. This is particularly so with the SW, where side views are used instead of the more familiar overhead views. Don't get me wrong though, these are good counters, more than acceptable, it's just that they're not what we're had for the past 20 years of SL/ASL.

Of course, don't forget even AH has changed the counter art before - remember GI and it's three man silhouette squads? Boy did they take some getting use to!

To my knowledge, neither change has been forced on CH. They're just changing things to prevent possible problems in the future, problems that could affect their ability to get out their products.

CRITICAL HIT 4

CH4 opens with a look at conducting mounted assaults. The author, Robert Modarelli III, is a US Army Captain, and he offers some excellent advice on how to use a range of vehicle types to conduct a mounted infantry assault on an enemy position. He concentrates on the application of the rules to the tactics, rather than the rules themselves, so that the advice can be applied to many scenarios, although he rounded off with an example of tactics for "Broich Bash".

Steve Swann follows on with a look at the US Rangers, which is in the same vein as his various unit histories in The General. In fact, this piece is something of a follow-up to his article on Darby's Rangers from The General 25/5, since it looks at the Rangers after the loss of Darby's original Ranger units.

Other pieces include an interview with Brian Martuzas, a long term ASL playtester and scenario designer, a guest editorial by Kurt Martin, former editor of The Rout Report (R.I.P. And Sadly Missed), and a biography of Ernie Pyle (famed US war correspondent). There is also a reprint of the Intensive Fire '95 report from VFTT6, complete with a couple of photos of UK ASLers in action, and a similar report on the 1995 Sioux City ASL tournament. The issue is rounded off with reviews of other recently released amateur products.

The scenarios are all set in Europe, with the exception of "High Danger", which is a reprint of the desert scenario featured in VFTT4. Most are tournament sized, mid- to late-war actions, featuring the Germans against the Russians, Americans, or British. Although the standard of photography elsewhere in the issue is good, the photos on the scenarios are a disappointment, being somewhat grainy. Design notes and tactical analysis' are also presented for several of the scenarios.

THE VERDICT

I came away from CH4 feeling that I had only just got started when the issue ended. Even so, it's still worth buying. OK, it costs as much as two issues of The General, but it contains much more ASL material than two issues of The General. And how many of us buy The General for an ASL article and two scenarios?

Check your local games store or contact Critical Hit directly at 88 Lodar Lane, Brewster, NY 10509. Critical Hit! 4 is $10, with postage and packing being $4.