Hungarian Rhapsody - The Matrix Games version of East Front II

Hungarian Rhapsody is a scenario depicting a Soviet armored force (a large one) smashing into a Hungarian-held valley containing various types of Hungarian infantry and armored units. The scen is essentially an armored breakthrough type, and the Soviets must capture objectives before the time runs out. Later in the scenario, tough German tanks arrive to save the day.

Although I enjoyed the novel and original style of this scenario, I believe it has some serious balance problems. Since many of the large objectives are in the eastern 3rd of the board, the Russian can easily win this by the 15th turn by simply rolling over his opponent. Fast Russian tanks combined with muddy conditions help to ensure the axis cannot escape. I also question the number of airstrikes the Soviets get, the complete lack of paved roads, and especially the disorganized axis setup. The setup of the Hungarians prevents them from using their HQ's effectively, and there is a serious lack of tank killing power in the axis infantry (the germans get almost no infantry).

Another thing that stood out is the visibility - 30 hexes. This means that retreating axis units can be pounded from great distances by artillery. Soft axis units have 2 choices - sit and die, or run and die.

Last but not least, I question the invulnerability of the Soviet artillery. As virtually all of it is off-board, it cannot be killed. The axis artillery is sparse, and setup so far west that it is all but useless. Anything in the east, artillery-wise, is highly vulverable to attack and will likely not survive the game.

All in all, a scenario with great potential, that needs to fix some existing problems.