If you don't mind the prehistoric graphics and audio this a classic and addictive game!
Being a World War II buff the enjoyment I get out of this game comes from the ability to play out a German victory during the Barbarossa campaign and let history proceed down an alternate path. Indeed as I played this game it evoked the feeling that I WAS Guderian or Manstein ordering my Wehrmacht divisions to attack - no blood, no carnage, no logistical problems, no arguments from commanders - just tanks and men as chess pieces moving as ordered across a checkered board. Yes I know - this game does also take a bit of imagination.
It's not only the chess like feel that makes this a great game but also the historical depth in unit coverage. German and Soviet units are covered thoroughly, from the Panzer 35(t) to the Maus (yes a working Maus) for the Germans and from the BT-7M to the IS-1 for the Soviets. Infantry and air units are perhaps the only area that more work could have been done though the exhaustive choices in tanks, artillery and anti-tank units is fully justified after all, these were the units that proved pivotal throughout the war on the Eastern Front.
The actual gameplay is deceptive, PGIII:SE may look simple to play - just drive your tanks around and shoot anything in sight - but as you progress you'll realise that terrain, unit specials, leader specials, unit strength and even unit positioning will affect your attack or defense. Planning your strategy at the start of the campaign also adds to the fun, should you split your units up to obtain multiple objectives or keep them together in one mighty fist? Fill your army with Tigers and Ferdinands for maximum impact or Panthers and Panzer IVs for some speed? Alot of satisfaction at the end of a mission comes from laying out the basic strategy at the start.
An interesting facet of the game are the unit leaders. As your promote unit leaders they receive leader specials that provide an edge in an even battle and it's almost critical that you preserve them especially the highly skilled ones for the units outside the two main unit predominance you chose at the start of the campaign. Things get interesting when you reach no-win situations where it is certain some of your units will perish (yeah! Takes alot of reloads).
Ultimately PGIII:SE boils down to a complex World War II board game, relatively simple to learn but difficult to master. It probably doesn't appeal to everyone and these days there are so much more flashier and more complex strategy games. It is definitely an acquired taste for the World War II armchair general and those military history revisionists with alot of imagination. Next time your having a break from Far Cry or Civilizations III try this - maybe you'll like it like I did.