What'd He Say? News by SuperTed @ 19:34

The European release of CMBO through CDV has led to a wave new reviews. Some are interesting, some are not, and some just leave you scratching your head, wondering if the reviewer is playing the same game. The review below falls into the third category and, thanks to McAuliffe, it has been translated from Dutch to English. I have made a few small changes to the text and added one or two editorial comments. Enjoy!


Seldom has fighting a war been so much fun!
review by "Lumumba"

Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord

A soccer game is played with two teams, lasts ninety minutes and is usually won at the end by the German team. (This refers to the experiences of the Belgian national soccer team of course). :-) Fortunately, in recent years, the German "Mannschaft" (German for soccer team) has lost a lot of their prestige. Besides, we can call ourselves lucky that our eastern neighbours usually do not succeed in their wars, not to mention a world war. This brings us to Combat Mission, a not unpleasant 3D combination of real-time and turn-based strategy.


Developer: Battlefront
Genre: Strategy
Producer: CDV
Platform: PC
Multiplayer: No (ed.: uhhh, okay)
system requirements: Windows 95/98/2000, 166 Mhz Pentium, 3D card, 32 Mb RAM, 100 Mb free hard disk space


Screenshots

I can already imagine you're thinking: "Oh no, another strategy game concerning WWII." That was what I was originally thinking, because, since playing games like Steal Panthers, Panthers in the Shadows, or even Close Combat, there is a strong feeling of "déjà-vu" when it comes to new releases of WWII strategy games. But, because you can't always judge a book by its cover, I decided to start playing Combat Mission without any prejudice (ed.: uh, it sounds a bit late for that), a decision that I absolutely did not regret.

The time-frame of Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord is situated in the post-D-Day period of World War II, more specifically just after the Allied troops landed in Normandy and their advance to hostile Germany starts. Put on the helmet of an American, Brit, Canadian, Pole, Frenchman or the Germans themselves and plunge into historically-correct battles with amazing 3D-images. It a simple concept, nevertheless it's better to keep the 191 pages thick manual of Combat Mission close at hand. The turn-based system is the core business of the game, but it's neither based on alternating sets of turns nor on real-time play. Instead of that, both players give a series of orders, which the computer then calculates and converts into 60-second action movies. As the player is only able to influence the flow of the battle at the end of each of these minutes, the AI determines how your military units will behave and execute your commands.


Thus, Artificial Intelligence:

Much can happen during 60 seconds. Therefore, it must be taken into account that troops are frequently left to themselves (ed.: maybe better orders would help) or better, are submitted to the AI of the program. With some caution, we can put thus that the final result in Combat Mission depends as much on the input of the AI as on the human input (ed.: it sounds like a green commander here). In this regard, the game does fairly well. When you order your troops to advance in a straight line across unpassable terrain, then the computer will automatically adjust the route by means of more appropriate waypoints (ed.: interesting this writer is impressed with one of the weakest features). Regarding firefights, the designers have even put more confidence in the AI since they advise that it's better not to give too many targeting orders to the units except for the strictly necessary. This must ensure that your soldiers, during the 60 seconds that the computer takes over, do not stick at a designated target, while a bigger danger emerges suddenly (ed.: I think that was a compliment). Thus, your units will always start blasting away at what seems to them to be a larger danger at that moment.


Wherever you look, 3D is present:

Besides the remarkable AI-aspect, Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord puts itself head-and-shoulders above other war strategy games (ed.: come on, don't be shy; say "wargame") by its leading three-dimensional look and feel. From the detailed bumpers on the German armoured vehicles (ed.: yes, CM has the best bumpers in wargaming) to the mighty appearance of the King Tigers, the 3D pictures and surroundings are at times impressive. Thus it's not only possible to distinguish the different nationalities on the battlefield by means of their uniform but even by means of the several weapons they carry. In this regard, the presentation of the landscapes can easily compete with equal tank- or flight-simulators; Yes, even with many FPS games! However, it's only when the turn based small action movie of 60 seconds starts, that the 3D leaves itself to be admired in full glory. Combined with excellent sound effects this game provides a fine example of what a turn-based strategy war game (ed.: WARGAME, dammit!) can look like and in fact also should be.

Engines roar, the battlefield is filled with cries and the violence of explosions, but once the the noise of the battle calms down, you hear the birds sing as if nothing has happened. A nice feature is that the sound system takes into account the position of the action with respect to the camera cog point. This means that the same explosion can sound like some innocent background explosion or make the earth tremble when your viewpoint happens to be next to it .


The reality of the battlefield:

Much attention was paid to the favourite topic of many wargame (ed.: see? that wasn't so bad, was it?)-amateurs: the realism of the battle scene. In Combat Mission, the armour design especially has been developed with detail, something that tends to be forgotten in other strategy war games (ed.: sigh) (eg. the flight trajectories of each fired tank grenade (ed.: we're dealing with a grognard, folks) is monitored closely by the computer and each grenade impact is shown whether it has hit the target or found the green grass). If, however, an enemy target is hit, it can cause different results depending on the distance from which the grenade (ed.: limited grenades is really going to suck for tanks in CMBB) has been fired and the angle of impact: from some enemies getting hurt or the damaging of one of the vital systems of a tank to having the enemy target going up in flames.

Above is only valid for artillery and guns. The infantry fire-exchanges use another system, based on the so called fire-rating, that designates the firepower of a unit. The total firepower of the different weapons of the squad and their efficiency is calculated. But it's not as simple as it looks, as the outcome of a fire-fight man-to-man cannot be guessed from this calculation alone. Other aspects are taken into account, like: morale, the terrain and the moves you plot out for your men. Chances for success are increased if you make use of your knowledge of the tactical situation and move your troops around according to this information, instead of just advancing and counting on a firepower advantage. This complicates playing, and can make the going tough, but at least it makes it a lot more interesting (ed.: to make it easy, the name would have to be changed to Close Combat: Beyond Sucking).

If the battle isn't going your way, you can still request air-support (ed.: wouldn't that be nice if it was true?). However, keep in mind that you cannot completely contol the appearance of this support, which makes it difficult to estimate its influence on the battle. It can happen, that your own troops get bombed, but an air-raid can also hand you a victory (ed.: so, why is difficult to estimate the influence of air support?).


There is more, much more...

Combat Mission is one of those games that only a few know about, but it has more to offer then its better-known counterparts. This review is too limited to list all the possibilities of this game, but I still want to point out some other characteristics. The interface of the game works on the basis of a simulation game, with the understanding that this interface puts itself generally in the background. Each unit, each vehicle can be ordered, assessed, or put in action separately, but due to intense interaction between the AI and the player it is not necessary to look constantly after each individual element which improves the rhythm and playability of the game and makes it more attractive. You can choose from 50 scenarios and operations that come with the game and include historically-correct missions. As if this would not be enough, there is also a scenario editor available. Unfortunately, Combat Mission is not a real multiplayer, although it is possible to take on one other player through e-mail exchange (so-called PBEM). However, this function is not really that exciting and thus a serious opportunity has been missed in our opinion. However the developer Battlefront is working on this matter and will make the upcoming sequels (the first one will cover the Eastern Front of WWII) full multiplayer games (ed.: I wish I had some of what this guy is smoking).



Playability: 8.5/10
Graphics: 8.0/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Fun Factor: 8.5/10
Toal: 84%


Summary

It's an entertaining, yes even an intellectually-challenging strategy wargame with a freaked out AI (ed.: what can I say?) and at moments breathtaking 3D animation. The genre, and then more specifically the subject of WWII, has been milked dry (ed.: really?), but this "Combat Mission" has found itself a well-deserved place among the established values.


+ (Positive)

Lots of historically-correct missions
Challenging gameplay
Well designed, detailed graphics

- (negative)

The AI takes over more than necessary (ed.: uh, never mind...)
no multiplayer (ed.: uh, never mind...)

(ed.: The way this review was written, I would have expected a 60% rating. I wonder what the rating would have been if the review was done by somebody with at least half a clue.)

If you'd like to read the complete Dutch review, whack the link below.