Computer wargames
Just a few to look at this time out - one good, one unbelievably bad, and one ugly - but that's just my opinion. Eight O'clock high.
This game is from Talonsoft and has been around for a while, but when I saw it for just over a fiver in HMV I thought what the heck, it's only a few quid. I wus robbed - it's awful, I don't think I can find anything good in the game at all. It's a game of the bomber offensive against Germany at a strategic level. You plan your raids (moderately interesting) and then the computer carries out the raid and lets you know the results. You can sit in front of the screen and watch the last bit but I wouldn't recommend it. You could go and make a cup of tea - in fact you could have three course meal it's so bloody slow - and that's when it's on the fastest speed setting. By the time you have finished the washing up the raid might have finished You can almost hear the computer doing all the maths, hit probabilities, interceptions, bombing results etc. The level of research that has gone into it is impressive, it just doesn't make a very good game. I got bored with it after ten minutes, uninstalled it and chucked it away. My son said it was the worst game he had ever played too. Sudden strike
This has been much delayed, but since it has been out it has sold surprisingly well - in fact for a wargame it has sold exceedingly well. It's a real time strategy game on battles in World war Two. These are not historical battles despite what it says on the box. Some things are excellent - it looks good and the damage is modelled amazingly well. When those Katayusha rockets strike they don't half flatten everything they hit, and the troops and tanks look pretty good - especially the paratroopers. As to realism - Oh dear. If your machine gunner keeps firing at a tank he will accrue hits and eventually destroy it once the hits reach a certain level. You can heal your wounded troops unnaturally quickly by slipping them into an ambulance for a few seconds. You also spend lots of time whizzing ammunition trucks around to re-supply your forces every few minutes. There's a huge attrition rate for your (and the enemy) forces and reinforcements arrive every few minutes in most battles. If you liked "Tiberian Sun " you'll like this as they have much in common - they even look similar. The controls are instinctive and easy to use, the computer opponents seem very tough (though that could be because I haven't played it very much). If you want a fun game for a half-hours play it's not bad at all. My son who's nine thinks it's good anyway. Close Combat V
(Invasion Normandy)
What can I
say, but if you like the other Close Combat games you'll love this one too.
Before I launch into praises of the game, I must point out that the entire first
batch of discs pressed by Mattel were faulty. There was a problem with the copy
protection (the bit that stops you playing the game without a copy in your disc
drive) which meant that it would load perfectly but wouldn't play. Mattel
admitted the problem and recalled and replaced the faulty discs, but it's
possible there are still some bad ones out there. If you've
played the other games you will be playing this one two minutes after loading.
The controls are the same, the game looks the same (although the graphics have
been improved yet again and are now superb) and the game plays the same. There
have been improvements though - air strikes now might actually cause some
damage, and as well as off board artillery (or mortars) you now also get naval
guns support for the US player in some scenarios. This off board artillery now
causes realistic levels of damage and if you get it right you can knock out
large enemy forces. Tanks seem to behave better, but they are not as strong as
in some of the previous games and ambushing infantry have a good chance of
taking them out. Not all the troops you get (or will meet) are of the highest
quality, but this just adds to the interest. The terrain you fight over is full
of interest, lots of bocage but towns and open areas too. Unfortunately, you can only play the as the Germans or US forces, as the battles are set around Utah beach. You can play campaigns as well as individual engagements, and in a welcome change you now get force pools to select your forces from. Select all your best units too early and you will have nothing left for later on in the campaign. As a game of small unit tactics it is excellent and the best in the series so far. I haven't had a chance to work through all the battles yet, and I've played for hours already. I also managed to buy it online for less than £21, which is excellent value. Whilst I'm on the subject of the Close Combat series, I must mention the following web-site which is devoted to the game: www.closecombat.org This is a huge site which offers views on the games ( it was where I found out that all the UK copies of Close Combat V were faulty) . It also offers a vast range of downloads including new maps, and upgrades to make the games more realistic. If you want a sample of these, get hold of a copy of the November issue of PC Strategy games as the CD-Rom included has some examples of these. It also has mods for the games. Now, for anyone who wants to know what a mod is, it's when you use an existing game engine and load a different set of values on top of it. For example, you can play the series in the desert this way, and there's even a Word War One mod available. I've replaced Close Combat three (which covered the Eastern front) with a Western front version, so the Soviet forces are replaced with US and British equipment and troops. To get rid of it, all you need to do is uninstall the game and reinstall it. There is also a mod for Close Combat four which provides more historical battlegroups, and more accurate equipment. There's also detailed information in the FAQs part of the site telling you how to do and use the downloads. With all the mods, maps etc available, I think the Close Combat series is the closest match to "Squad Leader " that will ever be available for the computer, and that includes the soon to be released computer version of the game which looks nothing like the boardgame at all. Next time up I'm hoping to look at "Computer Squad Leader", "Harpoon 4" (if it's not delayed again) and anything else I can get my hands on. Leslie King |