Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord (special edition)

[Kelly]

Picked up a PC wargame yesterday. Combat Mission is a Batallion level strategy game set in WWII. It has simplistic but nice 3D graphics but is not a RTS game. It's turn based and you plan your units' movements very much like you would with a tabletop game like Squad Leader or Battleground.

You can play 1 player, or 2 player over the internet. There is even a PBEM option! All sorts of mods (improved skins, new vehicles, etc) are included on the disc and there is a detailed map maker and custome scenario maker as well.

I played through the tutorial and a smaller sized mission last night. It's clear that careful, supported movements are key. Waltzing into a combat outside of cover is very bad.

If you like tabletop wargames but don't have the time to paint your armies or space to lay out a table, this game will interest you.

 

[Ryder]

Thanks for the tip! I might just go have a look. I liked the 'close combat' games, and this sounds similar at least.

 

[Kelly]

Yeah. It's turn based, so when you hit the go button you cross your fingers!

The ambient sounds are great and they seem to change depending on how close you move the camera to the action and who's in proximity.

Three little guys = a section/squad of men. When you click on the platoon leader, you see little lines threading out to all the units under his command. If the lines are black, the unit is out of command range and will act slower and perform with less quality.

Tanks can go sealed up or w/ the commander exposed. If the commander is exposed the tank performs better, but you risk getting him popped. A commanderless tank performs with less quality, of course. You an set tanks to "hunt" they will move to a designated area, but if they spot enemy beforehand they will stop and fire at them until the target is destroyed.

http://www.battlefront.com/products/cmbo/screenshots/pages/Tiger.htm

good example of the graphics. Note that you can view the battle from any angle, any distance from bird's eye to ground level.

 

[Ryder]

Not bad, how old is this game? Is it new, or kinda recent and this is a S. Ed. re-release or what?

 

[Kelly]

The 3D part w/ graphix is the "special edition". I am fairly certain that it was based on an old school, 2D above view game. The disc also comes with all those extras which I haven't even looked at yet.

Nex to MoH and such, the graphics aren't super. But given the type of game, the number of units on the screen and the freedom of camera, it works for me.

I am finding that standard grunts really have to get in close or mass fire to be at all effective against other infantry. Foxholes really help defend. Tanks rule. In the training mission, my 2 shermans took out two panzers...I think they were Pzkfw 3's, because I should have lost against anything better. I did get the drop on them in "hunt" mode and disabled the guns on one the first round, whew!

The rounds are 60 seconds. You can have a tank pause for x number of seconds and then act (chaining actions together is possible). It's nice because all actions are simultaneous after both sides plan movement. YOu can pop over a hill and get the last hit of the round! Tee Hee!!!

 

[Ryder]

Just bought it today, time to give'r a test drive!

 

[Kelly]

Some of the missions are TOUGH. In single player, my victory ratio is like 1:3 Wins/Losses. I am still learning the game, though.

In one mission where my Canadians had to take a German town in the winter, I got them into town without a single loss, using concentrated fire on the few MG positions I encountered.

In town I heard "tank sounds" - audible indentification, how cool. When my two Sherman reserves came on the board, I raced them up to town through the path I had cleared and ran them into town as my two platoons of infantry came from either side. I caught a Jagdpazer rumbling down the road, it didn't see my Sherman on a cross street, I turned it around the corner and popped the Jdpzr's rear armor in one shot! LUCKY!! A PzkwIV came up and followed after my sherman, my second sherman then rounded the corner and did the same thing! W00t!

With the armor gone, my men moved house to house and cleared out the enemy, who started surrendering (I didn't know they would do that!). Surrendered units can be ordered around to a certain degree.

 

[Ryder]

Can you play as both sides? (no I still haven't had time to install it ), I'd assume so. Gonna have to set up a tank battle between shermans and tigers.

 

[Kelly]

Yes. When you start a mission you get the good old axis or allies choice. There are tools for making your own maps/mission. It's very detailed, I want to get good at the game before making my own missions.

I built a map for my first mission idea, however. A map based on the last scene from Bridge at Remagen.