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Excellent Series!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: October 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I was going to write a lot more about this game, but all I can say is that it's excellent, as are are the titles in this series. It's not going to be a game for everyone - it takes some patience and a lot of thought to make the outcome work for you. It's not an arcade game by any means. There is a lot of detail where it counts. The human figures are very simplistic as they're meant to be representations of an entire squad and not screen actors. The tank/vehicle/artillery textures are nicely done to make up for this.

If you don't know how to best utilize your troops and weapons, this will be a way to learn. The AI is pretty sharp once you understand the Human limitations it's governed by - ie line of sight and sound detection, etc. If the enemy doesn't attack you at a point on the map, that's not an AI glitch, that's a tactical advantage. You found a breech in the enemy defenses. Hurry, before they find out. Divide and conquer works here too.

In most scenarios, there's a lot of trees and buildings blocking the view of both sides, as well as the formation of the landscape - exploit these. Think like a Commander of troops, because that's what you're playing at. You really can't afford too many losses, and you will suffer too many if you make poor decisions in your Strategy and Tactics. This game is based heavily on Historic reality not Hollywood's - indeed, it's intended to be as realistic as possible minus the gore and physical pain. Most scenarios are recreations of real engagements, and if you play them as-is, you will have the same limitations that the soldiers had that day - low ammo, fatigue, morale issues, weakened units, etc. Other scenarios are admitted to be fictive.

Give it a go. At these prices you shouldn't be disappointed. It really is a good game - all 3 of them! These are the kinds of games I only dreamed about back in the 80s when the state-of-the-art was an Apple IIe and the first Castle Wolfenstein. We've come a long way from ASCII. And computer games have finally caught up with my imagination. I'm like a kid in candy shop right now.

Most realistic WWII game I have played so far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: April 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I was never quite satisfied with computer wargames before this one. Some other games are rigidly turn-based and use "opportunity fire" and similar strange constructs to make the game appear real-time. Other games are real-time, but you can give very detailed orders to any unit at any time. Even if every squad or machine-gun crew has a radio (which they didn't in WWII), it still takes time for a commander to gather information and get the orders out there. In a computer wargame all this is done by the computer simply updating the map, but this is very difficult to do quickly in real life. Needless to say, both approaches outlined above make for unrealistic games.

Combat Mission feels more realistic because you can only issue orders every 60 seconds. As you can't micro-manage your units, you have to use real tactics that were actually used in WWII, like overwatch, scouting etc. HQ units also do a good job of simulating command and control. If a platoon gets broken up, it becomes very difficult to control the squads effectively and it may take some time to put it together again.

Having said all this, the graphics in the game are good but not state of the art. If you want a movie-like experience, go for one of the first-person shooters. If you want to experience what it was like being a company or battalion commander in WWII, pick up Combat Mission.

Worth Every Penny

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: May 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a good game. It really is worth every penny. However, the later versions, CMBB and CMAK, are better. None-the-less this is a great "we-go" game. In fact, for the price, it may be best to cut your teeth on this before going on to CMAK or CMBB.

Great War Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

One of the best war games I have ever played. The graphics are not that great, but the gameplay is awesome. If you like the shot'em up type games then this game is not for you. If you like strategy and realistic type action this is the one.

best wargame system out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

After many years of Board type wargames I finally found a realistic PC wargame. Very accurate and plenty of downloads out there with different scenerios.This is definately not a shoot'em up first person shooter, the onus is on you to make the right decisions ahead of time and deploy yor troops and equipment in the right place. If you like company/platoon level action this is the game. The graphics though not like a top level 3-D game are perfect for this all vehicles and equipment are rendered accurately...

Excellent wargame.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord does an incredible job of taking the wargaming genre and making an accessible, exciting game that doesn't rely on a board-game-like approach. The graphics are great for the genre, the battles are well-balanced and expertly built, and the mission editor offers even more replayability. Highly recommended.

Loads of fun, but way outdated.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: March 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you enjoy classic gameplay, this might be the game for you.

This game reminds me of a turn baised version of Close Combat 1-4. If you enjoy military simulation gameplay, you ought to pick it up.

The graphics defuallt at 1280 x 960, 60hz; but are auto adjusted.

The best WWII game out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: March 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is by far the best WWII tactical wargame on the market, except perhaps the other Combat Mission games. The graphics are highly customizable with mods off the net and there are some really good ones out there that make the game look fantastic. It plays even better - you use REAL tactics. Interface is easy to use. Everything in the game in extremely well researched, from hit probabilities and armor thickness of tanks to unit types to how the tactical AI reacts to getting shot at.

CMBO - Reviewed

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Part 1 = CM:Beyond Overlord ( Western Front )
Part 2 = CM:Barbarossa to Berlin ( Eastern Front )
Part 3 = CM:Afrika Korps ( Italian/Afrika Fronts )

The three games use the same game engine, with slightly improved graphics and Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) as the series progresses.

It is a turn based system based on the board game "Squad Leader" and offers three dimensional ( 3D ) graphics. You have a choice of opponents 'computer','Play By Email' ( PBEM ) and 'TCP/IP'.

The game makes all the laborious calculations, which previously had to be done manually, when playing the old Squad Leader board games. This by itself makes the game worth purchasing.

This game should not be confused with the many miltary first person shooters on the market. This is a true military strategy game, allowing players to use tactics to develop an overall strategy.

Although the game is quite playable and enjoyable, it does have it's limitations, in particular, average quality graphics.

The owners are aware of the games limitations and are rewriting the engine, code-named 'CMX2' from scratch, which is due to be released sometime during 2006. We are hoping big things for this engine. Our only hesitation is that the engine will be dummied down so owners of low-end computers will purchase the game.

Further information can be found on the owners homepage at battlefront.com, which also has a discussion forum and free downloadable demos. In addition, there is a Usenet group dedicated to discussing the game 'alt.games.combat-mission'.

If you are considering purchasing the game, start with Part 3, as it has the best graphics and AI of the trilogy.

We hope you enjoy playing the game!

Yours truly,

Sean Evans

spevans@rogers.com

Sub-Par

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 15
Date: April 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is no longer state of the art and I doubt it ever was. Graphics are disappointing and the missions tend to be biased. The whole concept of issuing orders and then waiting for sixty seconds to see how they turn out is unrealistic. Even in the 40ies troups were equipped with radio that made battle more agile and modern warfare possible.

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