Customer Reviews

Close Combat Trilogy

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am writing in defense of the first Close Combat, from the previus review. I have all 4 Close Combat games (bought individually). The first one came out in 96/97, and I felt that it was the best game ever made. Of course comparing it with the new ones, it would seem a bit weak. But consider that Close Combat one(the campaign to immeadiately follow the normandy invasion)was the very first game to incorporate such superb AI to a game. All the sound effect of every game are authentic to each weapon. .50 Cal sound like a .50 cal, MG42 sounds like an MG42 etc. Looking back from one to four (the trilogy has the first three games from Microsoft, the Fourth 'Battle of the Bulge not included in the trilogy is from SSI) it was so exciting to see how Atomic took the best ideas and improved them. Save for the first one, all the maps in the others were rendered from satalite picture of the actual locations (I confirmed this by reading and looking at pictures from the book :A Bridge Too Far). I can't say for the triology, but Each game manual had superb historical context (the original manual for the first game was by far the thickest of the lot, half of it just gave background and history) I truly can't say enough about these games. They are the absolute best strategygames ever created. Totaly authentic, totaly real, totaly believable. Being fascinated by the history of that period, these game bring it to a whole new demension. Still, for no other reason, get it for CC2 "a Bridge Too Far" That whole episode in the war is so compelling, the game just rules. See the movie (Same title Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Sean Connery), read the book (Same Tilte), and then jump right in and make YOUR descions! It's great. They all are

Despite the inclusion of the outdated first version, At 39.99 this package represents one of the greatest values in Military Strategy games. "CCII, A Brige Too Far" is the jewel of this group, with "CCIII, The Russian Front" being a close second. Players should select gameplay options which allow them to wage battles as realistically as possible... i.e. soldiers do not always obey orders, commanders do not automatically have intelligence regarding enemy movement and strength, and quantity of troops does not always overcome quality of troops. Players who approach these games with this in mind will discover an AI which forces them to utilize sound tactics and principles ranging from counter reconnaissance and mutually supporting positions in the defense to economy of force, mass and infantry support of armor in the offense. Additionally, the requirement to carefully monitor your ammunition expenditures - particularly your crew served weapons and mortars- lends an even greater degree of realism. For players who might have difficulties with things like this initially, the game is easily tailored to weight your forces accordingly. Buy this package, put CCI in the recycling bin, and enjoy versions II and III for the next few years.

Close Combat provides a great interface for tactical combat in World War II. The first game depicts the Normandy scenario from the beach, through the hedgerows and beyond. CCII brings the Market Garden Operation to life with British and U.S. paratroopers slugging it out for bridges in Holland against the Germans in 1944. The third game portrays the Germans vs. the Russians on the Eastern Front.

I am a career infantryman in the Army and have served as a paratrooper in two different regiments that fought during Operation Market Garden. For me the single best aspect of all three games is their tactical realism. If you don't cover the movement of squads with smoke or suppressive fire, the enemy blows you away. The games allow for mechanized and light infantry combat, combined with indirect mortar fires. The developers did as good a job as could be done replicating the "fog of war" and I thoroughly enjoyed these games.

Highly recommended for history buffs and gamers alike. Several books and movies would enhance the novice's understanding of the games if unfamiliar with the history. "A Bridge Too Far" (the book or the movie) explains Operation Market Garden, the most ambitious paratroop assault ever. Stephen Ambrose has written several good books about the Normandy assault, and "D-Day" is a solid pick. Read anything about "Operation Barbarosa," the German code word for the Russian campaign.

Great games. Realistic and Fun!

All three are great games. Obviously 2 and 3 will be beter than one, but one is as good as the others, gameplay wise. No, the graphics are not great, but not every one has a pentium 3 and 128mb ram to run 2 & 3. 1 runs great on my 200 mHz pentium with 16mb ram. My god, give it some slack. The graphics may be lackluster, but the gameplay is certainly equal to it's predecessors. The only things it doesn't have are the sneak command and multilevel buidings. It is otherwise identical. For me and everyone else who owns an older computer, A bridge too far runs slowly, and the russian front is imposible.

Yep, I've said that and many other things as the Soviets decimate mysmall group of German soldiers. The Close Combat series is truly an awesome game series. I have only played Close Combat III so my review is bent towards CCIII, but other reviews here on Amazon point out that Close Combat II is cool as well. My cousin installed Close Combat III on my computer and I loved this game from the second I started! However, I would warn the reader, if you like fast paced action games (like the Quake series) and don't like strategy games (like Command & Conquer) then the CC series is definately not for you. However, if you like strategy and like taking such minor factors like a grove of trees or a row of small hills into consideration when placing troops; or have actually been in a battle or just like playing an arm chair general, then the Close Combat series is definately for you! So read on and learn more about Close Combat III.

Close Combat III is very easy to learn and easy to play. At the start of the game you can chose what side you want to fight for (Soviets or Germans) and can also chose to fight one of 14 different historical campaigns from the initial invasion of Russia to the final days in Berlin. Or, you can chose to fight a single battle in one of those campaigns (like the last day of the war.) Or, you can chose to fight the Grand Campaign which goes through all 14 historical campaigns. In addition to chosing sides, you can set your name as the commander, and choose your reality level (from beginner - your troops don't run as easily and they always hit what they are shooting at; to hero - where morale really takes a toll and troops run much more easily.) Additionally, before you start the battle you can read your orders and other briefing material before you position your troops and tanks anywhere on the map. In placing your tanks you can take as long as you like to find the best terrain (which is slightly unlike real war.)

When the battle starts you find out why CCIII is so highly recommended and why I say it is really fun and very realistic. The sounds are awesome with the guns sounding VERY real and the graphics are fairly good with explosions, flames shooting from tanks, and tracer rounds looking pretty real. And speaking of real, consider the AI. You can choose whether to make your units sneak, move, move fast, fire, or lay smoke; but, if those troops are under fire or have low morale they will refuse your orders or even run the other way and surrender to the other side. There is also a good range of units available to fill your ranks and the manual that comes with the trilogy (although skimpy) gives a fairly decent overview of the various equipment used by the Soviets and Germans.

And, contrary to some, the war in the East depended heavily on tanks so many battles need many tanks to destroy the Soviets.

I only have a few major gripes about the playablity of the game. First, is that once your tank is disabled by Anti-Tank fire or another tank you can't order the crew out even if they are wounded. You just have to wait for them to bail out which usually means that you lose your tank crew to the enemy's machine gun fire. And, second, every soldier screams the same way when he dies or every commander yells in the same voice which can get a little annoying (I would like to see them add a few new voices.) Third, there are no "what if?" scenarios. I pushed my troops into Moscow and took the Kremlin (something the real Germans never did) yet it had no effect on the war at all.

The final gripes I have about the game are more historical. First, where is the famed Soviet Winter! I had troops sitting out in the -30F cold for half the battle and they were still classified as "healthy." Now where does that actually happen? Actually the winter played very little in lowering the soldier's moral or freezing my tank's engines. My second gripe is the Battle of Stalingrad. I was expecting to see some real close combat action with troops having to fight their way from house to house through hails of bullets to take the victory locations with snipers posted in every high tower. Unfortunately, I fought it with more tanks than I did troops and didn't do any house-to-house fighting (and no snipers) which was not really true in the real battle. (Actually, I would like to see CC5 deal with Moscow and Stalingrad with the entire game dealing with conquering those two cities.) Third, there were no partisans. One of the major troubles effecting the Germans during the Soviet war were partisans blowing up rail lines and harrassing troops (which I would have liked to see civilians run in from behind me and shoot my AT crew or shoot my commander.) Fourth, Soviet resistance doesn't increase as I near the end of the war. Troops still run away as easily as they did when I first crossed the border which can make the game less fun since I was expecting true "close combat - fight to the death warfare." Historically, Soviet resistance increased during the war due to the NKVD (Soviet secret police) shooting any deserting Soviet soldiers.

Okay, beyond all of that the Close Combat series is great and well worth the $ that Amazon charges. I would suggest starting with CCI to get the feel for the game and then play the other two because they are very fun.

These games are prehaps the best tatics games made to date. The value of this game package come from CCII and CCIII, these two games will allow you to fight battles from Belgium to Moscow. CCII and CCIII are excellent games, that greatly improve the game play over CCI and make the battlefield come to life. Game controls are easy to learn and allow the battle to move at a fast pace without you losing control of your units. I look froward to Close Combat 4.

In this box all of the first three games are included...Here are My thoughts...Close Combat 2 has set a new high water mark for real time strategy games.The gameplay is deep and very addictive and just straight forward fun! If you've ever had an interest in wargames you have to add this one to your collection...however I did not care for CC3 the russian front as much mostly because of the accuracy of tanks...You can easily win with a couple tanks...they never miss and the game developers never addressed this issue even after it was released.Close Combat 1 was a great game for its time but does not hold a candle too either of its successors...I would recommend that you buy this package and play CC2 first...and when you finally tire of it(If ever..I'm still playing it} then try CC3 and judge for yourself.But by all means if you call yourself a wargamer then get CC2 A Bridge To Far whether in this 3 for 1 boxed set or seperately

Any fan of wargames should at least have one of these three great combat simulators. No other game comes close to these realistic "war is hell" games. The AI is pretty solid, and no game, even single mission, will ever be alike. Unlimited replay value.

Simply put, the best game in this whole series is CC II: A Bridge Too Far. It combines and produces to an extent all the things the first game missed and the third one forgot. I spend a lot of time reading about the European theatre of WWII, and this game is the most accurate I have ever seen.

A good book to read with this game would be "Road to Arnhem" by Donald R. Burgett. It displays an eyewitness account of what it was like to fight this battle the game simulates.

Like all good games, it will soon make its way to the bargain bin and then obscurity. Don't let this one get away.

This game is a must have because it is one of the greatest strategy game ever. You can be from 5 allies including the Americans to the Germans. You can fight in the snow or inside buildings. TO LENINGRAD TO STALINGRAD

It is an amazing adventure. It is one of the best games I've ever played. It's extremely addictive and awesome! I think it is one of the best games on earth. If you are interested in battling games, this is definitely the game for you. I also think the graphics and the realism is amazing. Great for people who love history and battles. ~ SnowEater11 from Weymouth Ma