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Combat Mission
by “Admiral” Nelson Hernandez
Orders are orders
Giving orders is very similar to the Close Combat series. Click on a unit and options appear. You can set a move with multiple waypoints for approach marches, and I was happy to see that tanks usually followed my directions adeptly. It is simple to set ambushes, order barrages, run, sneak, crawl and lay smoke.
During the action phase, there is a delay in acting on the orders based on the experience of your troops and whether the units in question are near their commander. It is important to take this into account if you want to simultaneously attack an objective from multiple directions.
The game handles the fog of war by having levels of identification. Your units can often identify an enemy’s approximate location by the sound of a rumbling motor. When the opponent is spotted, a national symbol appears and the general type of unit is revealed, whether it is infantry or tank. But that tank could just as easily be an unarmed truck until you get a positive ID, or it fires off a shell in your direction.
You generally do not get a very close look at your foes until you advance over their vacated positions. As your units see the opposition, they get a better idea of what they are facing and you actually see enemy figures and vehicles.
The Action Phase
The action phase is where your best-laid plans, and the game itself, are put to the test. Graphically, the game is not on a level with more polished products from the well-established developers. But the graphics are still pretty good, as the screenshots show. The tank bitmaps are very good.
The infantry suffers a bit from the fact that only three figures represent a squad, but this allows bigger scenarios and makes things less confusing. The explosions in the release version of the game were not very impressive, but a little patch has made them suitably frightening.
The time of day, weather and ground surface are all represented and have effects on the course of battle, from a tank bogging down in the mud to a mortar round lighting a fire in a village on a dry day. Terrain graphics could be prettier. There are a few user-made patches already out that address this.
Shermans advance at dawn
The sounds of battle are rendered very well, and are quite loud if you’re close. Troops call out in their native languages (yes, including Polish and French) and weapons have distinctive sounds. The graphics and sound come together very well in the action phase.
On one wing, your men advance into the teeth of the enemy, machine guns rattle and spit tracers; on another, they’re enduring the demoralizing whoosh and devastating concussion of a 155mm howitzer barrage; in the center, tanks take up hull-down positions and duel with opposing armor.
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