Seeking Combat Mission advice

GoodOmens

So, I've heard about the Combat Mission games forever without ever actually seeing one, but I think I'd like to grab one via Goozex. I'm no sure which to go for, though.

I'm leaning toward Afrika Korps. As far as I can tell, Shock Force is the newest, but I'm not as interested in modern combat. The WWII content seems more interesting. On the other hand, there aren't any copies of Afrika Korps available but I could get Shock Force easily.

So, any advice?

kaliyama

Shock Force has got underwhelming reviews - I haven't bought it. On the other hand, I own CMAK, CMBO and CMBB. They're all AWESOME. CMAK is a fine purchase. It does North Africa and Italy. Great game. CMAK is only $25 on battlefront.com, so it's worth it even if goozex doesn't help you out.

PolloDiablo

Barbossa to Berlin and Afrika Korps are about equal in terms of fun; the main difference is in the location. They share most of the same mechanics. Beyond Overlord is still a very solid game, but the next two improved on it.

Shock Force is a mixed bag. It's a new setting, but they tried to change too much. The interface seems less intuitive to me, but maybe that's just because I have a lot more experience with the older ones. The AI is more braindead than usual, too, which is obviously only a problem if you intend to play lots of single player. The unit AI and pathing has problems, too, since they switched from modelling a single unit to represent a squad of guys to modelling each soldier individually.

So, yeah, I'd stick to the WWII ones if you can find them. If goozex doesn't have them, I have occasionally seen a retail box with all the WWII ones going for $10 in gamestop, so you might be able to pick them up cheaply.

I was just thinking of trying to start a Combat Mission [Game On]. Would that be fruitless?

big l

I've never played Shock Force, but I loved all the WWII ones and actually played in some CM:BB tournaments. While CM:AK is the most polished, I feel like CM:BB is the most complete. There's the most scenarios/mods for it, the game itself is better balanced and has a more complete unit list, and the Eastern Front just feels so much more epic than Africa/Italy. I swear, some of the really good Stalingrad and Berlin levels will actually blow your mind. It seems a bit darker, but there's a lot more you can do with it. There's wide-open tank battles on the steppes (watch out - they, like every game developer ever, over-modeled the Germans and nerfed the Russians, but it's not as bad as most) all the way to frenetic CQB in flaming, ruined cities. You can do anything in CM:BB. Add on the great quick battle mode and the super-easy to use scenario editor - CM:BB is my desert island game.

The big reason I prefer CM:BB to CM:AK is that CM:AK is a bit more one dimensional. The Africa setting kind of blows - the desert sucks to fight in - and the late desert and Italy settings are just like France, except that (historically correct) you don't get as many toys to play with as they did in France or the Eastern Front. Contrast this with CM:BB, where you get tons more vehicles and unit types and a much broader range of settings to fight in. Unless you absolutely refuse to play any WWII game where you don't get to be American/British, CM:BB is waaaaay better. Plus, Russians are way more badass than Americans or the Brits.

The only thing CM:AK does better is a few extra little features - dust trails behind tanks, some new terrain types, and other tiny details that people who aren't huge WWII/CM nerds won't notice that don't really help gameplay much.

TL,DR:

BUY CM:BB!!!!!!!!!!!!!