I looked at the list carefully, and found that I own the following
entries:
CC:COI
CC:MT
CaW
Empires in Arms
CMSF
SH4
I own yet another game that I believe probably ought to be on the
list, M2TW:Kingdoms. While many of our readers likely believe that
this is a "kiddy-game," I've found the strategy component to be
anything but. In particular, the new campaigns that come with
"Kingdoms," like that for "Britannia" are really excellent. In my last
game, I found myself using diplomacy a lot more, playing Ireland and
undermining England (by propping up first Wales with troops and then
Norway with money) until I was strong enough to go after what had
become the real menace in the scenario, Scotland. Anyway, it was a lot
of fun, and the best experience that I'd ever had with the TW series.
But, I digress...
My vote for game of the year?
1) Close Combat: Modern Tactics - The game has a lot of problems, the
most glaring of which, the one that'll really disappoint old CC-hands,
is its lack of a campaign. It's also graphically challenged in that
the maps are HUGE compared to the older games in the series, but the
developer didn't bother to do anything with the ZOOM function.
Basically, players have the jump-map and a single zoom level, one
that's too far-in to give them any decent perspective of the larger
battlefield, and too far-out to provide an effective view of the
fighting.
While CCMT is underdeveloped in terms of my criticisms above, it does
stray into territory that's previously uncharted in tactical land-
combat games. It allows for five players per side, effectively
eliminating my biggest gripe with tactical gaming, the borg-like
ability of desktop commanders to control the movement and fire of
dozens (or hundreds) of individual vehicles and squads and,
conversely, to call the enterprise "realistic." By virtue of its
command and control opportunities and limitations, CC:MT is in a
league of its own. Now, if someone will just mod it for WW2, I'll
(almost) be a happy man.
2) Empires in Arms - In what appears to be a straight, port-over of a
board-game to PC, EIA has finally emerged. If you liked the original,
you'll like this one as well. While the brand-spanking-new game needs
a bug patch or two, nothing has evidenced itself that appears to
undermine the strengths of the original concept. What else can I say?
3) Combat Mission: Shock Force - This is almost an "honorable-mention"
vote. I hate the setting and have little or no desire to blow-up
Middle-Eastern neighborhoods. In terms of shear audacity, however, I
think that BF deserves a lot of credit for attempting to take CM to
real time, something which is no mean feat, and one that it would
appear they have yet to achieve. In particular, having watched CMSF
evolve through its patches, it may be that our PCs are as yet
incapable of crunching all the data that Steve wants processed with
his games, at least in RT. Still, if he can take me back to WW2, or at
least the Arab-Israeli Wars, I'll keep buying.
r4e
>> Stay informed about: Wargame of the Year 2007 election 
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