Combat Mission series review by maroule

Nav · 21-03-2003, 18:58:10

[Combat Mission series review by maroule]

Thanks to maroule (and apologies that it took me so long to post it!)

Sean · 21-03-2003, 19:10:36

Damn you maroule, I really want to buy this game now. Damn your hide.

BTW, Nav, the bottom-right picture on page 2 overlaps the link to the next page. I am using IE6, Windows XP, the window is maximised, aqnd my screen resolution is 1280x1024.

Sir Penguin · 21-03-2003, 19:50:47

Holy crap, Nav did something that doesn't work in IE, but works in Opera!

SP

Sean · 21-03-2003, 19:58:51

It works in Opera, but Phoenix handles it best.

maroule · 21-03-2003, 22:12:18

thanks Nav (and welcome to the club Sean)

Sean · 21-03-2003, 22:29:02

If I was to buy just one, bearing in mind that BO should be cheaper, which should I go for?

maroule · 21-03-2003, 22:35:15

there are lots of debates on this

the short version : BO leans towards 'action', infantry and artillery play, and is on a very fun theater

BB is more tactical, harder on the infantry, requires more patience, has a much much better interface, is prettier

Sean · 21-03-2003, 22:35:54

I should point out that this is all hypothetical. Yessir.

There should be a law against good reviews of good games. It’s practically advertising.

Sean · 21-03-2003, 22:36:52

And that’s no answer at all. Now I may well have to buy both to see which is better, and that money could have gone to feed starving children (me).

Nav · 21-03-2003, 22:50:16

Quote:

Originally posted by Sean
BTW, Nav, the bottom-right picture on page 2 overlaps the link to the next page. I am using IE6, Windows XP, the window is maximised, aqnd my screen resolution is 1280x1024.

The site is best viewed with a window of roughly 1024x768.

and anyway i'd rather that the game is actually discussed here rather than any problems with the article, please pm me in future!

maroule · 22-03-2003, 08:40:00

Quote:

Originally posted by Sean
It's practically advertising.

Battlefront told me the check was in the mail

Beta1 · 22-03-2003, 09:04:47

Nice review. Liked the locked in the basement bit.

I thought it was obligatory to get the phrase "devil-worshipping-bastards at sierra" into every review though.

Resource Consumer · 22-03-2003, 10:29:19

An excellent review. I might add that I never get smashed when playing, just before playing which might explain something. An honourable mention for the Shaker's style which must exist somewhere if ever you can find his troops.

BTW, we should post some links to this review in some less enlightened parts of the net...

The Shaker · 22-03-2003, 10:47:32

your smouldering t34 appears to have discovered them

will go off and read the review now.

The Shaker · 22-03-2003, 10:54:06

Wooo nice article.
now whats an enfilade?

ignoring the abject rejection.

The Shaker · 22-03-2003, 10:54:39

Hey LOD i can see you!!!

Resource Consumer · 22-03-2003, 11:08:45

That's more than anyone else has done for a while....

Well, that T34 was sacrificed to block your LoS which it is doing quite nicely

Sean · 22-03-2003, 12:49:07

Shakey: the At The Drive-In song that goes ’sacrifice on railroad tracks/freight train coming, freight train coming’. It also means some clever business with doors so that when they’re open everything looks cool.

The Shaker · 22-03-2003, 19:05:04

ahhhhhhhh
I like that song.

LoD · 22-03-2003, 21:05:40

Quote:

Originally posted by The Shaker
Hey LOD i can see you!!!

Shaker got LoS to LoD...

BTW guys, I'll play the turns sometime this week- no more waiting for me

.

Beta1 · 23-03-2003, 20:24:34

thats cool - me and RC are off this week! Doh! (well I'm here till tuesday night)

King_Ghidra@home · 24-03-2003, 07:46:21

great review maroule

but i have one question - which one of the series do i have to buy? if i buy combat missioon 2, does that have everything in it, or will i not be able to play the older campaigns?

maroule · 24-03-2003, 08:35:23

you should buy the 'bundle' from battlefront, the two games are in it (and no, to answer your second question). The two are similar but different (and unot compatible), and are worth your time, in different ways.

Should you choose only one to start with, take CMBO, it's cheaper and IMHO slightly more accessible to a beginner

Venom · 24-03-2003, 13:17:11

Worst review ever maroule...no mindless side bars, no cussing..that's shit.

Now I actually got to play BO yesterday and I had a few mishaps, you know, small things like my own artillery landing on my troops and half my armor getting stuck in the snow about 1500 meters away from the first objective.

maroule · 24-03-2003, 13:39:45

well, there was a fellatio reference, but it got edited by nav

Venom · 24-03-2003, 13:48:40

Well damn. That would have been more interesting.

Funkodrom · 24-03-2003, 13:49:20

I just got round to reading the review. Pretty good. I even got to the end.

MDA · 24-03-2003, 14:17:47

Quote:

Originally posted by Venom
and half my armor getting stuck in the snow about 1500 meters away from the first objective.

Got a Churchill Crocodile stuck in the snow about 20 meters from its starting position recently. Best to stick heavy armor on roadways in wet or snowy conditions. Still managed to beat the AI - If there are a lot of flags on the map (five in this case), the silly AI tries to defend them all and I just take them away one at a time.

MDA · 24-03-2003, 14:23:37

As a side note, at least some people reading this review went “what a simpleton, everybody knows the side lower hull armour of a T34 is at 0 degree, not 30”. They thus fail the addiction test.

Bastard

Venom · 24-03-2003, 15:25:23

I would have accepted 1 or 2, but I had 4 immobile tanks. 1 half track was immobile too, but what was because my guys didn't move in the proper order and the front halftrack was blocking the road so tard boy tried to drive around and stuck himself in some trees.

MDA · 24-03-2003, 16:31:58

Drop some "friendly" arty on him.

Some people claim that you're less likely to get bogged in scattered trees than in open ground - tree roots and brush may provide better traction than mud. Haven't really tested this, though.

It kills me to say it, but Maroule wrote a good review.

I totally got suckered reading about the T34 armor - I couldn't remember or picture a tank with a sloped lower hull.

Sean · 24-03-2003, 17:25:05

How do I get my infantry to jog along road in single file? They always end up trying to through the trees round each other because the ones in front (yes, they are the faster ones) take longer to get going.

Venom · 24-03-2003, 17:49:51

The only way I know is to set their pause times, but I don't want to pause I want to ATTACK!

Beta1 · 24-03-2003, 18:01:24

Quote:

Originally posted by MDA

Some people claim that you're less likely to get bogged in scattered trees than in open ground - tree roots and brush may provide better traction than mud. Haven't really tested this, though.

In my experience you immobilse much more easily in scattered trees than in open ground. Very easy to throw a track.

Sean · 24-03-2003, 18:01:55

Yeah, but they are already in formation. They should get moving, damnit.

Also, the foggy map didn’t actually look very foggy to me.

Venom · 24-03-2003, 18:46:14

That's shitty discipline in your soldiers then Sean. Breaking formation like that...what kind of a twat is commanding them?

Beta1 · 25-03-2003, 09:45:04

sean what graphics card have you got - the fog dont work on voodoo boards as far as I know. Failing that check you have smoke/fog turned on.

Sean · 25-03-2003, 16:06:20

I cycled through the fog options, and I have a Radeon 7200.

BigGameHunter · 25-03-2003, 16:20:05

I've never had fog either....

MDA · 25-03-2003, 16:23:56

Fog is neat, maroule and I have a heavy fog game going now.
About six turns in and still no contact with the enemy. He's apparently hiding and waiting for me to stumble onto him so he can wipe out whole squads in 10 seconds.

Sean · 25-03-2003, 16:42:39

There is a heck of a lot of info in this game to absorb, worse even than Champ Man, because I know about football.

maroule · 25-03-2003, 18:42:42

true, but it's also (somehow) intuitive, except for tanks : tanks are weak in BO, protect these giant steel machines as fragile asmatic babies

Venom · 25-03-2003, 18:48:55

Dammit I drive my tanks in wrecklessly, unless there's German armor in the area then I cower until they're spotted.

Sean · 25-03-2003, 18:54:48

Ah, right. When I did the tutorial (my only win so far, and it took two attempts) I went for their tanks first.

maroule · 25-03-2003, 19:20:50

in BO, zook, piat and schreck/faust are really lethal so against a human oponent, the 200 meters distance with anything possibly hiding a AT team is paramount. Play against the AI following this rule (even though the AI is more forgiving) to prepare for PBEM

Really, go to PBEM as soon as you master the basics, it's still the best way to learn quickly

Venom · 25-03-2003, 19:27:36

Well I did need 2 Bazookas and 10 rounds to hit the damn thing. First guy fired all 8 shots over 2 turns from about 190m and never came close. Ran the second guy over there after a turn or two to about 150m and he whacked it on the second shot. Turned out to be critical though because I wasted 2 turns where I could have wiped out the remaining Germans because I was afraid to send my Shermans over the hill with that damn gun there. He would have ripped them to shreads. So instead of slaughtering the retreating troops about 20 guys survived.

MDA · 26-03-2003, 00:08:38

Wreckless tank driving is actually a good thing. Is squishing infantry with your tank modeled? I know there's no graphic for it, but it'd be fun to cause casualties in routed troops that way.

Sean · 26-03-2003, 21:00:10

Just gave BB a quick try but went back to BO pretty sharpish to continue my attempt at Blood on the Vines. I could do with having a longer attention span.

maroule · 26-03-2003, 22:18:27

sure, the trick to remember is really to...
oooh, a butterfly....

Venom · 27-03-2003, 02:09:45

WAAAAAA I thought I had an awesome game going and SUPRISE hidden guns took out my Jacksons. It got ugly from there on out but at least I was already in the process of flanking them.

21-03-2003, 18:58:10	#1
Nav Still not even as ugly as Lurker Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Nowhere...	Combat Mission series review by maroule [Combat Mission series review by maroule] Thanks to maroule (and apologies that it took me so long to post it!)

21-03-2003, 19:50:47	#3
Sir Penguin Wise sprite Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: command.com	Holy crap, Nav did something that doesn't work in IE, but works in Opera! SP __________________ Whether 'tis nobler in the plane to suffer The asps and adders of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of bitch-ass motherfuckers And by opposing fuck them up? -- Samuel L. Jackson as Hamlet

22-03-2003, 09:04:47	#12
Beta1 [works only in german, sorry] Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: here	Nice review. Liked the locked in the basement bit. I thought it was obligatory to get the phrase "devil-worshipping-bastards at sierra" into every review though. __________________ I've got ham, but I'm not a hamster...

22-03-2003, 10:29:19	#13
Resource Consumer weddings, bar mitzvahs, anything Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Going down on Trinidad and Tobago	An excellent review. I might add that I never get smashed when playing, just before playing which might explain something. An honourable mention for the Shaker's style which must exist somewhere if ever you can find his troops. BTW, we should post some links to this review in some less enlightened parts of the net... __________________ Bossman

22-03-2003, 10:47:32	#14
The Shaker Ultimate Prison Bitch Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The big X	your smouldering t34 appears to have discovered them will go off and read the review now. __________________ Sig WX FTW

21-03-2003, 19:10:36	#2
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	Damn you maroule, I really want to buy this game now. Damn your hide. BTW, Nav, the bottom-right picture on page 2 overlaps the link to the next page. I am using IE6, Windows XP, the window is maximised, aqnd my screen resolution is 1280x1024.

21-03-2003, 19:58:51	#4
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	It works in Opera, but Phoenix handles it best.

21-03-2003, 22:12:18	#5
maroule Intermittent du spectacle Join Date: Oct 2002	thanks Nav (and welcome to the club Sean)

21-03-2003, 22:29:02	#6
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	If I was to buy just one, bearing in mind that BO should be cheaper, which should I go for?

21-03-2003, 22:35:15	#7
maroule Intermittent du spectacle Join Date: Oct 2002	there are lots of debates on this the short version : BO leans towards 'action', infantry and artillery play, and is on a very fun theater BB is more tactical, harder on the infantry, requires more patience, has a much much better interface, is prettier

21-03-2003, 22:35:54	#8
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	I should point out that this is all hypothetical. Yessir. There should be a law against good reviews of good games. It’s practically advertising.

21-03-2003, 22:36:52	#9
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	And that’s no answer at all. Now I may well have to buy both to see which is better, and that money could have gone to feed starving children (me).

22-03-2003, 10:54:06	#15
The Shaker Ultimate Prison Bitch Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The big X	Wooo nice article. now whats an enfilade? ignoring the abject rejection. __________________ Sig WX FTW

22-03-2003, 10:54:39	#16
The Shaker Ultimate Prison Bitch Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The big X	Hey LOD i can see you!!! __________________ Sig WX FTW

22-03-2003, 11:08:45	#17
Resource Consumer weddings, bar mitzvahs, anything Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Going down on Trinidad and Tobago	That's more than anyone else has done for a while.... Well, that T34 was sacrificed to block your LoS which it is doing quite nicely __________________ Bossman

22-03-2003, 12:49:07	#18
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	Shakey: the At The Drive-In song that goes ’sacrifice on railroad tracks/freight train coming, freight train coming’. It also means some clever business with doors so that when they’re open everything looks cool.

22-03-2003, 19:05:04	#19
The Shaker Ultimate Prison Bitch Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The big X	ahhhhhhhh I like that song. __________________ Sig WX FTW

23-03-2003, 20:24:34	#21
Beta1 [works only in german, sorry] Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: here	thats cool - me and RC are off this week! Doh! (well I'm here till tuesday night) __________________ I've got ham, but I'm not a hamster...

24-03-2003, 07:46:21	#22
King_Ghidra@home Registered User Join Date: Jun 2002	great review maroule but i have one question - which one of the series do i have to buy? if i buy combat missioon 2, does that have everything in it, or will i not be able to play the older campaigns?

24-03-2003, 08:35:23	#23
maroule Intermittent du spectacle Join Date: Oct 2002	you should buy the 'bundle' from battlefront, the two games are in it (and no, to answer your second question). The two are similar but different (and unot compatible), and are worth your time, in different ways. Should you choose only one to start with, take CMBO, it's cheaper and IMHO slightly more accessible to a beginner

24-03-2003, 13:17:11	#24
Venom Look out behind you! Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Rudolph's stable	Worst review ever maroule...no mindless side bars, no cussing..that's shit. Now I actually got to play BO yesterday and I had a few mishaps, you know, small things like my own artillery landing on my troops and half my armor getting stuck in the snow about 1500 meters away from the first objective. __________________ TO MY BALLS!!!!! or TO LazyView!!!!

24-03-2003, 13:39:45	#25
maroule Intermittent du spectacle Join Date: Oct 2002	well, there was a fellatio reference, but it got edited by nav

24-03-2003, 13:48:40	#26
Venom Look out behind you! Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Rudolph's stable	Well damn. That would have been more interesting. __________________ TO MY BALLS!!!!! or TO LazyView!!!!

24-03-2003, 13:49:20	#27
Funkodrom Die Müfzwerge Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Drowning in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry	I just got round to reading the review. Pretty good. I even got to the end. __________________ protein: Bryan Adams rocks Blog - Band Müf Gigs 5th March BerkshireLive Aid

24-03-2003, 14:23:37	#29
MDA Unintelligible at any speed. Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Make no excuses. Support no ideology. You're EVIL. Just do it.	As a side note, at least some people reading this review went “what a simpleton, everybody knows the side lower hull armour of a T34 is at 0 degree, not 30”. They thus fail the addiction test. Bastard __________________ Who are you when you're alone? A Fuckwit.

24-03-2003, 15:25:23	#30
Venom Look out behind you! Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Rudolph's stable	I would have accepted 1 or 2, but I had 4 immobile tanks. 1 half track was immobile too, but what was because my guys didn't move in the proper order and the front halftrack was blocking the road so tard boy tried to drive around and stuck himself in some trees. __________________ TO MY BALLS!!!!! or TO LazyView!!!!

24-03-2003, 16:31:58	#31
MDA Unintelligible at any speed. Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Make no excuses. Support no ideology. You're EVIL. Just do it.	Drop some "friendly" arty on him. Some people claim that you're less likely to get bogged in scattered trees than in open ground - tree roots and brush may provide better traction than mud. Haven't really tested this, though. It kills me to say it, but Maroule wrote a good review. I totally got suckered reading about the T34 armor - I couldn't remember or picture a tank with a sloped lower hull. __________________ Who are you when you're alone? A Fuckwit.

24-03-2003, 17:25:05	#32
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	How do I get my infantry to jog along road in single file? They always end up trying to through the trees round each other because the ones in front (yes, they are the faster ones) take longer to get going.

24-03-2003, 17:49:51	#33
Venom Look out behind you! Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Rudolph's stable	The only way I know is to set their pause times, but I don't want to pause I want to ATTACK! __________________ TO MY BALLS!!!!! or TO LazyView!!!!

24-03-2003, 18:01:55	#35
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	Yeah, but they are already in formation. They should get moving, damnit. Also, the foggy map didn’t actually look very foggy to me.

24-03-2003, 18:46:14	#36
Venom Look out behind you! Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Rudolph's stable	That's shitty discipline in your soldiers then Sean. Breaking formation like that...what kind of a twat is commanding them? __________________ TO MY BALLS!!!!! or TO LazyView!!!!

25-03-2003, 09:45:04	#37
Beta1 [works only in german, sorry] Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: here	sean what graphics card have you got - the fog dont work on voodoo boards as far as I know. Failing that check you have smoke/fog turned on. __________________ I've got ham, but I'm not a hamster...

25-03-2003, 16:06:20	#38
Sean Rhubarb Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: God knows	I cycled through the fog options, and I have a Radeon 7200.

25-03-2003, 16:20:05	#39
BigGameHunter Hunter of Game Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Lost in the jungle	I've never had fog either.... __________________ BOOM!

25-03-2003, 16:23:56	#40
MDA Unintelligible at any speed. Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Make no excuses. Support no ideology. You're EVIL. Just do it.	Fog is neat, maroule and I have a heavy fog game going now. About six turns in and still no contact with the enemy. He's apparently hiding and waiting for me to stumble onto him so he can wipe out whole squads in 10 seconds. __________________ Who are you when you're alone? A Fuckwit.