Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord (Windows)

Discuss Review + Want + Have Contribute

Written by  :  Iguana (36) Written on  :  Mar 05, 2001 Platform  :  Windows Rating  :

write a review of this game read more reviews by Iguana read more reviews for this game

Summary

As of now (March, 2001) this is the best tactical squad level WW2 game ever made.

The Good

Attention to detail. A true grognard's dream. Big Time Software are wargamers, and very knowledgeable about WW2 history, and it shows.

Turn based WEGO system. I think CM is the first game to use this system. Both players (or one player and the AI) give their orders simultaneously, then watch the results play out in one minute "movies".

Three dimensions. IFAIK, this is the first wargame of it's kind to utilize a 3D battlefield. While giving orders and while watching the "movies", the player can move the camera all over the battlefield to see what is happening. One can watch from a bird's eye view right down to ground level with the grunts. The camera can also be locked onto a single unit to see the turn from that unit's perspective. Great idea, great fun.

The Bad

Very little. The out-of-the-box graphics seem a little dated by first person shooter standards, however the plethora of mods available on the net turn this game into a visual feast, without changing the gameplay at all.

The Bottom Line

First rate squad level tactical WW2 combat simulation. Nothing else even comes close (sorry Close Combat fans). Combat mission will be to wargames what Doom was to first person shooters.