User Reviews (11 - 21 of 35)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

A good development

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 09, 2000
Author: Amazon User

My first exposure to the Close Combat series was the third title, The Russian Front. Simply put it is a superb game, with the ability the draw you back time and time again after newer games have lost their appeal. This new title also has this ability. I must admit it took a while to get used to the new format and the AI seems to have taken a backward step from cc3, but overall it is an excellent game. I am a former soldier and for my money the series are the only current games that give any credence to reality on the battlefield. It is with a wry humour sometimes when I watch the units attempt to move to a position on the map in a very roundabout manner (particuly the tanks), but nothing beats the confusion of the real thing! If you are after a historically accurate game, with immense returnability, this is a game for you.

Best there is

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 15, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This version (Close Combat IV) finally surpasses it's predecessor Close Combat II (III was good, but....). The AI is better and more aggressive and the head to head play against another human can be an experience in humiliation if you're not careful!!

The units are fantasitic, the grand campaign strategic map adds wonderfully to the game, giving true control of the developing battle to the player (unless of course you're attacked by that pesky Wehrmacht/AEF!).

Two very minor drawbacks - no battle editor like in CCIII. And the topography of the battle field can be hard to read at times. (I certainly don't think that there is any easy way to correct this short of adding topo-lines to the game which would detract more.)

The AI is wonderful, and the bugs of the last versions seem to be gone completely. Tanks are now truly vulnerable to infantry up close, the variety of units keep it fun. The ability to surround your opponents on the strategic map (or to be surrounded) make "do or die" stands necessary.

Over all, the BEST realtime strategy game there is!! Looking forward to Normandy!

disappointed

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: April 01, 2000
Author: Amazon User

As a Close Combat fan, especially CC3, I was excited to get a copy of CC4-Battle of the Bulge. As others have said, it is nowhere near the level of CC3. You cannot select individual units, the AI is seriously flawed, and the same maps get used over and over-even if you "hold" an area after one battle...the computer will take it away from you the next time. Also, I have yet to see a Tiger or King Tiger tank. Why does the book even mention them? The game requires incredible patience as well; to complete the campaign takes days. I hardly ever play it anymore, and have reverted to CC3 for my wargaming.

Wonderful Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: July 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I purchased CCIV shortly after it was released. This game offers great graphics and sound with a large selection of single battles, operations, and campagins. The soldiers act as if they are real and respond very much like real people under fire. For example, if you send a squad of poorly trained milita to tangle with a group of strong veterans more often then not will your poor milita be sent running back to the fatherland after only a brief period of fighting. If a soldier runs out of ammo he can use weapons captured off dead enemy troops and jump right back into the battle. The game's only problems are a few AI bugs that make the game less engrossing for seasoned wargamers who demand perfection. If your new to wargaming like I was get this game now, you'll be gald you did!

Lacking the Tiger's bite

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: September 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User

As an avid fan of first two CCs, I initially warmed to "Battle of the Bulge". What better subject matter? The great battle pitting Germany's feared Tiger tank against the flimsy US Shermans, first immortalised in the Hollywood movie of the same name, and now brought to life by the best wargame producers around.

True to the faith, CC4 has wonderful sound effects and battlefield concepts -- for instance, unexploded shells in burning tanks periodically blow up, keeping you on the edge of your seat, particularly if they go up while your men are creeping around nearby.

The addition of rocket half-tracks, though perhaps not entirely historically accurate, adds a great wildcard. No matter how strong your force, the odds can be changed in an instant by a few well-placed missiles from the enemy. Also great is the ability to bombard the enemy or call in a Mustang to drop something down the chimney of the Panzer leader.

The switch to a strategic map of the entire battlefield is also great fun. Now you can feel that you're driving the whole campaign, not just directing a few ants at a time. The option to choose time limits on individual battles is also good as is the addition of a "sneak" movement for individual squads.

But after a few plays, I found my enjoyment fading into frustration.

Campaigns run for far too long. Unless, you are hospitalised and have nothing else to do all day, getting through a grand campaign will take weeks and cost you most of the significant relationships in your life.

Monotony. The length of the campaigns might not be so bad except that each mission somehow starts to seem very similar to the last after a few battles. It may be the ubiquitous snowy terrain and the lack of variation in the weapons.

Line of fire. This is sometimes difficult to distinguish -- you'll be sitting in what you think is a gully when next thing you know you're actually in clear sight of a Panzer. This is an unrealistic and occasionally annoying factor as line of fire certainly would have been clear to those on the ground.

No Battlemaker!! While you can create your own strategic map operations, you don't have the wonderful battlemaker of CC2. You have to try to find the battlegroups that are carrying your favourite weapons and then position them on the map. It takes time, trial and error, and doesn't always work.

You are are supreme ... too supreme. The computer is generally too weak an opponent whether on the defence or the attack. While that is better than it being too strong, it does become boring.

Bugs!! On the two computers I played, the game was fatally flawed with bugs. "Internal errors" would occasionally appear in the middle of the most gripping games, or the most important junctures in campaigns.

And, last but not least; No Tigers!! The movie version of the battle was famous for the Tiger tank. The CC4 manual also refers to these monsters. However, they never appear, except as tank destroyers. That is a major disappointment.

Not enough battle groups.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Close Combat Battle of the Bulge is a good game compared to Close Combat 1,2 or 3 but it still needs improvements like more battle groups in the battle maker. Although there are a lot of maps to fight on they get to all look the same after while with all that snow. There are just not enough types of infantry or tank units to keep your attention for very long. But I suppose I might be asking too much from a $20 game. I say if you're looking for a small-scale strategy game, go with Close Combat 5.

Okay but

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 17
Date: January 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The best Close Combat game was Close Combat 2. A good balance between the forces beautifull graphics and the game illustrated the Arnem campaign.

Close Combat 3 was a big dissapointment. The only units which mattered were tanks.

Close Combat 4 is better than 3 and infantry units again are something more than cannon fodder. The negatives of the game are that the graphics are not as good as the previous two in the series. The game also crashes a lot.

As has been mentioned Tiger tanks never seem to appear.Instead the German player has thousands of armounred cars and small vehicles whose only function seems to be to blow up in a spectacular and regular way. The game also goes on forever. To compleat a long campaign takes over a week.

The A 1 is also somewaht unispired. The tanks controlled by the computer just mill around in an aimless way only firing at soft targets. Still sort of allright and streets aread of the last issue.

Ok, but CC3 and CC2 are far better!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: April 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I have played this game for awhile and it is not bad. Just one note:

The German voices and commands are not correct! I study at the University of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany and I can certify that the Germans voices are extremely off!

For example:

When German units receive fire they scream "Einfliegendes Geschoss! ". In German that means "we are receiving one single round". The correct term would be "Wir kriegen Feuer!"

The same goes for when the Germans state that they have artillery support. In the game it sounds like "Artilleribarriere befindbar". There is no such thing as artilleribarriere in the German language. You would say something like "Wir haben artilleriunterstuts"

I realize that these are all small details. But if you are a history or military buff it adds up!

Is defense really necessary?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game was sooo aggravating. It's one of the most poorly designed WWII games I have ever played. During the real war, most casualties were caused by artillery. However in this game your artillery is little more than a fireworks show for the enemy. Your tanks and AT guns spend more time spinning around while the Germans always hit you right on the mark. What happened to the overwhelming superiority that the Allies had during the later stages of the battle? In this game, the Allies rarely get even a 2 to 1 advantage in tanks. Even when you do get an advantage, your tanks get picked off with ease while your crewmen spend their time rotating the turrets. What's the point of the "ambush"? You can start a battle with your AT guns poised , aimed, ready to go and on the defensive. However, the Germans still manage to get off a first shot and knock out your gun even though they are attacking. What a load of crap! What's the deal with the German Rocket artillery? They never miss and always seem to know where your main guns are no matter where you put them. Make sure you put a time limit on each battle. Otherwise you may be in for a battle that never ends. For some reason, the Germans will simply stop attacking and do nothing. I thought the Battle of the Bulge was supposed to be about a major German OFFENSIVE in 1944. Sometimes they will just sit back and wait for you to come to them. This is when they are supposed to be that attackers!! What a waste of a game.

Simply Put . . .

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 31, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Simply put, this is the best Close Combat game from the series of four. There is no other way of describing or summarizing the game's overall appeal. If still not convinced, download the demo and enjoy the in-depth scope of military history from your desktop. Afterwards, you will feel compelled to engross yourself in the full version - it is that addictive. Simply put, Close Combat: The Battle of the Bulge is the best wargame for all ages on the market today.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 Next 

Actions