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Absolute Best WWII Genre game out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 26
Date: January 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I am writing in defense of the first Close Combat, from the previus review. I have all 4 Close Combat games (bought individually). The first one came out in 96/97, and I felt that it was the best game ever made. Of course comparing it with the new ones, it would seem a bit weak. But consider that Close Combat one(the campaign to immeadiately follow the normandy invasion)was the very first game to incorporate such superb AI to a game. All the sound effect of every game are authentic to each weapon. .50 Cal sound like a .50 cal, MG42 sounds like an MG42 etc. Looking back from one to four (the trilogy has the first three games from Microsoft, the Fourth 'Battle of the Bulge not included in the trilogy is from SSI) it was so exciting to see how Atomic took the best ideas and improved them. Save for the first one, all the maps in the others were rendered from satalite picture of the actual locations (I confirmed this by reading and looking at pictures from the book :A Bridge Too Far). I can't say for the triology, but Each game manual had superb historical context (the original manual for the first game was by far the thickest of the lot, half of it just gave background and history) I truly can't say enough about these games. They are the absolute best strategygames ever created. Totaly authentic, totaly real, totaly believable. Being fascinated by the history of that period, these game bring it to a whole new demension. Still, for no other reason, get it for CC2 "a Bridge Too Far" That whole episode in the war is so compelling, the game just rules. See the movie (Same title Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Sean Connery), read the book (Same Tilte), and then jump right in and make YOUR descions! It's great. They all are

Best Value

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: December 08, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This package represents one of the best real time Military Strategy values currently on the market. "CCII, A Bridge Too Far" is the jewel of this group, followed closely by "CCIII, The Russian Front." To get the most from these games, players should select gameplay options which allow them to fight battles as realistically as possible... soldiers do not always obey orders exactly as given, commanders do not automatically have accurate intelligence regarding enemy composition, movement and strength, and sometimes a large force can be overcome by a smaller, more highly trained unit who uses superior tactics. Players who use this approach will soon discover an AI which forces them to make extensive use of combined arms, reconnaissance, mutually supporting defensive positions, economy of force and much more. Additionally, the requirement to carefully monitor your ammunition expenditures - particularly your crew served weapons and mortars - lends an even greater degree of realism. For players who might have difficulty with these things initially, the games are easily tailored to weight your forces accordingly. Bottom line, this is a superb software bundle with relatively low system requirements... it will be enjoyed by just about any strategy/action gamer.

Realistic for the History Buff, Adictive for the Gamer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Close Combat provides a great interface for tactical combat in World War II. The first game depicts the Normandy scenario from the beach, through the hedgerows and beyond. CCII brings the Market Garden Operation to life with British and U.S. paratroopers slugging it out for bridges in Holland against the Germans in 1944. The third game portrays the Germans vs. the Russians on the Eastern Front.

I am a career infantryman in the Army and have served as a paratrooper in two different regiments that fought during Operation Market Garden. For me the single best aspect of all three games is their tactical realism. If you don't cover the movement of squads with smoke or suppressive fire, the enemy blows you away. The games allow for mechanized and light infantry combat, combined with indirect mortar fires. The developers did as good a job as could be done replicating the "fog of war" and I thoroughly enjoyed these games.

Highly recommended for history buffs and gamers alike. Several books and movies would enhance the novice's understanding of the games if unfamiliar with the history. "A Bridge Too Far" (the book or the movie) explains Operation Market Garden, the most ambitious paratroop assault ever. Stephen Ambrose has written several good books about the Normandy assault, and "D-Day" is a solid pick. Read anything about "Operation Barbarosa," the German code word for the Russian campaign.

Great games. Realistic and Fun!

Disappointed in the trology

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 26
Date: December 11, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I wrote a previous review in which I said I thought Close Combat II-A Bridge Too Far was terrific and deserved five stars. This enticed me to buy the whole trilogy. I am extremely disappointed in the trilogy. One-the Close Combat I game is so elementary it is like playing Pong. The only similarity with the other games is the audio. Otherwise it seems like junk to me. The graphics and soldier movement is poor. The soldiers look like ants when they move. You have no control over individual soldiers like the oither games. I have seen better graphics and interactive action in games 7 years old-not a mere 3 years old. The graphics are about on the level of an Atari 2600. I feel ripped off by Microsoft for them to include Close Combat I in the trilogy and plan to complain to them, especially since you can buy Close Combat II and III as stand alones cheaper than buying the trilogy. Two-the manual is extremely skimpy for the trilogy. The manual for a Bridge Too Far stand alone is thicker than the manual for all three games! I think the trilogy is a ripoff. You are better off buying Close Combat II and III as stand alones- in fact this might be cheaper. I also didn't find Close Combat III as enjoyable as Close Combat III. The audio is annoying. Also the controls are supposed to an improvement over Close Combat II but I find it less intuitive

Drat, another tank crew barbecued by a Soviet T-34!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: June 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Yep, I've said that and many other things as the Soviets decimate mysmall group of German soldiers. The Close Combat series is truly an awesome game series. I have only played Close Combat III so my review is bent towards CCIII, but other reviews here on Amazon point out that Close Combat II is cool as well. My cousin installed Close Combat III on my computer and I loved this game from the second I started! However, I would warn the reader, if you like fast paced action games (like the Quake series) and don't like strategy games (like Command & Conquer) then the CC series is definately not for you. However, if you like strategy and like taking such minor factors like a grove of trees or a row of small hills into consideration when placing troops; or have actually been in a battle or just like playing an arm chair general, then the Close Combat series is definately for you! So read on and learn more about Close Combat III.

Close Combat III is very easy to learn and easy to play. At the start of the game you can chose what side you want to fight for (Soviets or Germans) and can also chose to fight one of 14 different historical campaigns from the initial invasion of Russia to the final days in Berlin. Or, you can chose to fight a single battle in one of those campaigns (like the last day of the war.) Or, you can chose to fight the Grand Campaign which goes through all 14 historical campaigns. In addition to chosing sides, you can set your name as the commander, and choose your reality level (from beginner - your troops don't run as easily and they always hit what they are shooting at; to hero - where morale really takes a toll and troops run much more easily.) Additionally, before you start the battle you can read your orders and other briefing material before you position your troops and tanks anywhere on the map. In placing your tanks you can take as long as you like to find the best terrain (which is slightly unlike real war.)

When the battle starts you find out why CCIII is so highly recommended and why I say it is really fun and very realistic. The sounds are awesome with the guns sounding VERY real and the graphics are fairly good with explosions, flames shooting from tanks, and tracer rounds looking pretty real. And speaking of real, consider the AI. You can choose whether to make your units sneak, move, move fast, fire, or lay smoke; but, if those troops are under fire or have low morale they will refuse your orders or even run the other way and surrender to the other side. There is also a good range of units available to fill your ranks and the manual that comes with the trilogy (although skimpy) gives a fairly decent overview of the various equipment used by the Soviets and Germans.

And, contrary to some, the war in the East depended heavily on tanks so many battles need many tanks to destroy the Soviets.

I only have a few major gripes about the playablity of the game. First, is that once your tank is disabled by Anti-Tank fire or another tank you can't order the crew out even if they are wounded. You just have to wait for them to bail out which usually means that you lose your tank crew to the enemy's machine gun fire. And, second, every soldier screams the same way when he dies or every commander yells in the same voice which can get a little annoying (I would like to see them add a few new voices.) Third, there are no "what if?" scenarios. I pushed my troops into Moscow and took the Kremlin (something the real Germans never did) yet it had no effect on the war at all.

The final gripes I have about the game are more historical. First, where is the famed Soviet Winter! I had troops sitting out in the -30F cold for half the battle and they were still classified as "healthy." Now where does that actually happen? Actually the winter played very little in lowering the soldier's moral or freezing my tank's engines. My second gripe is the Battle of Stalingrad. I was expecting to see some real close combat action with troops having to fight their way from house to house through hails of bullets to take the victory locations with snipers posted in every high tower. Unfortunately, I fought it with more tanks than I did troops and didn't do any house-to-house fighting (and no snipers) which was not really true in the real battle. (Actually, I would like to see CC5 deal with Moscow and Stalingrad with the entire game dealing with conquering those two cities.) Third, there were no partisans. One of the major troubles effecting the Germans during the Soviet war were partisans blowing up rail lines and harrassing troops (which I would have liked to see civilians run in from behind me and shoot my AT crew or shoot my commander.) Fourth, Soviet resistance doesn't increase as I near the end of the war. Troops still run away as easily as they did when I first crossed the border which can make the game less fun since I was expecting true "close combat - fight to the death warfare." Historically, Soviet resistance increased during the war due to the NKVD (Soviet secret police) shooting any deserting Soviet soldiers.

Okay, beyond all of that the Close Combat series is great and well worth the $ that Amazon charges. I would suggest starting with CCI to get the feel for the game and then play the other two because they are very fun.

Why doesn't anyone like the original?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 21, 2000
Author: Amazon User

All three are great games. Obviously 2 and 3 will be beter than one, but one is as good as the others, gameplay wise. No, the graphics are not great, but not every one has a pentium 3 and 128mb ram to run 2 & 3. 1 runs great on my 200 mHz pentium with 16mb ram. My god, give it some slack. The graphics may be lackluster, but the gameplay is certainly equal to it's predecessors. The only things it doesn't have are the sneak command and multilevel buidings. It is otherwise identical. For me and everyone else who owns an older computer, A bridge too far runs slowly, and the russian front is imposible.

great games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: December 01, 1999
Author: Amazon User

In this box all of the first three games are included...Here are My thoughts...Close Combat 2 has set a new high water mark for real time strategy games.The gameplay is deep and very addictive and just straight forward fun! If you've ever had an interest in wargames you have to add this one to your collection...however I did not care for CC3 the russian front as much mostly because of the accuracy of tanks...You can easily win with a couple tanks...they never miss and the game developers never addressed this issue even after it was released.Close Combat 1 was a great game for its time but does not hold a candle too either of its successors...I would recommend that you buy this package and play CC2 first...and when you finally tire of it(If ever..I'm still playing it} then try CC3 and judge for yourself.But by all means if you call yourself a wargamer then get CC2 A Bridge To Far whether in this 3 for 1 boxed set or seperately

Best war simulation

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: December 08, 1999
Author: Amazon User

The close combat series has always been on top. This box gives all 3 versions. Close combat 3, although similiar to a bridge too far which isn't wrong, is very good. Although version 4 is out (not published by microsoft) I still enjoy multiplaying this game, its really good value.

The best games I have ever played! COOL MODS ON THE WEB

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I can say without any doubts that this is the best seriers of games that I have ever played. Even if the first game in the series is a little awful looking if compared to the others, the three titles make for a very good deal!

The best of the three is undubtly CC3. Make sure to check the TONS OF MOD FILES FOR THIS TITLE.

The Best Strategy Game Ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: December 09, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This game is a must have because it is one of the greatest strategy game ever. You can be from 5 allies including the Americans to the Germans. You can fight in the snow or inside buildings. TO LENINGRAD TO STALINGRAD

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