Tactical, Pacific theater, WW2?

[MengJiao]

Don't forget:

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1666/battle-hymn

More cardboard-pushing, but still a fun tactical (if somewhat linear) game.

  And this (about which I know nothing):

http://www.multimanpublishing.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=AezBx7yHCgE%3d&tabid=59

[JasonPratt]

And finally...I THINK there was a Pac War mod for one of the Close Combat games, but it probably isn't going to give you the unique tactical experiece you might be looking for (ie: banzai charges, tunnels, naval support, etc)

I seem to recall these (and all kinds of obscure land warefare troops like bicycle support which was absolutely crucial for the Japanese) being in the Pacific Theater side of JT's Campaign series -- although as noted above they aren't quite down to squad level.

[JasonPratt]

Men of War: Assault Squad has a Pacific Theater mapset and armies. You can fight battles as Japanese, US or Common Wealth.  The OOBs are very detailed and specifically tailored as to nationality.  I love MoW: AS, but it is fast paced real-time combat, so caveat emptor.

Didn't the makers of the Codename: Panzer series of games eventually do a Pacific Theater, too?

(I know Code:Panz was only two games, by title, but the devs kept upgrading and remaking with new titles and mission areas forever it seemed.)

[bob48]

I can't get Steel Panthers to fire up on my Win 8 rig (though a solution was suggested - my fault for not looking into it yet).

However, IIRC Marix's General's Edition has a solid campaign set in the Pacific. Plus there are likely a lot of fan-made scenarios out there.

Steel Panthers was the one that I thought of, but I can't get the old free version to load anymore. Not only was there a load of Pac scenarios but you also had the scenario / campaign generator as well. I seem to remember there was a good Iwo Jima scenario.

[Grimnirsson]

Don't forget:

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1666/battle-hymn

More cardboard-pushing, but still a fun tactical (if somewhat linear) game.

Yeah, have this sitting here on the shelf. Played Ambush many many years ago, great system!

[Dolan50]

Try looking in Combat Mission Normandy Maps and Mods folder.
I think a guy named LLF did a Makin Atoll mod for this series.

I haven't played CM in awhile since I discovered the Graviteam series,but I'm pretty sure LLF completed the mod before I lost interest in CM.
It's probably in the mod folder somewhere.

Graviteam plans on releasing a tactical DLC for its new Mius Front game sometime in the future featuring the Japanese,but it will be about the Nomonhan battle in Manchuria 1939.No Americans though-Russians vs Japanese.

[Gusington]

I've been meaning to pick up Men of War: Assault Squad just to play as the Japanese.

[vyshka]

I can't get Steel Panthers to fire up on my Win 8 rig (though a solution was suggested - my fault for not looking into it yet).

However, IIRC Marix's General's Edition has a solid campaign set in the Pacific. Plus there are likely a lot of fan-made scenarios out there.

Steel Panthers was the one that I thought of, but I can't get the old free version to load anymore. Not only was there a load of Pac scenarios but you also had the scenario / campaign generator as well. I seem to remember there was a good Iwo Jima scenario.

One thing that can work for Steel Panthers is that it can run inside a virtual machine running Windows XP. I did this last night. The downside is that it ends up being a little window the size of the resolution that steel panther runs at in fullscreen mode.

Running on a 1680x1050 monitor in Windows 8 (click for full size image):

[Staggerwing]

What if you hook up a 2nd monitor at 800x600 or whatever in extended desktop mode and fling that windowed SP session over to it?

[vyshka]

What if you hook up a 2nd monitor at 800x600 or whatever in extended desktop mode and fling that windowed SP session over to it?

It is already a second monitor (1st is 1920x1080), so I guess I will see how that looks tonight if I run that monitor at a lower resolution.

Edit:

I swapped out the 2nd monitor for a Phillips monitor I have that will scale lower resolutions to fill the screen. The lowest I could set it was 1024x768, but here is the result of running Steel Panthers in the vm, with it expanded to full screen. The taskbar at the bottom and objectdock at the top aren't visible when the vm is selected. Vmware's vmplayer is free for personal use, so all you would need is windows XP laying around.

[bob48]

Seeing that soooo makes me want to play it again.

[BanzaiCat]

I've seen it as a free download in several places, but not sure if that's legit. If it is, anyone have a recommended source?

I never played Steel Panthers, but the mechanics look a LOT like a Pacific-based game I loved that had a lot of carrier combat in it...

[bob48]

I think, somewhere, I have the old Matrix free version saved on CD - I shall have to have a dig around.

There is always the Camo Workshop WIN version as well, which is still a free download.

[Staggerwing]

There are two different versions of WinSP out, one hosted by Matrix and one from Shrapnel Games (where you can also opt to purchase the higher-res version) Shrapnel also has the modern combat version, SPMBT.

Matrix SPW@W version: http://www.matrixgames.com/products/297/downloads/ (both full v.8.20 free game as well as updates listed on right)

Shrapnel SPWW2 version: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Camo_Workshop/WW2/WW2_page.html (free d/l button in upper middle right panel/frame/whatever it's called...)

Shrapnel SPMBT version (get your Cold War jones fixed!): http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Camo_Workshop/MBT/MBT_page.html (D/L button also hiding in middle right frame)

EDIT: (removing erroneous MP info)

[bob48]

http://linetap.com/www/drg/SPCamo-2.htm