The Deal of the Week, part two!

[JudgeDredd]

I helped beta test Flashpoint Germany...but I've forgotten most of what I knew...but I'll try and fill you in

It has tactical nukes
It has chemical weapons
It's squares - not a hex in sight
The maps are beautiful - but what you get in the game is all you've got because they were hand made and very specific to the game
The counters and weapons platforms look cool
There is a "communication" element to it where traffic is monitored and displayed. Although I can't remember how the mechanic works, I do remember thinking it was a cool mechanism. I think it was a bit like the Radio Traffic stuff in Battle of Britain
Sounds are superb...nothing like hearing a Challenger or M1A1 let off a round, or the hissing(? swishing?) sound of a missile leaving the BMPs
Infantry is not modelled individually - though it is factored in

As for gameplay - I had many, many enjoyable hours with it - both in testing and after. From what I recall it was a bit of a one way thing for the allies - Soviets, though numerically superior, didn't have too much of a lookin - but it was fun trying. I never won many battles as the Soviets...and I played plenty of battles.

The battles were intense and fairly quick.

I can't remember if it had multiplayer (I'm sure it did but I never played it MP) and it wasn't very moddable if at all - but that may have changed over the years. I do know you were stuck with the maps it came with...but beautiful maps they were.

Overall - I'd say it was a superb game and imo well worth $20.

[JasonPratt]

Agreed with FP:G nice choice to promote interest in the new FP2 on the way!

[Rayfer]

Posted this to a different thread but moved it here as it seemed more appropriate.
I saw the Matrix sale of the week has Close Combat Modern Tactics for $14.99.....how well does this engine work with modern combat technology?  How's the game overall; a good one?

[Toonces]

I would also like to hear impressions on Close Combat.  I don't own any of them.

[jomni]

I would also like to hear impressions on Close Combat.  I don't own any of them.

Close Combat modern tactics is the worst of the series.  No campaign, very "sandboxy".
Well it is a derivative of CC Marines, a training tool and not a game.

[Cyrano]

Jomni's in no way wrong, but, for the very same reasons he dislikes it, bit love it.

It's the only CC game that let's me play with more than 2 players on a LAN...something my beloved CMx2 has yet to let me do.

Jomni is, however, correct that there's little "there" there if what you're hunting is SP content.

And, to my dear friends at Matrix, while your sales are wonderful things, you are giving me a piquant reminder of just how many of your games I've purchased at retail...not your fault...I blame my own limited ability to control my impulses.

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

[JasonPratt]

I would also like to hear impressions on Close Combat.  I don't own any of them.

The other CC games are quite similar to a top-down continuously played Combat Mission (although CM came later, so any inspiration went that way). Ever since CC2 there has been an overarching strategy level of some sort, with "The Longest Day" essentially remaking CC1 with a strategic overlay. Matrix's versions update the older CC games somewhat with some bug fixes, graphic improvements (within the range and style of the original engine) and more extensive campaign maps.

On a campaign players spend points building up troops in areas and moving them into new areas (sometimes from off map), generating battles at the tactical level which can take 10 to 20 minutes each to resolve. Squads and vehicles can be given some basic orders at any time, but the orders could be muffed due to competency or morale issues, with each soldier's abilities being tracked in-game. (Also sometimes bugs muff orders. ;) The pathfinding for vehicles in urban areas has been improved but in the past was legendarily terrible.) The game uses sprites but tracks individual members of each squad visually, so a squad of twelve guys features twelve guys running or crawling around, with some of them getting lost or scared or whatever.

Despite its problems, it's a classic series of games for good reason, and still has a lively mod population. If you have some interest in the specific operations being simulated (Battle for Stalingrad, Normandy invasion, Market-Garden, Battle of the Bulge), you could do better sometimes (like the Command Ops real-time series, although the CC games are nowhere distantly near being as complex and difficult to play) but you could do a lot worse, too.

[Nefaro]

Will they ever have a decent sale on WITE?

There's no way I'll shuck out $80 for that thing. 

[agathosdaimon]

I have just bought Flashpoint Germany, i was tempted on cc modern tactics, but now i will give it a miss. I would like though to play wacht am rhein and cross of iron in the series.  I played a bridge too far many years ago and enjoyed it but found the campaign too short.

[JasonPratt]

(Just about?) the last thing Matrix did when upgrading the original versions of Close Combat was a new version of A Bridge Too Far; I gather the campaign got some similar levels of loving there.

[steve58]

The theme this week is The Great War...

From the 10th  to the 16th of June, World War One Gold and Guns of August 1914-1918 will be discounted to 19,99$ (Digital/Boxed version) which is a discount of up to 60%! Prices are the same for boxed and digital editions which means you can upgrade to the boxed version for free! This is a great opportunity for every WW1 enthusiast.

[JasonPratt]

I tried hard to convince the Bro to pick up some strategic wargames for his computer, especially since there just aren't any for the Android (some good operational games, but not really good strategic theater games). But I failed. :( (He's trying to keep the kids from playing on the computer all the time, and doesn't think having games on there himself is a good idea to help that. Which is reasonable.)

It's too bad because he was very much interested in the WW1 games, and here the two older ones are on sale. Both are good buys, too.

[Staggerwing]

What's the skinny on Guns of August? The map graphics remind me of those SSG games such as Ardennes Offensive and Across the Dnepr.

[Toonces]

^ +1

[Bison]

There's a potentially really good game somewhere under one of the single worst UI ever developed for a wargame.  I just didn't have the patience after awhile to not only learn the game mechanics but deal with the UI too.