Matrix Games - Bombing the Reich. Any good?

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I've been looking for a good, recently developed WWII Bomber Command sim for the PC but the only two I see are Defending the Reich from HPS and Bombing the Reich from Matrix.  Defending the Reich looks a little too dated and only runs in 1024x768.  Bombing the Reich is just a re-release of Talonsoft's old 12 O'Clock High game from the 90s yet they want $70 for it.  Even with the discount that seems to be a pretty steep price for a 20 year old title.  Anyone played it?  Is it worth it?

[Asid]

Hi SDR

I would check the forum over at Matrix...There are a few disgruntled people who are angry at bugs which were never fixed and the state the game is in.

Regards

[DennisS]

I have looked very carefully at this game, over a lengthy period. I have extreme interest in the genre..and wore out my Avalon Hill copy of Luftwaffe.

There is some good gameplay here...but there are some head scratching moments here as well..sufficient to put me off a purchase decision. The advise of reviewing the posts in their forum is pretty solid. I don't believe that there are likely to be additional improvements to the engine..and I also don't think the game is mod-friendly.

[DoctorQuest]

To be fair the Matrix version is actually a merger of TWO older Talonsoft games, namely Battle of Britain and 12 O'clock High. I bought it but have not had much time to play it so I can't speak of any unresolved bugs. I guess I need to head over to the forums....

I really like Defending the Reich. Much more accessible than BB/TOH. If you're going to hold the resolution against it there is nothing I can say. WWII Air War games like this are a niche within a niche. I just don't think you will find a wide selection.

[bobarossa]

I very much enjoyed the original version when it came out in late 90's.  My main complaint is that playing the main campaign took nearly a day (a Saturday at that) to finish one day of game time.  I couldn't find a way to turn off the night bombing campaign (not sure how hard I looked) and that prolonged the battle too much for me.  Have hoped that the modern version would run much faster but the price is still too high (even at 30% off).

[spelk]

Bruce did a Game diary on Eagle Day (worth a read, a few parts)
http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2011/08/29/eagle-day-one-more-time-with-churchills-few/

At the other end of the scale you have The Few
http://thefew.pl/

[jomni]

I'd put this in the category of the other "monster games".  Takes too long to play and is fairly detailed.

[Skoop]

How about getting war in the the west ?  It has a pretty extensive air ops portion now.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Thanks but I'm trying to narrow focus down to just Bomber Command night ops.  Defending the Reich seems to be the closest to what I want in terms of topic matter but the reviews I've read indicate that it's a little too light in content.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I really like Defending the Reich. Much more accessible than BB/TOH. If you're going to hold the resolution against it there is nothing I can say. WWII Air War games like this are a niche within a niche. I just don't think you will find a wide selection.

I read some people commenting the DtR is fast paced.  Is it real/continuous time or turn based?

[DoctorQuest]

I really like Defending the Reich. Much more accessible than BB/TOH. If you're going to hold the resolution against it there is nothing I can say. WWII Air War games like this are a niche within a niche. I just don't think you will find a wide selection.

I read some people commenting the DtR is fast paced.  Is it real/continuous time or turn based?

Some of both. From the manual: "Each game turn represents a week of actual time and is divided into four phases:  planning, combat, recovery, and victory point calculation.  Each game pulse during the execution of the combat phase of the game represents ten minutes."

There is an option that allows the German player to pause the game during combat as defending is when it gets hectic. It is almost two different games depending on which side you play.

[ArizonaTank]

I like the game, and still play it now and then  My review:

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/eagle-day-to-bombing-the-reich-pc-game-review.htm

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I like the game, and still play it now and then  My review:

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/eagle-day-to-bombing-the-reich-pc-game-review.htm

Thanks.  How in-depth does it get into the development of technology.  Does it model stuff like OBOE, H2S, GEE, Naxos, Window, Tinsel, Flensburg, Monica, Himmelbelt, etc?

[jomni]

I really like Defending the Reich. Much more accessible than BB/TOH. If you're going to hold the resolution against it there is nothing I can say. WWII Air War games like this are a niche within a niche. I just don't think you will find a wide selection.

I read some people commenting the DtR is fast paced.  Is it real/continuous time or turn based?

Each day is played out real time.  For attackers, plan the raids for the day, press next turn and watch it happen.  For defenders, react to the raids as they happen.  Do this for 300+ days.  And I don't even usually see any progress in the strategic war.  It takes too slow to have an effect.  But I guess that's realistic. 

It kinda takes a lot of time if you want to micromanage plotting the raids maybe a few hours or so.

[ArizonaTank]

I like the game, and still play it now and then  My review:

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/eagle-day-to-bombing-the-reich-pc-game-review.htm

Thanks.  How in-depth does it get into the development of technology.  Does it model stuff like OBOE, H2S, GEE, Naxos, Window, Tinsel, Flensburg, Monica, Himmelbelt, etc?

Radar, radar jamming and radar detection are all modeled.  There are some night raid scenarios where you play as RAF or Luftwaffe where these become very important.  There are electronic warfare air craft such as the "Wellington RCM" with ELINT and WINDOW, "Halifax RCM" with Mandrel and Airborne Grocer, and US RCM have Piperack.   German nightfighters such as the Ju88 C-6 have FuG 2/2 AC detection radar, and Flensburg radar detectors.  Also, there are jets.

There are two nightfighter scenarios (RAF vs. Luftwaffe) where the electronic war is prominent.

Having said that, one issue I have with the game is that even at 112 pages, the manual does not discuss many of the "advanced" topics of the game.  One of them is how to conduct the electronic war.  The scenario interface mentions that details of electronic warfare are in a readme file, but I haven't found it.  Then there is the aircraft production sub game for the Germans; very complex (fortunately the AI can handle it without player intervention).  The player really has to go to the forums for documentation on these topics.