Combat Mission - Barbarossa to Berlin

By Gunner (4 November 2002)
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Ups: Historically accurate; Great gameplay.

Downs: Only available to buy online.

Bottom Line: The ultimate in World War 2 wargaming. Throw away your plastic soldiers, buy a PC and get hold of this game.


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Excellent |
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TO DEVELOP THE ULTIMATE World War 2 game you would have to take into account a number of things. You would need to design a game that incorporated all the varied units in the war and also allow for the wide variety of terrain the war was fought over. You would have to take into account the differing armaments and their effects and also some how portray the technical developments that took place as the war went on. In doing these things, you would above all have to make the game balanced and fun to play. To date only one game has ever achieved this – Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord. The sequel to that great game has just arrived, called Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin. Is it a pretender, or a worthy successor?
To make a sequel to what is one of the most historically accurate games and improve on the original was always going to be a big ask, so it is with much interest that we have been putting this game to the test..
A bit on the original game first. The game engine was based on a system where players battled over 3D terrain using accurate models of WW2 infantry and armored units. The game was broken down into turns where each player (computer or human) sets out the orders for each unit and then there is 1 minute of on field action based on those orders. At this point the computer works out all aspects of the combat down to gun velocity, caliber, armor penetration, target armor and malleability, unit morale etc. You could then replay the action viewed from any angle or zoomed view you wished prior to giving your next set of orders. In effect it was table top wargaming without the arguments, duffel coats and dice throws.
The sequel is a complete game in itself and covers the Eastern Front campaigns of the war. Unlike it's predecessor it is not restricted to the latter parts of the war but covers the period from 1941 through to 1945. This has opened the door to many more units and game possibilities.
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System Requirements:

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Windows 95/98 |
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P500 MHz CPU |
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64 MB RAM |
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1.2 G MB available hard drive space |
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8x CD-ROM |
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Direct3D-compatible 3-D accelerator |

Review System:

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Windows 98 SE |
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Intel Pentium III 700 MHz |
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256 MB RAM |
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48x CD-ROM |
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Nvidia GForce2 64meg |
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Creative Labs Live 5.1 |
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