From: Michael Dew <dew@io.com>
Subject: Close Combat - Review

Close Combat is the best wargame I have played, period.

So, you want more details than that?  Okay, here they are:

The Basics:  Close Combat simulates the American advance from the
Omaha beachhead to the town of St. Lo following the D-Day invasion 
of France in World War 2.  Game scale is individual vehicle/
infantry team (3-6 men), played in real time.  The player commands
various troop types ranging from riflemen to machine-gunners and
mortar teams to Shermans and M-10's in a series of battles against
the Germans in the formidable Norman hedgerow country.

The Good Points:  This is the best combat simulator that I have yet
seen.  I use the term "simulator" because this is more than just a
game; those interested in a simple shoot-em-up should look elsewhere.
Microsoft and Atomic Games have done an excellent job modeling the
psychological response of the WW2 soldier to combat stress, and that
is what sets Close Combat apart from other games of the genre; it
more accurately simulates the role of the combat infantry commander,
and does so better than any other product I have seen.

Coupled with this refreshing psychological model are excellent
graphics and fabulous sound-effects!  Running my sound card through
my stereo system, I was nearly deafened with the chatter of machine
guns, BAR's, rifles, and mortars as heated firefights broke out...it
was exhilarating!

Game controls are neatly presented in attractive, table formats
before and after battles, with the ability to review both sides
performance on a soldier-by-soldier basis.

The Bad Points:  Not a lot, but there are some minor ones.  It is
sometimes easy to get overwhelmed by a sudden quickening of the
pace of battle, but this is only part of the simulation!  The
computer AI, on your side as well as your opponent's, can work to
your advantage as your soldiers will act on their own (perhaps even
better!) in the absence of explicit orders.  A Good Point within a
Bad Point.

There are several elements of combat that are not reflected in this
game that I would have liked to see.  These include off-board
artillery, close air support, differing elevations (it's hard to get
a mental image of storming a hill when everything's at the same
level), and weather.

The last item that I would don't like about the game is its extremely
limited focus.  It very intensely simulates the St. Lo campaign, but
unfortunately, that's all it simulates.  I would really enjoy seeing
Close Combat: Stalingrad, Close Combat: Guadalcanal, and Close Combat:
El Alamein.  Perhaps with the success of the first and the engine
already developed, Microsoft/Atomic will consider such expansions
(Hello, Mr. Gates?).

Bottom Line:  Despite the extremely narrow scope, and the few other
detriments, Close Combat is still by far the best combat simulator I
have played.  No other game that I know of even attempts to model the
human psychological reaction to combat, and adding that element to
the standard strategy game makes for an entirely new challenge to
master.  There are many, many game-hours in this product.  Definitely
a must-buy.

Like I said before:  Close Combat is the best wargame I have played,
period.