By Eric T. Baker

Close Combat: Invasion Normandy is the fifth of SSI’s award-winning Close Combat games. Setup is done in a turn-based mode as the players put their forces in place. The action becomes real-time as the two sides battle with machine guns, artillery, and tanks. The game recreates the weather, terrain, and forces that contested each battle. Players view the battles from above, but the program obscures the enemy forces with a “fog of war” that is lifted as units are contacted.

Players may fight the Normandy invasion, controlling either side. There are five difficulty settings, and victory conditions are chosen by the player and can be based on morale, time expiration, or capturing objectives. CCIN includes a scenario editor so players can create their own campaigns and battles. When players tire of beating the computer, they can play over the Internet or through a LAN.

A broader World War II simulation is Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord, a computer game from Battle Front for one or two players. CMBO is a turn-based, simultaneous-execution 3D simulation of squad-level WWII tactical warfare. By being in 3D, the game allows for truer line of sight computing, terrain, and weapons trajectories.

The scenarios start at Normandy in 1944 and carry on across Germany through 1945. There is also an editor for making new scenarios. Players may command the Allied or Axis troops. Units are squads, teams, and individual vehicles. Players command forces ranging from a platoon to a reinforced battalion. The game tracks each man and weapon.

The look and play of the game are unique. Players give orders to their units each turn, which are then simultaneously executed for 60 seconds of “real time.” Most scenarios last around 40 turns. For a larger challenge, there are operations scenarios where the players command a force with a single ultimate objective.

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