Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

I have played this series on and off since the original Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord released in 2000. Its technical pros and cons are well-documented at this point so this post will focus on what I think different groups of consumers should consider before buying.

Wargamers: Buy a title covering a period of interest to you and give it a try. The only other series in this class is Graviteam (which I have also reviewed). As a wargamer you are used to paying a lot for games and also getting many hundreds of hours of play out of them. Graphics probably aren't a huge deal for you if the representation of tactical combat is solid (it is very solid here). Only real issue: the Combat Mission series is micro-intensive. Probably not a huge deal if you are used to shuffling counters but it can get tedious in larger scenarios. There are some irksome issues with certain mechanics (e.g. "occupy" objectives require you to root every last enemy soldier out of the objective as opposed to changing position based on weighted strength of the forces present in the zone). The engine would really benefit from a refresh that addresses some of these issues. A system for issuing formation orders to ease some of the micro would also be very welcome.

RTS Gamers: This is a wargame and not a military-themed RTS. The game is designed to simulate combat at the tactical level. Balance and fairness are not considerations. Combat resolution is based on weapons capability and the physics model, not a damage vs. hit point calculation. Example: if you roll a Panther tank toward a 57mm AT gun, that gun is probably not going to penetrate the Panther's frontal armor. It CAN and WILL one-shot the tank's thin side armor at range if you give it a chance. Even from the front, a lucky shot might disable the gun, or even hit the turret's "shot trap," deflecting down through the weak top armor and disabling the tank. Run heavy vehicles through mud and they can bog down and become immobilized far from contact with the enemy. Also, you are limited to the OOB and reinforcement schedule built into each scenario. There are no base-building, resource management, or deck-building mechanics. Wreck your combat power in a reckless, poorly conceived attack and that's it. You lose. If you're still on the fence after reading this, maybe pick up a title that interests you on sale. I can almost guarantee you will be frustrated with your first few battles. The combat modeling will seem extremely unforgiving.

Casual Strategy Gamers: If you have made it this far, either try a demo before buying or only buy on sale. You will face a steep learning curve. Maybe you will catch the wargaming bug, but there are cheaper and easier ways to figure out whether you enjoy wargaming (check out The Troop, Second Front, etc.).

General Gaming Audience: Probably not for you. Again, if you're interested in trying this kind of game, there are other titles that provide a better entry point.

A hardcore war sim really shouldn't be this much fun. The minute-long WeGo turn-based mode is a thing of genius, allowing you to enjoy the chaos at your leisure. With a bit of modding and a ReShade, you even start to convince yourself it actually looks quite good.
I'm sure it's somewhat flawed and it's expensive, and the devs don't update it enough - all issues that if you've been playing it for 20 years have probably become major irritants, but coming to it fresh, I say again - it's actually fun.
Yes, you'll have to read the manual (although there are some excellent content creators out there who can help ease you into the mechanics), but whilst most games these days merely induce low-level rage, this one somehow manages to make me laugh out loud on a regular basis.

This is a company/battalion-level combat simulator, where you mostly operate on the platoon leader level, i.e., your unit of operation is a team/squad. It plays very nice on a small scale, i.e., a (reinforced) company, but becomes tedious when the number of units grows to a battalion level. In that case, try playing it as individual squad mini-games and give yourself a rest after a couple of hours. It plays very slowly, a game hour of commanding a company normally takes eight hours of real time.

Pros:
- A combat simulator in which real-world tactics works ... as it should in real world, i.e., not always :)
- The interface is very intuitive and simple (compared to other games in this niche).
- The level of detail, look and feel of the game, everything is polished and nice.

Cons:
- Too much micro-management. But this is what I like this game for. Just give yourself a rest, when you tire of it.
- Because of a grid-based map you can't put waypoints anywehere your like, which doesn't play nice in a city combat.
- No UI for your battle order. You have to find all your units (and remember them). I sometimes write down them on a piece of paper. As a result, it is very easy to forget giving orders to a unit or a whole company. In other words, no tools for unit management.

“Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”
- James Mattis
This game, no, this warfare simulator is achieving perfection if you can go beyond the aging graphics.
This simulator is so perfect that the battlefield conditions will make you have to change your tactics.
Is the terrain too damp for a tank to pass there? is it too windy for my snipers to take a shot a 300m? brightness of the battlefield, etc...
Caliber used, weapon system against type of unit.
The spotting system alone is insane, depending on the distance, the veterancy of the unit AND VETERANCY OF ENEMY SQUAD, the TOOLS used, the brightness, the tiredness of your unit and is there a way for them to actually communicate information to others squad? via voice or radio. Is the enemy squad running, crawling, immobile. A soldier can see an enemy soldier and engage it but maybe the squad 100m away cannot since they have no way to know where he is and cannot communicate with the spotter. its perfect!
So the game basically play like that : You tell your guys to do this and that, capture, shoot there... you know how it work... then you press play, your unit will then try their very best for a full minute to do what you told them with absolutely no way for you to stop the carnage, you have to live with your fumble for the rest of the battle! if you didnt spot the MG42 on the treeline and your whole squad get fucked, its on you... but you soldiers are not totally retarded! under heavy fire, they will get down, try to sneak away, run away from the firing line try their best a returning fire (there is a stress gauge for each unit that will help make them either good or bad a shooting at targets). But the enemy will do the same, they will play on the same rules as you, sometimes you will see them slowly crawl right in front of your perfectly placed Browning and you will see them getting melted like ice cream under the sun! its beautiful. bring tears to my eyes.
So the game is Semi turn base, they call it WEGO i think, like you place your moves, they place their moves and when you press play everything unfold at the same time for both parties.
9.8/10
Oh yeah, if your squads get into a CQB (20m radius) they will automatically start to toss grenades at each other making the engagement swift and deadly. Just learned that like now...

If you like playing with army men, then this is your game. It might be outdated, graphics-wise, but it's game play is decidedly not.

Of the hundreds of games I own, this is my all time favorite game. You can't beat CM for WWII tactical battle modeling. I have been playing this game and the other CM titles for well over 10 years now. The game play in CM games is so fascinating and mesmerizing, you will overlook the dated graphics. I just recently transferred all of my Battlefront licenses to Matrix at no charge and reloaded them on steam. Glad to see that Matrix bought the franchise and will be continuing development.

This game is not for everyone, and the price is... buy it on sale.
Did you play Close Combat? Do you like intricate tactical combat sims?
This is the series. Maybe not THIS game, pick which ever from the series suites your era/theater.
Game works, there's a few snags, but it works. There's nothing else that does what this does. If there is let me know cause I like it.