Rating: 
Summary: Ironically, the name shows where the game fails most.
Review: I loved the series when it debuted - primitive, yeah, but fun nonetheless. CC2 moved the series a step in the right direction - music to the ears of fans of the genre. Fast forward to Invasion Normandy, and it's honestly hard to see what's worth playing anymore.Gameplay: terrible. For a series which prides itself heavily on AI, this game has little, if none. Units will often hold their fire, even if an inferior enemy unit is cleary charging right at them. Line-of-sight problems plague the entire game, with areas of identical elevation and free of obstacles sometimes being impossible to fire at - it's sometimes even impossible to fire at an elevated position, which is otherwise visible. Another thing - unit worth and accuracy. Units such as snipers, mortar teams, etc. are basically useless. You would think a sniper could easily pick off a stationary target, not hidden behind cover, at a distance of 50 metres - not so. Mortars seem to land in random locations, and, even if it graphically appears as though it would have taken out a whole squad, they're left miraculously unharmed. There are many instances where I will have an enemy scout unit surrounded by an entire platoon, and, although the maximum distance will be 30 metres, the enemy will be on an area of no cover (i.e. middle of the road), the nearly one hundred bullets per second raining down on them will fail to hit - and this pathetic little squad will STILL manage to take out enemies while under massive suppression. Not only that, but AT squads are nearly useless as well, since they have a tendency to miss 99% of the time, and the 1% where the round would hit, it will instead land on the other side of the tank - which is physically impossible, since in reality, rockets go in straight lines, and this isn't duplicated properly. The tedious 20-metre engagements between whole platoons for 10 minutes is so ridiculous, I feel like I'm fighting on a battlefield full of Gomer Pyles. Still, passing the game is incredibly simple, ... and, somehow, inferior German forces. I found it hilarious in the invasion scenarios that there wasn't even any gunfire raining down on the beach, and that the Atlantic Wall could easily be climbed by the average person - STRAIGHT OUT CLIMBED. I'm getting pissed off at this game just thinking about it. The last thing I need is to play a game where everyone's aim is about as good as an extra in a Schwartzenegger movie...
Rating: 
Summary: best of series but lacks innovation
Review: i purchase cc4 about 6 months ago and was terribly disappointed witht the product. the new strategic layout of the game was overly simplistic and hampered gameplay. notably you could not modify the groups you were attacking with nor could you attack with more then one group at the same time. cc5 has partially rectified this situation. you can now modify groups however you can still only attack with one group at a time. thus large scale flanking and pincer manuevers are not possible. i believe if they were to incorporate such a feature, along with an option to bring in reinforcement units during a battle, that such a wargame based on the cc model could be the best of all time. as for the game at hand it is definately the best of the series. the terrain maps are varied with new features, such as scalable walls, which make the game much more enjoyable. the ai also seems to be stepped up a bit, however, even when the enemy is put on the elite level, a decent tactician can still take the computer apart. but one cannot expect the ai to be overly challenging in a game with so many possible variables. again a great enhancement to the game would be real time reinforcements during the battle. such an option for the computer would mask certain ai faults by allowing the system to bring in overwhelming force. defending against such onslaughts would be a tactitians dream within the interface of the cc game system. to sum it up if you are a cc fan this game is not to be missed. the stratigic aspect of gameplay is not what it could be however it is on its way. in my opinion the cc interface of gameplay is one of, if not the most, innovative of all time. if they could just take the next step they could create a game like no other. if you happen to know any of the designers on this series pass this on to them.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Planning and Strategy Game
Review: I received Close Combat Invasion Normandy several days ago and I have long anticipated this game. As many of the Amazon.Com reviews state, it is a a fairly complicated piece of software. I've only been playing the battles so far and I haven't tried the campaigns yet (Free time is a precious commodity) but, I am very pleased with the graphics and the battle sounds are excellent. You often hear distant shells and gunfire which gives the player that feeling of imminent danger through the next hedgerow or village. The game is also very versatile and you can play it as a novice or an expert. I don't believe I will master this one overnight!
Rating:
Summary: close combat : normandy
Review: I think that C.C.I.N is great unlike C.C. 1 & 2 This one has better graphics,experiance and fun! i would say anyone who liked C.C. the russian front would like this A+++++ 5 star class!
Rating:
Summary: The best keeps getting better
Review: I wrote a review for CCIV (The battle of the bulge) stating it was the best real time strategy game ever, I have been proven wrong. Normandy has fixed several of the minor bugs in CCIV and the units, graphics, and especially the sounds are much better. The distant artillery, machinegun fire and aircraft sounds really fill in the environment well! The battlefield is very fluid on the strategic level, with multiple levels of deployment options. Not only can you choose your own "big picture" strategy, but you can re-equip your units for the coming fight out of a force pool. Literally allowing "Task force" or "kamphgruppe" structuring to the fight. The AI is relatively easy to beat (but still fun), but I imagine it would challenge a new player. Also, for the experienced player, you can edit the enemy taskforce to make them tougher to challenge yourself. Go head to head against another human and this game is phenomenal! The tanks still have some trouble with path finding, but there aren't near as many so it isn't as big of a deal. The mortar and Naval barrages are awesome and squad level mortars are greatly improved as well. These things are now deadly! In CCIV, artillery strikes were almost useless, even against exposed infantry in a field. Now, you can decimate an enemy squad or two with a well placed artillery strike. The interface is virtually unchanged (a big plus for those of us already familiar with it). I haven't tried the scenario editor yet, but I am looking forward to it. Buy this game! You won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: The BEST Close Combat yet!
Review: I've been an avid fan of the CC series ... I have two copies of CC2 and CC3 and I'll probably get a 2nd of this one, #5. This is the BEST tactical, real-time 2D WWII game out there. The graphics are excellent, the AI is challenging and this game is a lot of fun! The complaints about armor movement AI annoyances are valid, but armor plays a very small role in this game. Be sure to look for the 'mods' out on the 'net for this game and previous CC games. This is a game series that we need to keep alive -- it won't get old like Red Alert did ... I *still* play CC2! ...and you don't need a honking-monster Gigahertz-PC to play these games, either! In fact, the only part of your PC you'd want to make big for these is your monitor, at least 17" at 1024x768. My 19" at 1024x768 is pure pleasure!
Rating:
Summary: HORRIBLE GAME
Review: Let me first tell you that I liked the close combat series. I use that past tense, in that Close Combat was great back in 1997. Back then - it was the only semi-realistic, real time strategy game that didn't dumb itself down to the command and conquer style click fest. Atomic had the chance to improve this series, but essentially did nothing. Bugs that plagued Close Combat back then, still plague it today ( tank movement, crawl of death ). What we have is essentially an unchanged game with new maps. On the internet, Atomic exhibited a very cocky take-it-or-leave it attitude when costumers made comments or suggestions. This is one of the reasons why the series has been going downhill ever since, and why Atomic finally went out of business. The main glaring defect of the series is computer AI. It is laughable, and once you detect the computers pattern - you can beat it every time. The AI code has remained unchanged since 1997 - and it shows. Head to head play is the only solution if you want a skilled opponent. The maps, always a good point still are great to look at. But not much has changed with them either. They are no more functional now than they were then. The strategic element, since it's introduction in Close Combat IV is severly limited. It really adds nothing for the game. For example, you can't have multiple units attack at once, even though you surround the enemy. This isn't how war is really played. If you never played close combat before, give this 4 stars. You will like it, and recognize the faults. After that, it's all down hill. For a truly revolutionary game, try Combat Mission. It's 3D, 10x more realistic, simple interface, and the designers listen and respond to feedback. Best of all, the game is highly modifiable, and support sites are chock full of new and updated graphics. Check it out at battlefront.com This is the future - close combat - RIP.
Rating:
Summary: The Best CC Game Yet!!
Review: This game is the best military strategy game ever. I had the demo and I must of played the same level 50 times. Then I finally saw it in a store then I bought. A really good buy for you strategy game enthusiasts. Go buy it today.
Rating:
Summary: The real deal
Review: This game is truly awesome. One thing I would like to get strait right away is that this game is not world war 2 age of empires. This game is real. If you push your men to hard, they get tired. You have take hold of victory locations to win, not slaughter the other guys. Your men get scared, and sometimes don't follow orders. The move crouched on the ground. In age of empires, they are you. You click them and say "Move there" they do it immidiatly. In this game they are your men. Another thing people think is that this game teaches about world war two. It is not a history lesson. It is a game of strategy. And unlike age of empires, you need a strategy. Features of this game are multiplayer and scenario builder. That's right, you get to make your own battles. You also choose different invasions to play. This game is the best strategy game i've ever played
Rating:
Summary: This is a great game.
Review: This game rocks. I got it for a present about 5 months ago, and i am still playing it. it never gets old. you can even change what troops your oppenent gets if you want to. There are so many battles, i have not played them all yet. i highly recomend this great game. the graphics and gameplay are great. the sound is very realistic. you even here the orders being issued by you or the germans. you can be either side. GREAT GAME!!!
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