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Combat Mission
by “Admiral” Nelson Hernandez
Mortars soften up these Landsers
It is engrossing and immersive, and the more so for the obvious effort put into making CM as realistic as possible. In one scenario, I sent a platoon in a dash to take a hill that I had put under heavy bombardment. But I timed it poorly, and the .50 cal HMG I thought I had suppressed opened up on the brave platoon leader inadvertently leading the charge, cutting down his whole section in seconds.
The rest of the platoon, shocked by the death of their commander and coming under fire themselves, broke up and ran back into the woods. A second charge took the hill at great cost, but then a Sherman popped up out of nowhere and slaughtered my disordered, fatigued men. It was a bad day for the Fatherland, but I was consoled by the scenario notes, which assured me that the same thing had happened in real life.
A Panzer IV scores a hit
The above example showed the game’s tactical AI (and my poor strategic intelligence) at work. Morale is important and has several gradations to show the unit’s progress toward breaking. Having a leader nearby is very important, as is the unit’s experience rating. Conscripts and green troops will break and run for cover when they meet serious opposition; veterans are far less brittle.
Crack airborne troops routinely show great courage in the face of long odds. The only problem with the tactical AI I noticed was a tendency for a unit to shift targets a little too easily. Imagine the frustration of having your big 88mm antitank gun swivel from one target to the next without firing a shot. Fortunately this is an infrequent occurrence.
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