Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy Review (PC)

good
key review info
  • Game: Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy key art

British paras in buildings, backed by a few well-positioned mortars, are handling incoming German pioneers with relative ease. They have taken some casualties but nothing too concerning, while the opposition has been losing plenty of soldiers as it tries to move through open terrain in front of the buildings.

The problem with this tactical situation is the enemy armor. They don’t have big tanks to push and the village has no streets big enough for a full mechanized assault. But their StuG can deliver long-range fire that directly affects the squads I have sheltering in buildings. If they stay far enough away there’s no way for my own anti-tank teams to take them out.

I shift all fire support to the enemy armor I can see, because panic can be as good as destruction. And then I start to slowly move my forces back into the village, toward the objectives they are supposed to protect. This might make it harder to deal with enemy infantry, who can take over some of the buildings I am vacating, but opens up more opportunities if the tanks approach. Let’s just hope that the Germans don’t have too many reinforcements to throw into the grinder and overwhelm my airborne unit using numbers.

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy is developed by Battlefront and published by Slitherine Ltd. The game is coming to Steam now, after originally launching in 2011. The title takes players to 1944 when the Allied forces land in Normandy to begin the liberation of France.

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy
Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy
Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy
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Initially, the experience was built only around the battles between the United States and Germany between August and September. Expansions have added content and now players can choose from both campaigns and individual scenarios that feature an expanded roster for the already mentioned armies as well as British, Canadian, and Polish units. Market Garden campaigns showcase the famously troubled operation involving Commonwealth troops, while Battle Pack 1 adds another campaign.

There’s a ton of hardware from late World War II to control. Battle for Normandy does offer detailed scenario briefings but players need to look for extra context outside the game. The conflict has been thoroughly explored through video games but there were moments when I had to search for details about weapons systems to get a clear idea of how best to employ them.

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy is a complex strategy game. Even the smallest of the featured battles takes more than half an hour of real-time and frequent pauses are required. Gamers control a range of squads and individual vehicles, each with their range of movement and combat abilities. Sure, most of the time they’ll be in move-or-hunt mode, but solid tactics require careful planning and good decisions.

The action takes place in a three-dimensional environment, a big step forward when the title first launched. This means players can choose the exact floor of a building to park their rifle squad or move a vehicle right up to a wall while pushing infantry over. It makes scouting and good lines of sight even more important than in other World War II strategy games.

Combat Mission models morale, which is why often sowing panic can be more important than killing. The commitment to realism also involves experience, movement paths, weather, light conditions, injuries, and death. The idea is to put players as close as possible to operational command and then give them the space to make decisions and see their impact. Scenario starts are often slow, with a focus on anticipation, with more granular and more impactful choices as the situation evolves.

The complexity level of the scenarios is high enough the players will start off making enough mistakes that the computer will look brilliant in comparison. But many veterans of the series are complaining that it tends to focus on scripted plans and tends to crumble when gamers innovate.

Players craving even more action can launch a Quick Battle, setting their own parameters for the engagement, or can engage in multiplayer, using Play by E-Mail. The game also features an editor and there’s already a solid modding community for it, although it will take work to move its products over to the Steam Workshop.

Battle for Normandy cannot fully escape its age. There’s a lot of content here and some finely crafted battle situations to deal with. The game wants plenty of time to learn its core ideas and even more to master them but will reward fans of the period and the ideas with a lot of good engagements and tense moments.

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy looks like a game that's more than ten years old. It’s more than 10 years old and works in a genre that already doesn’t focus on impressive graphics. It is a good idea to play from a mostly zoomed-out position, focusing more on the tactical picture than on the way an infantry squad looks when in cover behind a wall. The user interface takes time to fully master but offers a powerful way of directing big battles.

The sound design has aged better than the graphics have. The soundtrack is only active in menus and briefings, letting bullets, shells, and grinding serve as the backdrop for the actual engagements. The game offers a sound landscape that underlines the deadly nature of the front and adds to the tactical tension. I love that you can often hear enemies before anyone actually spots them.

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy
Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy
Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy
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The Good

  • Deep strategy mechanics
  • World War II atmosphere
  • Variety of campaigns and scenarios

The Bad

  • Complexity that takes time to learn
  • Dated presentation
  • Requires outside context

Conclusion

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy will not satisfy strategy and World War II fans who are looking for the latest mechanics and the best graphics. But the new Steam package, which includes all the content the game has received over the years, will probably appeal to long-term fans of the franchise. The classic ideas and mechanics are present and accounted for. The game also has a solid modding community that might benefit from the Workshop infrastructure.

Battle for Normandy has benefited from patches, added DLC, and community content, all delivered in the many years since launch. But that’s what also makes it hard to pick up today unless nostalgia plays a role. The current price is also high given its age. Combat Missions, as a series, would benefit from revisiting these battlefields with new ideas and a fresh presentation.

A review key was provided by the publisher  

story 7
gameplay 8
concept 8
graphics 6
audio 7
multiplayer 8
final rating 7
Editor's review
good
 

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy Screenshots (21 Images)

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy key art
Combat Mission: Battle for NormandyCombat Mission: Battle for NormandyCombat Mission: Battle for NormandyCombat Mission: Battle for Normandy
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