G.I. Combat Preview
Veteran wargame developers come together to craft a sophisticated real-time WWII game.
Over the past few years, World War II games have been one of the hottest trends in the industry. More than a few of them have fallen far short of the mark, either through ineptitude or misguided attempts to latch onto something hot. Happily, more than a few have been direct hits, with impacts extending beyond the narrow boundaries of their own genres. We've been treated to Maddox Games' IL-2 Sturmovik, 2015's Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, and Big Time Software's Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord, to name just three of the most notable examples. These were clearly cases where the developers had a real affinity for and knowledge of their subject and crafted their games with loving care. Another developer that seems to fall into that same category is Freedom Games, which consists of ex-TalonSoft and Atomic Games employees. All told, they have 43 years of development experience between them, much of it in wargames. So, it was good news for World War II buffs when G.I. Combat was first announced over a year ago. Originally slated to be published by TalonSoft, this real-time strategy game is now set to be released by Strategy First this May. The game will take you to the beaches of Normandy and beyond, letting you play out tactical battles in 3D.
Ever since G.I. Combat was first announced, there's been more than a little confusion about just what sort of game it is. Is it a wargame? It has the trappings of one, with detailed ballistics and armor penetration models and troop morale states, for example. Then again, it will play out in real time, so is it a real-time strategy game? It certainly doesn't seem to come from the mold of games like Starcraft or Age of Empires.
We recently got to speak with Eric Young, G.I. Combat's executive producer, whose development resume includes the popular Close Combat series, among others. For Young, this talk of RTS or wargame is misguided. He argues that the "strict genre definitions used by the industry are overly simplistic when trying to describe the range of gameplay possibilities that are seldom explored these days." Of course, he's aware of business practicalities, too: "Wargaming is a bad word in the industry because it's traditionally associated with niche, and therefore low volume, games."
Summing up G.I. Combat's style of play, Young emphatically said, "The single most important feature will be the RTS aspect of the game. G.I. Combat is much more than a wargame. In fact, I don't call it a wargame." Then again, Young stresses that historical realism will play a major role in the game, and that the game will also have elements that are somewhat akin to shooters, where you can access first-person views for each soldier. For Young, the ultimate goal is to develop a compelling blend of action and strategy that can appeal to a wide variety of gamers. "You don't have to 'dumb down' a wargame in order to make it mainstream," Young said. "You just have to make it straightforward to play, and not force the detail of simulation on the player. That's the philosophy behind G.I. Combat."
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- Strategy First
- Freedom Games
- Real-Time Wargame
- Release: Nov 4, 2002
- ESRB: Teen
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