Fans of the series can't miss this one. Noobs might as well start at the top, as well.

User Rating: 9 | Close Combat: The Longest Day PC
By hethatis | Review Date:
The Close Combat series is an under-appreciated gem of the strategy genre. Battles take place between platoon or company size forces across a realistic map from an overhead perspective. The hook of the series is a psychological model for the troops, which will force them to act on their own on occasion to do things like flee or do some heroic thing or another. This can be turned off, however, if having troops with initiative is not your thing.

This is a remake of the last entry in the series proper, 2000's Close Combat 5. Matrix Games has been remaking the series, starting with CC3, then an adaptation of CC: Marines called Modern Tactics, then CC4, and finally CC5. This remake is a substantial improvement on the original, with improved AI, pathfinding, weapons data, and a night mode that adds in light management as part of the strategy.

The real fun of the CC series is the modding community, and Matrix Games has been making the series easier to mod with each successive release. The mods are all free for download from sites such as closecombat.org, so consider this game a starting place. The mods are not only such things as new campaigns and nationalities in the game, but also tweaks to the AI or graphics.

As for the negative things to review, there are a few. The graphics have not changed in any appreciable way since CC2 came out in the late 1990s. This is a conscious choice on the part of the developers, to keep the audience as wide as possible. That's not to say they are ugly or do not serve their purpose near perfectly, it's just that they are the same. However, it keeps the system requirements low, so if your computer still runs it will probably run this.

Control and sound are the same as ever as well, not to say that's a bad thing. The sound works well for the game, and the reason that the control hasn't changed is because it doesn't need to.

All these negatives point to the one big negative of the game, and that is that Matrix needs to show some more innovation. They produce great reworkings of the original games, and they are getting progressively better and further from the source material with each go-round. But there hasn't been any substantial change to the core formula for 15 years or so. The introduction of medics or other support units has been a hot topic on the forums, and so has an improvement in graphics.

The good thing about the sameness of the series is that if you like one, you'll like them all.

Other Helpful Reviews for Close Combat: The Longest Day

  • Rating:2

    Old game new expensive price, a scam

    By kzoneoo1 | Review Date: Mar 04, 2010 | PC

    Matrix has a habit of releasing old games with fanfare and charging ridiculous prices as well. They are con artists exceptional! They will take an old old game and add a patch that might only be to make the game work wi... Read Full Review

    1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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