Combat Mission: Shock Force: Shellshock for You and Friends
Company: Paradox Interactive
Straight from the gnashing teeth of the hardcore war gaming machine that is Combat Mission comes the latest offering, Combat Mission: Shock Force. With a rich and storied tradition already in place with their first three offerings, the Combat Mission franchise is looking forward, or at least up to date, with modern day technology to wage war.
Combat Mission: Shock Force not only gives you command of mechanized combat, but also puts support troops onto the ground to seek out and spot targets. In many of the scenarios, you start off with mechanized tank columns that you meticulously maneuver into place. Avoid, outmaneuver, and neutralize other mechanized units and anti-tank measures. Deploy troops to hold positions and spot trouble. Take on well-armed and entrenched ground forces in order to complete your mission.
Combat Mission: Shock Force has a big legacy to live up to. It promises to have all of the detail and control you would expect from this style of deep scenario gameplay. It looks and plays like a standard RTS on the surface, but this will not be for the faint of heart. It is not a 4X style of RTS. This is a deep sim-like scenario based strategy game that will push all of your strategy buttons in all the right ways.
There are actually several ways to play this game, not only against the CPU but others as well. There is, of course, the standard, real-time gameplay, but there is turn-based and even email play as well. I am actually really excited to give email gameplay a try soon. It is hard to get away with playing an RTS at work, but a turn-based game or an email-based game I would have no problem getting away with. I look forward to getting more time with the polished game as my first taste was an advanced Beta copy. There is a lot of work to do, but they have done so much. Look for this to be a widely discussed game in strategy circles.
-WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications AKA Bryon Lloyd
Overlord Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground