by Scott - October 31, 2003

June 21st, 1941
You are a commander on the border between Russia and Poland. On one side is the unprepared Russian Army. On the other, the powerful Wehrmacht poised to strike.
Will you lead the offensive? Or will you defend mother Russia?
The choice is yours. Use the terrain to your advantage, your tanks, your men and more importantly, your wit. In Combat Mission II: Barbarossa To Berlin (CM:BtB)ou are all that stands between victory or death for your men.

Gameplay Header

Wow. Just wow. This is the type of game that you can�t dive in to and expect a victory. There�s a reason why the manual itself is 200 plus pages. It is recommended that yes, you do read it as it provides not only detailed information on how to move your troops, but and understanding of how CM:BtB works. The text within it is not as boring as you�d think, because when you�re getting your ass handed to you on the battlefield, you are definitely going to want to read up on how to properly assert your force around.

Playing CM:BtB is no easy task, but once you get the hang of commands and the idea of how to order your troops, you�ll be on the way to general in no time. However, this is a game like none other. It is not turn based, nor is it considered �real-time�. It�s actually a mix of the two. Coined the �We Go� system, it uses a VCR style replay system along with controls to order your troops. What? Here, I�ll explain.

What kind of battle options do you have available to you? A lot actually. You can choose for a single battle if you're not in the mood for a long haul operation. These battles can range from infantry skirmishes to full blown-out tank battles.

If you want to take on all of Russia or Germany, you can choose Operations. Although not a lot are provided, they are far ranging and can more than enough take up a few hours of your day from battle to battle.

Don't like the battles? You can make your own! You want to have German tanks vs a pitiful Russian infantry force? Go ahead. Want to fight tanks on the steppe? Do it! There are a lot of options to keep this game fresh so that you don't have to rely on the pre-made battles and operations.

Now when you start, you issue orders to your specific units. After you are satisfied with the commands you have given them, you hit �play�. The AI on the other side has also made its moves and goes at the same time, therefore, �We Go�. For the next sixty seconds, you are only able to sit back and watch the action as it plays out. You can change your view, check the status of your units and enemy units (if able), fast forward, rewind, go back, and start and stop. This is a very slow but very involved aspect of the game as you can�t exactly make snap decisions on the move, but it rather gives a tactical feel to the game, as unit experience will take into consideration their surroundings and what is going on the battlefield around them.

Speaking of orders, what can you do in CM:BtB for your units? Well they�re all here guys, buffet style. Depending on the unit, you can move, run, advance, rotate, sneak, withdraw, target, next target�the list can go on and it is complicated to look at when first playing. I will say this again, read the manual as it gives you a detailed description for what type of unit can perform what order.

The units! Oh the units! This is definitely a list to impress you history and war buffs: OVER 300 vehicle and 600 infantry types modeled! I tried counting to see if this was true, but I figured that if I�m counting the different types, I�ve got too much time on my hands, but I take their word on it as each operation and battle I�ve played I see something new that has a certain detail.

Combat is something I�m sure we�re all used to in genres such as this. However unlike some where the number of hits a unit takes to blow up, combat in CM:BtB is something radically different. Since it is a 3-D representation of WWII, you�re going to have specific hits with specific types of ammunition. The detail on the weapon damage model is just something unbelievable.

Armor thickness, the degree of the slope, the distance, type of projectile, even unit morale and training are taken into effect when tanks, guns, and infantry are attacked. �Oh Scott, that sounds wild, do you have proof?� Yes sir I do. I was attacking a village thought to have a Russian tank unit. My force consisted of some recon infantry, a self-propelled gun, and an armored vehicle �Puma� and five Panzer IIIs. My panzer force was well trained and experienced, and made short work of over twenty T-26 two man tanks and the pitiful infantry force that was with it. My losses were just two tanks and the Puma, and of course I was granted total victory. Why such heavy enemy losses? Well for once, T-26�s are not very well armored, and have only two men, a driver and a commander/loader/gunner greatly limits its effectiveness. They were frontline green troops that were obviously using outmoded equipment. Another aspect was that my guns were better, and could penetrate armor easily. See the great thing about this game is that so many factors are put into it that you will always be amazed at what happens, but at the same time understand why it happens. Attacking from higher ground grants greater view of the field, and blowing up tanks caused the surrounding units to panic, seeing that they were in laymen�s terms beaten to a pulp. Just don�t assume you�ll have it easy as your troops can experience the same effects.

What can affect your units? Well horrible weather is one. No one likes walking around in mud or when it�s cold, raining, or snowing. Taking heavy losses, being attacked by artillery, or even being separated from a command unit will cause a unit to break and run or even surrender.
 

The Look of Battle

CM:BtB doesn�t demand much, and therefore isn�t exactly pleasing to the eye. Infantry units are a joke to look at, as they are boxy and sometimes look like they�re running in place. However they get the job done and their style of uniform does change from unit to unit depending on the battle or operation. The infantry weapons likes rifles and machineguns are flat sprites that while detailed accurately, lack any true 3-D look. Don�t be let down though, as it does get better. Tank units are very well detailed, from the treads moving to the main gun recoiling and having the commander peek out and look around.

Maps can be a mixed bag. There are hills that are shown clearly, but you can only really notice them when you�re down to a view that can show it, but when you�re doing the top down bit, it is extremely hard to tell if there is a hill or not. Also as the colors aren�t done too well, it is hard to tell if there is a hill from a unit�s perspective, unless there is a landmark like a tree, bush, or house to tell the elevation.

Scale of the maps range from small to what they call huge, and they�re NOT lying. They can go from a couple kilometers square to up in the double digits. It with huge sizes like this helps you appreciate motorized units and troops.

Explosions, tracers, and smoke is done quite nicely, but could use some sprucing up as you can easily tell they�re sprites. The main job of CM:BtB though is to capture the tactical aspect of the war, and all the graphics here get the duty done and finished, but it would have been nice to see some better 3-D effects like terrain lighting and better unit detail.
 

Ya hear that?

I was exceptionally pleased with the audio department of CM:BtB. During the battle you�ll head ambience of distant battles that make you feel like you�re on the grand front of Russia, slogging and fighting through to reach either Berlin or Moscow.

Now I have personally heard each gun from WWII, but I�ll say, each rifle, pistol, grenade, anti-tank rifle, machine gun, aww heck just about every one of them sound different and close to the real thing.

The great thing also is that all units speak their native tongues. You�ll hear commanders shouting�commands in German, Russian, Polish even! Yes, there are different races fighting for each side, seven to be exact. So brush up on your foreign language and perhaps join in!
 

Too steep?

CM:BtB has a very steep learning curve. As I mentioned before, read the manual, it is your life! You can�t this game like Command and Conquer or even like Close Combat and expect victory!

Luckily CM:BtB will cut you some slack in terms of handicap and force strength. You can have your weapons be more powerful and even more of them against the enemy but sometimes even then that is not enough�.the AI is capable at harder levels.
 

Got friends?

What makes this game great? Well for one there is variety of ways to play it online and against other opponents. You can do it online, which I add can be very boring, as each side will take his/her time to issue order to their units. Another is hotseat, which is where you issue your orders, then get out of the seat and let your buddy issue orders to his troops. Of course, it is suggested you leave the room as to not cheat. Last is email. This is a more in-depth mode of play as you have time to plan out your orders and makes every 60 seconds that comes out all the more exciting.

Summarization

CM:BtB was a very enjoyable game. I myself am a big fan of World War II strategy games and I have to say this one is part of the leading pack.

Once you master the tactics and push through the steep learning curve, the combat becomes extremely pleasing. You'll gain personal experience on the tactics that were necessary back in WWII and a perspective on what it was like.

I highly recommend this game for those who are interested in strategy games, but for those who want the quick action, I do not think CM:BtB will be for you.