Combat Mission: Shock Force – PC – Review

Combat
Mission, titles which are known for their line of top WWII strategy games, has
not only produced a title with a new engine, but has turned the clock forward
into modern-day warfare. The story takes place in the winter of 2008 where
terrorists from all nationalities started making their move into different
countries well before any talk of heightened security. Once they were in
place they kept quiet and waited for their call. Soon tips were pouring in
about suspect baggage and before long there were terror alerts. Now, with the
sleeper cells already in place, security was nearly pointless.

You will be
able to fight with tons of units comprised of machine guns, anti-tank
personnel, mortars, tanks and other vehicles. You will also have the ability
to call in valuable air strikes to soften up targets. The damage modeling is
where the game really excels. Units can take different damage depending on
where they are hit, which adversely effects what the unit will be able to do. For example, if a tank track gets damaged that unit will have a tough time
moving around the battlefield.

Battlefields
are mostly desert landscapes dotted with vegetation and structures. These, too,
will affect line-of-sight and other target-finding abilities. In short, there
are a lot of factors that determine outcomes on the battlefield. This is not
a free-for-all where the most tanks win. Strategy fans will surely appreciate
this attention to detail.

My personal
favorite feature was the ability to play as a turn-based or real-time game. This made learning a difficult game a bit easier. A tutorial is much needed
for new fans. Veterans will surely pick this up in no time despite some new
changes. Visually the game looked damn fine for this style of game. Games of
this genre usually lack the eye candy most titles require to sell copies. Strategy games have usually fallen short here, but I am happy to report that
this game looks good. The sound effects, however, could use a little work but
were realistic enough to immerse you in the game. I liked the voiceovers and
the music.

Regardless of
story and setting this is still a typical warfare strategy title. Sure it has
its differences but we have seen many games like this before. It’s a blast to
play and there is a ton of different attributes that will keep any strategy
buff happy. I would have liked to have seen a better Multiplayer option than what
is found in the current release. I said it before, multiplay is the life and
death of a game … literally.

Gameplay: 7.0
I found that
actually playing the game was a bit tough at first. Sure it gets easier but a
tutorial sure would have been a nice plus. There is a ton of options that can
be overwhelming, but gets easier with time.

Graphics:
8.0
For this
type of genre the graphics looked great. It is no FPS game, by any means, in
terms of jaw dropping graphics, but games like these usually look pretty
dull. When you zoom in on the battlefield, you can see a ton of detail.

Sound: 8.0
Sound
effects were hit and miss but the voices and musical score were as great.

Difficulty: Hard
This one is tough.

Concept:
7.0
Nothing
really new here. Yes, it may be a change from a company that usually produces
WWII games, but I’ve seen plenty of modern warfare games where terrorists are
the main enemy. I did like the ability to either play turn-based or real-time

Multiplayer: N/A
More than
two-player capability is talked about for future modules but currently only
email turn-based play is available at time of review.

Overall:
8.0
Hardcore
strategy fans will surely love this new title. Map creating abilities will
add shelf life.