Musings on ... Close Combat IV

A German tank rumbles down the street, crushing the snow which covers the road. Two American soldiers peer at it from a window above, and one readies his bazooka. The first rocket misses, skimming the top of the tank, which slowly turns it’s turret to face this new threat. The American swears and they both begin hastily reloading, as a shell crashes into the roof above them. He loads again, and this time the rocket strikes true, igniting the engine and causing the whole crew to bail out. This is Close Combat IV, and it’s brilliant.

Now, this isn’t a new game, but the fact that I still play it so much is testament to how great it is. It’s a top-down strategy game based around the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. It’s also really, really difficult. The game is made up of a strategic map (a little like Risk but smaller scale) followed by a tactical battle if two armies meet. Playing as the Americans, you’re outnumbered, frequently surrounded, low on reinforcements and running out of ammo. You’re in an even worse position if you’re unlucky enough to be facing a German tank division with nothing but a few infantry squads.

But what makes Close Combat great, is the capability for heroics. Despite the miniscule chances involved, there is always the possibility that your recon squad can take out that medium tank that’s dominating the field. There’s a greater chance that they’ll all be cut to ribbons before they even get close, but you never know.

The AI does a passable job of presenting a capable enemy, only occasionally making stupid decisions ending in a whole squad getting killed. They can be slightly reluctant to apply their armour some of the time, but on the whole they’re aggressive and tactical, meaning that you can never stop and rest, you always have to be dealing with one problem or another.

The way the battles work is intriguing as well. If both sides take a battering, they can agree to a cease-fire, which postpones the battle until the next turn. However, when you return, you can set up anywhere on the battlefield that you previously had control over. This means that if you had managed to infiltrate some scouts into enemy territory, you could stick a tank there now. Of course, the enemy can do the same thing, so despite the weirdness involved with this method, it produces much more interesting battles, and often helps to prevent stalemates.

So, all in all, it’s pretty damned great and I heartily recommend that anyone who loves strategy games or is interested in World War Two should pick a copy up. It takes a while to get into, but the little moments of story and brilliance which come from each individual battle makes it worthwile.