Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa Review

In the begining there was the much liked Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris followed by the highly praised Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue and at the same time Vic the main man at VR designs was developing the much loved Advanced Tactics. So far his games had all been very well received especially Advanced Tactics and the later Gold version which soon gathered a large fan base and modding community. Then we waited....

First we found out a new face was developing the next Decisive Campaigns game, a soon to be heralded innovative genius, a man called Cameron. Cameron was going to be the man behind VR Designs immersive masterpiece. However before we fully understood what was coming our way Cameron drip fed us game development updates. First we found out it would be at a slightly higher scale than the two previous games, which I must admit was a little disappointing for this lover of the lower scale wargame, and next we found out its name and the period the game would cover, it's name Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa the period, well, erm, Barbarossa, which was the name the Germans gave to the first phase of their invasion of Russia during WW2.So pretty standard fair so far wouldn't you say?  Well carry on reading....

Once the basic game info had been announced then development updates started to get more and more interesting. Slowly, agonisingly slowly each update brought us more and more information on the games new features. Features that where way more than just interesting, they where fascinating to those who started to take note on what was being developed. I was one of those who linked many times to the updates across the forums trying to get the word out. You see Cameron was trying to overcome something that I've found has been the main reason why I have struggled to enjoy wargames above say Coy scale. That something is  'Immersion'. He was developing  what I can only describe as a roleplaying element that was not just some gimmicky way to add immersion but would actually have an impact upon that  wargame itself. Here was a developer finally willing to take a risk and do something new, something innovative. Innovation has been a very rare thing in wargame development and is something I've been crying out for for awhile.

You can either take the role of a member of the German High Command or if playing as the Russians Stalin himself where you not only have to do the usual hex based wargame thing of moving your divisions in sweeping encirclements or constantly having to manage your depleted divisions as you desperately try to plug the gaps and stem the enemies advance, but you also have to manage relationships with other high ranking commanders, plus deal with all kinds decisions that  could have an affect, either positive or negative, on how successful you will be in completing your objectives. Well if all this held together it was going to be awesome, if not it would no only be bad news for VR Designs but could also put others off from trying something new and innovative themselves.

Well the game was released to an expectant crowd and boy we weren't disappointed. The way you have to deal with the chain of command by managing those important relationships plus make important far reaching strategic decisions turned what would have been a very good traditional hex based wargame into a tour de force. As soon as you start the campaign you can see that this is something different to other wargames you've played. First off there is an option asking if you want to stay within the Geneva Convention. The lets say you decide to play as the Germans, straight away you have to decide whether to go along with Hitlers plans or suggest alternatives. Soon other decisions have to be made, for example whether your going to join the "Party" or not. You'll be asked to make tough choices on things ranging from giving out a unit commendation or sorting out propaganda photo shoot to logistical decisions like worker allocations for the rail way conversions or tyre replacement priorities for Army transports. All these things require political points, or PP as they are called, and if your not careful you'll soon find you have no points left to make certain major decisions which most likely will result in a bad outcome. So even this aspect has to be thought about very carefully. Do you spend points on that tyre decision or leave it to others  in case you need those points for something more vital later? Then you have the tried and tested wargame mechanics from the two previous games. With the brilliant card driven mechanics and excellent simultaneous turn resolution. Each turn has extensive staff officer reports to go through which never become a chore and again show huge amount of detail that's gone into the game. The integration between the wargame and the new roleplay decisions making features coupled with the excellent staff officer reports and briefings creates a fantastic, exciting, immersive and  all round bloody marvellous wargame experience.

Now there are plenty of reviews of the game across the internet that show that Cameron achieved what he set out to do, not just well, but extremely well. The game has received the highest plaudits across the internet including several awards one of which was Grogheads "Digital Wargames of the Year".  There have been some minor bumps in the road along the way. Some say the map isn't particularly attractive. Others  found playing the Germans and trying to get anywhere near an historical result let alone any better to be extremely difficult. However, overall in my opinion, there is no better wargame out there at this scale. Yes there are games that cover so much more than just a small period of time during WW2 but they can't compete when it comes to immersion which DC : Barbarossa has through it's clever role play features and coupled with a great hex based wargame then you have some very happy wargamers.

At last DC: Barbarossa has been released on Steam and with this release also comes a new update packed full of improvements and new features. First off we have a new map which is an improvement of the previous one (though I still prefer a modded one you can download here). Also new counter art for those who like that sort of thing. Another great little feature is a War Diary where at the start of a game a division of yours is chosen and you'll get to read a War Diary written by a solider in that division which he updates as fighting continues. The poor chap may even get killed! This is just typical of the effort Cameron has gone to create an immersive high scale wargame.

So if you haven't already got this triumph installed proudly on your hard drive then what are you waiting for?? Go buy it!!

Jason


Game: Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa
Developer: VR Designs
Publisher: Slitherine\Matrix games
Steam Release Date:29\04\2016
Review Date: 03\05\2016

 



Hello and welcome to all!

 

 

Just a quick heads up on recent changes to both the blog and the Facebook page. Over time the Facebook page has widened it's coverage to far more than just tactical wargames (though have no doubt, we still love tactical wargames) and now with the Blog and the many varied things I want to be able to cover the name Tactical Wargames just didn't fit any more. It really didn't represent either the Facebook page or the blog and I think could give out the wrong message. So I've taken the big step to change the name of both the FB page and the Blog. After a lot of thought and a waste paper basket full of scribbled out names I've settled on  'A Wargamers Needful Things'. I'm sure many of you will see where I got the inspiration from. For those who don't know there is a Stephen King book called Needful Things about a shop that opens and every customer finds something they just can't live without, however to be able to acquire said item they have to commit all sorts of atrocious crimes! Obviously I'm not wanting you all to go on a crime spree and feature on Most Wanted, but as I want to cover as many things your average wargamer, i.e yourself likes or is interested in I thought it was an apt fit.

 

 

Also we have a couple of new headings on the Blog. First is 'Intel' which will be a place where you'll find articles of interest covering a wide range of topics. We also have 'Incoming' which is where I will keep you all informed of what's coming up sometime in the nearish future:)

 

I'd also like to thank my previous team members for all the help they've given me during their time with TW but as we all know times move on, so I'm currently getting a new team together for the new name A Wargamers Needful Things who I'll introduce to you soon on the 'GHQ' page.

 

 

One last thing, as the Blog is in it's infancy please stick with us while we iron out any kinks. A new header needs to be designed for starters! Go to the Facebook page to enter a competition where you can win £25 Steam voucher for a winning header design for the blog!

 

Thanks for reading

 

Yours

 

Jason

 

P.S I do hope you all like the new name! Also please pass the message on that the blog has a new website address!

 

 

 

 

 

Bil Hardenberger is doing a series called "Bils Vignettes". I think the best thing to do is for you to have a read. I can't wait for further installments.


So click the link below to take you to the first installment.

Bils First Vignette

CMBF game website

Combat Leader AAR

Combat Leader is a wargame designed and published by Minden Games. The scale is individual soldiers, which is pretty rare and a scale I love. It's had several expansions including a solo expansion rule set which works really well. So far the game is set on the East front WWII, though there is an expansion that covers the Winter War.

I currently have all the expansions except the Volksturm one and the Winter War one. The game is highly recommended.

Art Bennett is the man behind this AAR, Tactical Wargames hope this isn't the last AAR we receive from him. Anyway, a big thank you Art!

So click the AAR link below, I hope you enjoy it!

Combat Leader - AAR

Game website link

I will start this review by telling you the hard truth : Battlefleet Gothic : Armada (BG:A) is a game that makes me feel ambivalent.

Now you may ask yourself, or for that matter, me, why I am sitting here with my mixed feelings. So let me start at the beginning.

The first time I saw the announcement about BG:A, I was ecstatic. My mind started to go crazy, dreaming of the release day when I would be able to command my fleet of Imperium Cruisers and cleanse the universe from the filthy Chaos !
And, as soon as I could, I pre-ordered the game to get into the Beta and start enjoying this game.

My initial feelings when I first delved into the game was of shear excitement. I can still remember how great it felt when I got a look at my first fleet, to play through the small campaign introduction and to play my first skirmish game against the AI.

And, with some reserve, I am still enjoying BG:A. So, what happened down the road...
Why can't I make my recommendation for this game to all players out there?
I will try to answer by the end of this review.
First, let me introduce you to the game as it is and what you will get when you purchase it.

What do you get?
Battlefleet gothic is a Real Time Strategy game (RTS) set in the Warhammer 40K universe. The game offers you many game modes that make it really attractive:
- A campaign
- 4 different races: Imperium; Chaos; Ork; Eldar
- Fleet management
- A multiplayer mode with a cooperative option and with a persistent fleet.
- A skirmish mode without a persistent fleet.

• The Campaign

I won't go into any great detail about the campaign. Why? Well, because I do believe this game was essentially developed to be a multiplayer game. The campaign is there, it is enjoyable, it really is. It has a great story IMHO and you can feel the love the devs have for the W40K universe. But, it in my opinion it's not the core of  game, though I'd loved to be able to play it in a co op mode however that's not possible. The campaign wasn't the part of the game where I spent most of my time. It was useful in that the first few campaign missions are actually the games tutorial. So I suggest you do play the campaign or if your like me and really want the multiplayer play part of the campaign as this is where you'll start to get to grips with the fundamentals of Gothics gameplay. Playing at least the start of the campign is obviously  a big help  for those who want to delve into the mulitplayer, the mode I was really interested in.

• The Races

The game has four races: Imperium; Chaos; Ork; and the Eldars. Each of those races have their own design and lore. Of course, the capacities and competence of your captain and crew will be different from one race to the other.

This is one of the positive elements of the game. You can play any of the factions and each one will require a different approach in terms of tactics etc, which means you'll have to re-evaluate how you approach the game if you want any success with the particular faction. This also then helps the games replayability. From the huge Ork cruiser that will try to ram any ships in sight to the Imperium and their boarding tactics. The truth is that the game races offer enough difference of gameplay for you to find yours of choice.

• The Fleet management

Every time you play a game, you will earn some experience that you will be able to use to buy more ships in your fleet, plus you will be able to upgrade your ship systems, weapons, perks, and crew. There is a little bit of disappointment here. Some of the competence you can add to your ships are really nice and necessary, such as sending bombs away or improving your armor or gunpoint cannons.

But I felt like it was pretty hard to understand how some of the crew perks really work.

• The multiplayer

As I said before, this game was clearly designed to make multiplayer the core of the game. Unfortunately, the game is still suffering from some early matchmaking issues. And, it is not very rare you will end up fighting against an Admiral with a full fleet of ships under his command, while you will only be spawning with one or two of your ships, since they are under repair at the dock after a previous defeat.
The multiplayer lobby should be better at calculating the 'real' number of allocated points to spend for deploying both sides. At least it should do it based on the ship's availability of the weakest.
One of the things though I would love to see in this game, and that is missing at the moment, is a Coop Vs AI with persistent fleet management.
While multiplayer will appeal to a lot of players, the truth is that a lot of people also enjoy Campaign mode in Coop, and there is a demand already for a skirmish mode in a coop mode.

You are the Admiral, so...

So how is the gameplay you ask? Well, here is the thing about my ambivalence.

At first, the game starts easily enough. A couple of ships, max three, and a few competencies for the ships. Not much to do. You setup the max/min range of your engagement, and then you go on with the mission.
The combats are incredibly beautiful. The ship models are just perfectly rendered and the effects and sounds are just immersive.

On paper, the game is an RTS, so you will select your ship, their destination, and then the crew will try to follow the rule of engagement you have predefined (distance, what cannon to use, the port side or starboard, ships, and systems to target in priority, etc.).

What is very important to remember, though, is that when you play, right-clicking your target to attack is pretty useless. As I said previously, you'll set the rules of engagement, click on a sector where you ship will travel and then you will have to trust them to act. The fact that you can select an enemy ship and define it as a priority target, together with subsystems such as the drives, armor, bridge, weapons etc, makes you learn very quickly to trust your Captains and their decisions in combat.
Of course, while your ships have been sent to an area, you can always change those orders.

I do believe the intent of the developer was to make the player really feel like a fleet Admiral.
And that is what may be a little bit misunderstood for RTS veterans or people expecting combat gameplay such as in a game like "Nexus:The Jupiter incident" or "Homeworld".

... act like one!
Your role will be to activate competencies/skill for the ships to attack, send boarding parties, buff your ships or counter the enemy. And, of course, to set the course, as previously said, and to withdraw from the battle if necessary.
The captains and their crew will do the rest.  They will keep firing at the closest enemy ship or upon the ships you have selected as a priority target.
This is a very nice setup IMHO. It reminds me of this Sci-fi book I read not so long ago, Ark Royal from Christopher Nuttall.  The Admiral, still sits in the CIC, but he will not take over the captain role. He will decide on the global tactics, but ultimately the crew and the ship is the captain's responsibility.
Battlefleet Gothic really does a good job of detaching you from the feeling that you are a Captain. You are the admiral, and for this very specific reason, you should be the one in control of the global decisions, not the close decisions.

Don't let this become a click-fest! Use your spacebar!

Because it is an RTS, and the way you play BG:A is not common to another RTS, the moment the fleets engage can just be overwhelming. There will suddenly be a lot to click and to remember during the course of the combat.

When you have up to 6 or 7 ships to manage and that many number of skills per ship, you will understand how confusing and stressful the situation can become.

Remembering in time what cooldown you had been triggering earlier and keeping an eye on each ship status and competence bar can become horrendous...

That is why the game has a great feature implemented: the time compression.

Press the spacebar on your keyboard and the game will suddenly compress time and everything will slow down and allow you to review the situation and to send new orders to your ships' captains.

Sometimes  I have played an entire scenario just in that mode.

"Did I do that!? How did I win/lose?"

That is the main thing you will ask yourself while playing this game.

Somehow, you really never know for sure if any of your action have been influencing the course of the battle.

You can see there is a lot of things happening, but at the end of the battle, your look at the victory/defeat screen and the feeling is mitigated.

The game makes you click skills, send torpedo, remove rogue captain from command, buff your ships, send them there and here...

But when the battle ends, you will ask yourself if you did play well or what you could have done better.

You will wonder if the extra armor on your ship did the difference for your survival. Or was it the boarding party you send out ...

It is difficult to know if any of your actions were decisive.

The game is not really good at explaining your doings and what is the best tactic for you to win.

Even the ship customization can be pretty difficult to grasp. All along I am really wondering if crew competencies are really useful. For sure adding ship system is a must... but I couldn't grasp the utility of the crew experience...

My verdict 
Battlefleet Gothic : Armada   is a good game, well made, and extremely polished.
I do like it...

But I must warn you:  the game is tough .
The learning curve can really be steep for newcomers.

As I said earlier it is not for everyone but it will please the 40k license fans, the people who like multiplayer competitive PvP, fast RTS, and who are ready to accept inevitable defeat.

The game will not explain all your gameplay options at first. You will have to learn and to be defeated in several ways before you understand all the feature the game offers you.

Recommendation for the other players who like to think about their action and take time building up their tactics, I will advise to look at the WEGO game Star Hammer The Vanguard Prophecy, another space fleet combat game.

Developer: Tindalos Interactive
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Official Game website: http://www.battlefleetgothic-armada.com/
Available on: STEAM 

Combat Mission and me, a love story?

What is Combat Mission ? A WEGO/Real-time tactical masterpiece.

Combat Mission (in one form or another) and I go back a long way,  back to when Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord was the new kid on the block. A time when us wargamers looked on in awe at this tactical masterpiece, a true game-changer had just announced itself, and we rejoiced. I remember like it was yesterday, picking up the box at Game in Liverpool...aaahh good times.

Then suddenly, (well it felt like a little time between CMBO and CMBB) Battlefront released a magnum opus. Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin or CMBB is it came to be known. No tactical wargame before or since has contained anywhere near the amount of content the new CM game had. The whole of the East Front from start to finish, including minor nations. Pure bliss. Plus, it kept all of the features that made CMBO  good like WEGO and Combat Mission's innovative new way of doing turns. Out went the old IGOUGO way of doing turns that had carried over from board wargames. Now, we still had turns that took one minute of game time, but your moves played out simultaneously with the enemy’s, as you had previously plotted your moves and then, when finished, you watched the action unfold. This also added loads of tension and excitement to the game. 

Additionally, being able to rewind the turn as often as you liked, meant you never missed any of the action. So CMBB gathered a huge following and multitudes of Mod support. Later, a game set in Africa\Italy was released. This would be the CMx1 swan song.  Battlefront had bigger more ambitious plans, esp. as technology had moved far along enough for their dreams to be realised (I still remember reading in the CMBB manual on how they'd love to have done visual 1v1 representation). So, what was it that Battlefront had planned for CMx2, what changes would we see, and how will it be received by the now dedicated and hardcore CMBB fans?

There was a before and an after Combat Mission Shock Force

Well, as well documented, things didn't turn out to well when Battlefront released Combat Mission Shock Force. A game set, at the time, in a fictional war-torn Syria (a rather sad prediction of future events). Finally, we had 1v1 soldier representation, but in an unforeseen move, they'd gone with a focus on real-time, relegating WEGO, which, for me, was a seriously wrong move. All interest in the game evaporated and those who enjoy real-time found the game had some serious issues. The outcry was loud and long-and Battlefront listened. WEGO came back gaining its rightful place as a major feature, bugs were hunted down, gameplay was improved, new features added and eventually three superb modules were released: Marines, British Forces, and finally NATO.

I watched a gameplay video that was made for a competition, liked what I saw, so I then bought CMSF several months after release, when WEGO was back and it was playing well. I also bought the Marines module, as that had just been released. However, it wasn't really until the British Forces module came out that I really fell for the game. For me, that module made CMSF and, from then on, I'd be buying as many CMx2 releases as I could afford and, like many others, started the long wait for the WW2 version to be released. One thing that really benefited the WW2 version was CMSF being released first, with all its teething troubles, so by the time the WW2 version was being developed, it had benefited greatly from all the work done during the course of CMSF and its modules. Even today there is a hardcore group that still haven't gotten over the move from CMx1 to CMx2.

Since the release of CMSF and its modules, we have had the CMx2 engine cover the Western front from the invasion of Normandy until Arnhem, two releases covering  Italy, an East Front release covering '44, another modern era game covering a fictional conflict in the Ukraine (what is it with Battlefront predicting conflicts?), and finally, a third party release covering the Russian conflict in Afghanistan.

Combat Mission Final Blitzkrieg has a multiplayer mode,  4 campaigns, plenty of scenarios and a skirmish mode.
The latest release is Combat Mission Final Blitzkrieg, carrying on from where Combat Mission Beyond Normandy and its Market Garden module finished off. CMFB takes us up to the end of what would be the German’s final large-scale attack in the West, which the Germans called Wacht am Rhein, which later became known as The Battle of the Bulge. It also includes scenarios set in the terrible meat grinder that was the Huertgen Forest, a battle that  wouldn't have looked out of place to a soldier from a generation before. There are also scenarios set during Operation Nordwind, a battle featuring the German 6th SS Mountain Division. Altogether, there are four campaigns which include one training campaign and 25 scenarios. There is also the Quick Battle feature, which I profess to never use, as I only play against the included AI (plus, the Quick Battles really aren't suited to this and are more for multiplayer use). The reason why quick battles aren't suited to single player is that the TAC AI is scripted, which means it doesn't really work that well in Quick Battles. This is one of the downsides of the engine, and a real bug bear for some. That's not to say the Tac AI is useless, when it comes to the scenarios and campaigns, those clever secanario designers end up weaving their magic ,with the result that many of my pixel truppen have come to a terrible demise and the AI march of victorious. I've never found this to be an issue, as there has always been more than enough content for me in the games without ever needing the Quick Battle feature.

The game, as mentioned previously,  is set in the Western Front and covers the border areas of France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Each geographical area has its own specific terrain and building types, matching those you'd find in that particular part of the country. Also new to the West Front CMx2 games is snow, which obviously means many vehicles have  an application of whitewash camouflage, for when ground conditions dictate. CMFB consist of over 130 different vehicles, 24 heavy weapons, and 32 infantry weapons.  Forces consist of US Army, German Heer, Waffen SS, and the Luftwaffe (German Para units). Later modules will introduce the British and Canadians as well as take the game right up to the surrender of Germany in the West.

"You'll be punished, and punished quickly..."

As for gameplay, I'd really need another ten pages or so to really do justice to the game and cover as much as possible. I'd say the forums are the best place to go to get a good idea on how the CMx2 games play.  The game can be played both real-time and in WEGO mode. I’d suggest trying WEGO first whilst learning the system. Personally, I always play WEGO but others do prefer real time, but at least we have a choice. Command and Control are very important in a game with units having several ways of communicating with each other.  This then affects, at higher difficulty levels, what each  unit can spot. There is no borg spotting here. CMFB plays like all the other CMx2 engine games, so those who have played the previous ones and enjoyed them will have no regrets buying this. 

For those new to the game,  I suggest downloading the CMFB demo. This is a great way to find out if you like the game enough to then go on and purchase. I do suggest to those who are from a  Men at War or Company of Heroes background, please leave everything you learned playing those at the doorstep. CMx2 engine games are a big step up in realism, and if you play the same way you play those other two games. you'll be punished, and punished quickly. I have a few important tips that will help you keep your pixel rappen alive and that is not to rush, take your time moving your troops, split squads at the start, and don't be afraid to use recon by fire. I'd say go take a look at the excellent AAR's over at the forums that involve Bil Hardenberger. Bil also has a website full of tips on how to perfect your tactical know-how.  There are also some superb Let’s Play videos over at youtube.

Quality, quality, and quality…

As usual, the scenarios and campaigns are of an exceptional standard.  The research that the scenario designers have put in is faultless right across the board. The briefings for each scenario really set the tone and atmosphere of what's to come, as well as set the immediate backdrop to the battle. Try not to skim over them, they add so much to the immersion, as well as contain little snip bits of intel which could really help you over the course of the battle.  The maps are being praised by all who own the game, many saying they are the best yet, and that really is saying something, as there are lots of outstanding maps which you'll find in all games in the series. The game definitely succeeds in portraying the harsh winter conditions that swept across Northern Europe during this period. I also like the variety of scenario sizes and how well spread out they are. In a previous game, I found very few  tiny and small scenarios which I really missed as they can be great fun. CMFB doesn't have this problem, all sizes get a decent amount of scenarios.

I'm a CMx2 fan. CMFB hasn't disappointed me at all. I hear some are saying that progress isn't fast enough and improvements between the engines (now at version 3) aren't big enough. Personally, I'm happy with the progress. I'm not sure where these tactical games are that come close to what Battlefront is doing, let alone doing it better which would make CMx2 redundant. So, I'm very grateful we have Battlefront and CMx2, as, without them, my hobby would have a pretty big hole in it with nothing out there to fill it. I'm a tactical wargame scale nut and CMFB is another CMx2 game to have permanent residence on my hard drive. If you enjoyed the previous games, then this is a must buy as well.

Try it ! there is a demo !

Those who are wargamers, and prefer the tactical scale, again I heartily recommend CMFB and all the other games in the series. Wargamers where tactical scale isn't their preference, I still recommend but do suggest trying the demo.

Those who never got over the move from CMx1 to CMx2 aren't going to be swayed by CMFB. Maybe when Battlefront moves on to a new engine, you'll come back into the fold. Here is hoping.Those who have played the previous games and found they weren't for them, then again, CMFB isn't going to change your mind.

Those who haven't played a CMx2 game before, then I say go download the demo. Then you'll know if this series is for you or not. You never know, you could find that game you've been looking for all this time! Or, be turned into a whole new hobby, wargaming!

So, just like a good old love story, my relationship with Combat Mission has had its ups and downs, with even a split along the way. Yes, there are things I'd like to see improved, like soldier animations, for instance, and be able to set SOP's for units. If I had to really think about it, I'm sure I could list several other wants/improvements, but tell me, which game out there couldn't be improved? I have no doubt that different players would suggest different ways in how the game could be improved, yet the games taking pride of  place on my hard drive today are the CMx2 games. That's because they fill a need for tactical wargaming that no other games I've tried, and I've tried many, have managed to fill. Only one has come close, but CMx2 has those killer features for me, WEGO and replay value, which will always relegate other tactical wargames to second place or lower. The CM series is my first true love when it comes to tactical wargaming on the computer and it will take something very special indeed to knock it off my No.1 spot.

We love modders !

One last thing. I have to give a mention to the CMx2 modding scene, which is superb. So many talented players create some amazing mods, that not only transform the visual aspect of the game but also greatly improve the sound effects. The stock game already looks great, however, go download and install those amazing mods and it takes the game to another level altogether. Coupled with modded sound effects, immersion levels increase tenfold. Not only that, there is  a steady flow of user made scenarios and campaigns (many mini masterpieces) that will keep you playing for many years to come.

Buy the game on Battlefront

Official game's forum

A blog about the game with lot of good information, AAR and Mod Repository

AAR video byIthikial

US Marines Review:

expansion for

Order of Battle: Pacific

Generally, most games do not accurately represent the quandaries faced due to supply during amphibious operations. However, Slitherine’s Order of Battle: Pacific tackles this, and does it extremely well. I experienced all of this somewhat during play of the base game and its first expansion, “Morning Sun”. Now though, supply, landing area, and reinforcement decisions are increased because of the larger number of amphibious assaults in its latest expansion, “US Marines”.

In case you have never had the pleasure of playing Order of Battle: Pacific, it is like a ramped up, feature-enhanced, version of the old Panzer General or, Slitherine’s equally excellent Panzer Corps. “US Marines” has added even more units (M2A4 Light Tank, Mortar Infantry, BB Kongō, etc.) and scenarios (Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Saipan, etc.) for the latest large, sprawling campaign.

Order of Battle: Pacific has always been extremely approachable and very easy to get into, and this latest installment is no exception. However, being easy to play does not mean easy to beat! The very competent AI has kicked my butt around these islands numerous times (actually, more like continuously). It is definitely no cake-walk trying to slog through the swamps and rough terrain, while simultaneously keeping your own units supplied, and facing dug-in Japanese troops supported by (the newly added) concrete bunkers, ships and aerial reinforcements.

Lastly, as your units gain experience, sometimes commanders will be generated to be attached to them. This is another layer of decision-making while also adding realism to the game. Overall, “US Marines” is a must-have for your Order of Battle: Pacific experience.

As a great example of logistics, I have to go back and try to keep my Marines alive, as I have burned through most of my reinforcement pool. Lucky for me, I got two destroyers on Turn 10 (a few days ago) to help with the invasion. This is great of course, but in reality, I could have used them five or six days earlier. Grateful for the help, just hope it’s not too little, too late.

-Clayton

http://slitherine.com/games/order_of_battle_pacific_usm

http://www.matrixgames.com/store/610/Order.of.Battle:.U.S..Marines.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/443620/

Hello all. This is the first article to be published of what's going to be a regular feature on the blog, where I'll be talking about and reviewing military history books, nonfiction and fiction, aswell as interviewing some prominent military history authors. As most of us here are wargamers,  it doesn't stretch the imagination to much to believe we also enjoy reading military history, aswell as our gaming hobby. They are very good bed fellows. I have a decent collection of WWI and WWII books nonfiction and fiction and intend to review as many as I can (well, at least my favourites).

I actually owe a lot to books in general, when I was about seven, I still couldn't read properly, but with extra help at school, I finally got it, it helped greatly that I had fallen in love with books and reading.  At the time it was the fantasy genre that got me hooked. So by the time I was eleven I had read the Hobbit and had moved on to The Lord of the Rings!  Then in later years I started reading military history, both fiction and nonfiction, with a strong preference for memoirs (esp WWI West front or WWII East front). It felt  that being able to see in my mind's eye what the author saw,  I in some way kept them alive, when most likely, they had died many years ago. I find it totally enthralling. It was the closest I was going to get to those moments in history where a man was pushed to the limits of endurance, and yet at the same time 'felt' more  than those who had never been to War. Unbreakable bonds were forged between comrades, an intense feeling of trust and love, created in the furnace of War, as well as an intense feeling of being alive whilst surrounded by death. Yet nerves  were stretched so much that many broke, leaving behind shattered wrecks. The front line was a place where extraordinary selflessness and bravery happened regularly, alongside humanities most vile traits. A place where violence and horrific scenes played out daily.

So this first article is going to be a selection of my favourite WWI and WWII books. Broken down into Fiction and Nonfiction. Though they'll be in no particular order. All books mentioned here I'd recommend without hesitation.

I'm keeping it to just ten for each section, which means so many superb books will be left out.  However the books listed here, and  all the other must reads that didn't make it, will at some point be reviewed, hopefully. One thing I want to say is for WWI nonfiction anything by Peter Hart and Peter Barton are  well worth buying , many of their books could easily have been included

One of the hardest catergories to do was the WWII nonfiction. It pains me to have left out so many great reads. On the whole, I've tried to steer clear of any really famous titles, but some did slip in along the way.

So have a read and then go check them out. I'm certain if you decide to buy one or more you'll really enjoy it. From my perspective every book mentioned here is a must own.

Signing out,

Jason

WWI Nonfiction

1. Liaison 1914 by Edward Spears

2. War the Infantry Knew by J Dunn

3. Other Side of the Wire Vol 1 and Vol 2 by R Whitehead

4. The German Army series by J Sheldon

5. Storm of Steel by E Junger

6. Four Years on the Western front by A Rifleman

7. War Letters to a Wife by R Fielding

8. The War Diary  of the Master of Belhaven

9. Tommy by R Holmes

10. Sagittarius Rising by C Lewis

WWI Fiction

1. Winged Victory by V M Yeates (based on his War experience)

2. Goshawk Squadron, War Story and Hornets Sting by Derek Robinson (His WW1 trilogy)

3. Under Fire by H Barbusse (based on his War experience)

4. Covenant with Death by J Harris (based on his War experience)

5. The Long Long Way by S Barrie

6. Birdsong by S Faulks

7. Richer Dust by S Hope (Based on his Gallipoli experience)

8. Through the Wheat by T Boyd (based on his War experience)

9. In the Line by G Bucher, War by Ludwig Renn and Zero Hour by G Grabenhorst (All based on their war experience fighting for the Kaiser. Try Naval and Military Press for a copy)

10. Verdun by J Romaines

WWII Nonfiction (Very difficult to just list ten)

1. Island of Fire by Jason Marks (Anything by Jason and Leaping Horseman is a must own. Easy could have added two more of his excellent books, Besieged and Into Oblivion, to this list. Only reason I didn't was to widen the field abit)

2. With the Jocks by P White

3. Few Returned by E Corti

4. Barbarossa Unleashed by C Luther

5. Panzer Operations by Raus

6. Stalingrad collection of works by D Glantz

7. The Eastern Front by L Degrelle

8. Soldat by S Knappe

9. Omaha beach by J Balkowski

10. Bridge to Far by C Ryan

WWII Fiction

1. The Red Horse by E Corti ( Italian family saga, superb read. See Few Returned as well which is the author's account of his experience during the Italian retreat on the Russian Front).

2. Cross of Iron by W Hienrich (Even better than the film)

3. Forgotten Soldier by G Sager (This is actually supposed to be a true account, however, this is disputed. The book is too good not to be mentioned in the article, though)

4. Stalingrad by T Plievier

5. Castle Keep by W Eastlake

6. Das Boot by L G Bucheim

7. Beardless Warriors by R Matheson

8. The Kindly Ones by J Little

9. Bomber by  L Deighton

10. Piece of Cake by D Robinson