Help:Which Modern CM should I buy?

[Commissar1032]

Hello all,

Some of you may or may not have seen a previous post of mine over in the Normandy general, I bought it a few days ago and love all the content in it and might expand into the Italian Front or Russian. Right now I am looking at the modern era titles and am trying to figure out which one I should get. I read that the WW2 era games are big battle and big fun while the modern games are big but also sneaky and more distant engagements. Right now my big decision for the modern games would be more or less what is already out there for each one (official content/content to be released/ and of course the modding community) as well as how up to date they are (game engine wise). Would anyone give me a quick gloss over of the Modern Era titles besides the fact that Black Sea is in Russia and Ukraine and that Shock Force is in Afghanistan. Things like amount of units/variety would be nice as well.

Thanks in advance.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Shock Force is actually set in a fictional invasion of Syria.....It's the oldest of the current titles and thus the simplest at its core.  On the other hand there several official Modules which greatly expand the game and an enormous amount of user generated content, much of it first rate.  Shock Force with all the modules is still a very good investment IMHO.....If you want a modern game with plenty of scope this one (with all the modules) is the way forward IMHO.

Combat Missions: Afghanistan is quite cheap, slightly more sophisticated than Shock Force and it is currently the best engine for modern unconventional warfare scenarios.....If the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and/or the Warlord Period that followed interests you this is the way to go (but you might needs to get familiar with the editor to get the scenarios you really want).

Black Sea is by far the most sophisticated of all the games but it's quite limited in scope.....If the conflict in the Ukraine (and a potential future expansion thereof) interests you, this is the one for you.

Recent posts from officialdom suggest that Combat Missions: Shock Force II may be at least somewhat imminent.....So you may want to hold your decision for a little while.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead

[QuiGon]

I would either go with Black Sea altough it is quiet limited in scope so far or wait for Shock Force 2, because the current Shock Force (which takes place in Syria, not Afghanistan as Sgt.Squarehead already mentioned) is pretty outdated IMHO. It didn't recieve the engine upgrades that the other current CM games recieved.

[Erwin]

Not sure how imminent CMSF II is.  Could be another year or two... or longer...

For now, I would get CMSF as it is very cheap - plus you can get the whole bundle of base game and 3 modules in one go for a bargain price, and then d/l the huge number of free mods and additional campaigns and scenarios which imo are more fun than the very few CMBS ones on offer.

I burn out on CMBS regularly and always find myself going back to CMSF and sometimes CMA for a  more fun experience.  Note that the scenarios and campaigns that came with the original CMA game are not so good.  However, CMA has recently become much more interesting as there are some very good new user-made scenarios and campaigns that one can d/l. 

[Commissar1032]

Thanks for the more info, I will mull about some more and see what I can dig up for mods and all that. So far it sounds like i might just be better waiting but CMSF looks like a steal.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Commissar1032