Ravinhood

While I find the graphic candy of course an improvement over the origional game, and the new advance to contact feature beneficial for the computer AI, once again I see the same AI basically as the origional. I tested the CMBB AI in the demo version Yelnia Stare, I took the Germans and did what always seemed to rip apart any AI in the origional version by stacking up all my troups in one area, the middle objective flag, with a handful of men to my left perhaps a company and one AT gun. I left the right objective flag completely open and then proceeded with the scenario. Well just as they did in the origional game, so they did in this new game as well, they marched troup after troup up the middle with tank support in the rear, charging over open ground trying to take the middle objective, time after time of course with the tactical placement of my men and coming out of hiding at the correct moment, of course they were massacred. About minute 17 or 18 they finally broke my left, which was merely a holding point until their middle assault could be weakened, then I just moved three fresh squads over to the left side of the middle objective and picked off every squad they sent to the left one by one as I had in the middle previously. I even saved my offboard artillery fire for the last few turns of the game, lol, that was of course the straw that broke the camels back and the majority of russians proceeded to run for the border as one might say. Taco anyone? The AI never made any attempt to take the right objective flag with even one man. It appears the AI centers it's forces to the objective flags that are held and don't even consider the unheld ones, at least in this scenario. At turn 27 the game ended and I won a German Tactical victory with 64% vs 36% to the Russians. I had eliminated over 700 of their troups while they had only eliminated a mere handful of my own and my three guns. While I still enjoy the origional version of this game, I really see no reason to buy this version of the game, since I never was interested in the German/Russo campaign anyways. But, had the AI shown better improvmement over the origional I would have gladly considered another purchase. It's really sad that the AI in this game and most other games as well, saving Sid Miers Gettysburg series do not even attempt any flanking or feint maneuvers, just straight up the middle with everything they have and if one "handicaps" them with enough troups they are able to overcome the human opponent. Of course anyone knows that has played this scenario that the Germans are greatly outnumbered and the German supply and ammo are at a minimum, no tank support whatsoever and most companies low on men as well. All in all it's a pretty game, the swaying trees, the improved graphics, very pretty. But, as I've said many times before, games need better AI instead of improved graphics, not everyone plays multiplayer or has time for it and thus the single player version and a strong AI make more of a difference than eye candy does. Remember more is not always better, less can be better if it's Parkay.