Ronsun Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 Hi, I absolutely love the look of the Combat Mission games but I'm stuck on which one to buy first. Initially I was going to go for Normandy, as my main interest is ww2, however, I have just noticed that Black Sea, Cold War, and Shock Force 2 are all hugely discounted on Steam right now, and although not ww2, I'm sure I'll still find them fun and could literally get two for the price of the one Normandy package. However, I thought I would check here first to get any opinions on whether they are suitable for someone who has never played a CM game before? as I read that Black Sea is not for a beginner. What would people suggest? Many thanks, Chris 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vacillator Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 (edited) Hi Chris, welcome. If WW2 is your thing, go with that. I was the same and went with RT, then BN, then FI, then FB and only recently started playing Cold War - it's not an easy transition for me, but the only way is up. For amount of content to start with I would go with BN. But be prepared to get the credit card out a few times for the other titles... EDIT: Have you tried any of the free demos? They're an earlier game engine but give you a good feel for the game. Edited June 13 by Vacillator 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landser Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 Normandy is my usual answer, since I think it is probably the best bang for the buck in the series considering how much content it has, both official and user-made. You should consider first which theater and time frame appeal to you most, but discounted sale prices can shift the target, and I get it. If you dig the Combat Mission mojo you'll eventually own them all, probably. In that sense the order doesn't matter all that much Flip a coin, heads is Normandy, tails is Black Sea 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Probus Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 I love them all. You can't go wrong with what you choose. But if they are on sale, buy one that is on sale. Black Sea and SF2 can be hard to play because they are so unforgiving. If you don't recon properly you're dead meat. If you are picking from the ones on sale, I'd go with Cold War since you are new to the series. Slightly more forgiving. Dragons are still deadly out to 1000m but a properly run BMP squad can be just as deadly when you know how to use 'em. One of the cool things about Cold War is that you can play when you have M60s and M113s (pre-1980). And then the game changes after 1980. Then you enter the Abrams/Bradley era. Once the M1 Enters the battlefield, the Soviets have a whole new problem on their hands. But like I said. You can't really go wrong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artkin Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 2 hours ago, Ronsun said: Hi, I absolutely love the look of the Combat Mission games but I'm stuck on which one to buy first. Initially I was going to go for Normandy, as my main interest is ww2, however, I have just noticed that Black Sea, Cold War, and Shock Force 2 are all hugely discounted on Steam right now, and although not ww2, I'm sure I'll still find them fun and could literally get two for the price of the one Normandy package. However, I thought I would check here first to get any opinions on whether they are suitable for someone who has never played a CM game before? as I read that Black Sea is not for a beginner. What would people suggest? Many thanks, Chris Of course CMBS is fine for beginners. Just be sure to change the hotkeys to somethint acceptable and have a grasp of the capabilities of the equipment from the title of your choosing. My personal favorite is Red Thunder since the amount of content for it is insane. Otherwise Normandy would br my suggestion. I hate seeing people buy an "off" CM title and thinking the content is light for all of the games... not true. Some of the games have an extraordinary amount of maps and scenarios. Some titles are able to "port" maps between each other. It depends on your preferences but I honestly feel that CMFI is the weakest title. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vacillator Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 40 minutes ago, Artkin said: have a grasp of the capabilities of the equipment from the title of your choosing This is my problem in Cold War. I had (but I'm learning) no idea of the Soviet stuff. My opponent trained in RL for the scenario (sorry @Ultradave my friend I'll get a turn back shortly. 43 minutes ago, Artkin said: My personal favorite is Red Thunder since the amount of content for it is insane. Otherwise Normandy would br my suggestion. I bought RT first as my main interest, like you I think, was the Ost Front. BN is a close second though, and the demo ('Linking up..' in particular) helped persuade me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronsun Posted June 14 Author Share Posted June 14 Thanks guys I went for Normandy in the end. Can't wait to dive in later. Thank you for all the advise. Chris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 23 hours ago, Artkin said: Of course CMBS is fine for beginners. Eh...? CMBS is horribly unforgiving and a newbie could get discouraged quickly. CMSF may be the best first game as the Blue player has so much firepower and tech that he should be able to walk over the Reds. The challenge in CMSF is to accomplish missions with minimal if any casualties. CMRT is a close second if you play the Germans as they usually can overcome the Soviets fairly easily - at least in the early scenarios that were available soon after CMRT was released. (Scenarios made more recently can make the Soviets much tougher to beat.) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEB14 Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 1 minute ago, Erwin said: CMRT is a close second if you play the Germans as they usually can overcome the Soviets fairly easily - at least in the early scenarios that were available soon after CMRT was released. (Scenarios made more recently can make the Soviets much tougher to beat.) Interesting… I find playing the Germans against the Soviet extremely tricky… They can be powerful but are very technical to play with. For WW2 games I would recommend CMBN for a beginner. IMHO the US is the most easy and versatile side to play with. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 (edited) Agreed... the US is the best if you want to fight vs the Germans. The Brits/CW nations are hard and frustrating - best for more experienced players. Italians vs anybody... ugh... Well, probably good if in East Africa vs local natives. But, not sure CM has scenarios for that. Edited June 14 by Erwin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artkin Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 7 minutes ago, Erwin said: Eh...? CMBS is horribly unforgiving Yeah I don't agree with that at all. Put yourself in the shoes of your guys and make smart decisions. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 23 minutes ago, Artkin said: Put yourself in the shoes of your guys and make smart decisions. That is correct but then you have to have gained experience to make those smart decisions rather than being a newbie. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEB14 Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 46 minutes ago, Erwin said: Italians vs anybody... ugh... Well, probably good if in East Africa vs local natives. But, not sure CM has scenarios for that. Don't tell that… I'm presently losing a PBEM as the US against Italians (Lemon Hill)… The Italians are very good for human waves, the good ol' Russian way… A small 75/13 artillery barrage and hurrah !… 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1812 Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 (edited) Buy the one that interests you the most. There are lots of tutorials on you tube. People will help you here if you run into problems Ah....I see you bought Normandy...... good choice. Edited June 14 by z1812 Info 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 16 hours ago, PEB14 said: I'm presently losing a PBEM as the US against Italians (Lemon Hill) You'll have to post the AAR for that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEB14 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 16 minutes ago, Erwin said: You'll have to post the AAR for that. It's not fair to mock You won't believe, but the Italians enjoy armor superiority (their armored cars are amongst the best of their kind) and are in overwhelming numbers. Add some artillery support on top of it, and they're not much to do with a bunch of paratroopers in front of a competent player… 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEB14 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 @Erwin For your personal enjoyment… I'm not specially ashamed as I haven't done any major mistakes! I could certainly have managed my MGs better, but my opponent was very, very good. Congrats on him! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Probus Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 41 minutes ago, PEB14 said: @Erwin For your personal enjoyment… I'm not specially ashamed as I haven't done any major mistakes! I could certainly have managed my MGs better, but my opponent was very, very good. Congrats on him! Lol! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 9 hours ago, PEB14 said: You won't believe, but the Italians enjoy armor superiority (their armored cars are amongst the best of their kind) and are in overwhelming numbers. Add some artillery support on top of it, and they're not much to do with a bunch of paratroopers in front of a competent player… Don't feel too bad. It's possible the scenario was designed to play to the Italians (few) strengths. IIRC their 45mm mortars with plentiful ammo is the best weapon system they have. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sttp Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 (edited) On 6/14/2024 at 3:41 PM, PEB14 said: Don't tell that… I'm presently losing a PBEM as the US against Italians (Lemon Hill)… Well how about that. I remember enjoying Lemon Hill quite a bit, and I didn't know until this very moment that you could even play it as the Americans. (It was a CMFI original, I believe, and it seems like most of the older scenarios have AI plans for one side only.) So anyway this will be next on my list. Thanks for that! ETA: Just checked and discovered that Clearing the Niscemi Highway can be played as the other side as well. Holy crap! Thousands of hours in the CM WW2 titles, and now I'm wondering what else I've missed..... Edited June 15 by sttp 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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