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UK PC Gamer Review


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From Nov issue , Page 45 Latest On written by Tim Stone . The Demo is in the CD with the Magazine too .

"There are those within the games industry who will tell you that bedroom coding is dead, and that its impossible to creats a a successful game without a huge team and a vast budget, that the originality that you and I crave is not financially viable. Do not listen to these people . Their minds are closed . Theier souls are lost

Introversion software , the 3 man outfit behind Uplink , are the ultimate walking talking proof that samll is both beautiful and bountiful, In 9 months they turned a £600 investment into over £100 000 worth of sales . The profits generated byanother small scale , self published marvel , Combat Mission : Beyond Overlord, have never been disclosed but must be proportionally similar . A core staff of 4 at Big Time Software, spent 2 1/2 years and $125 000 developing their breathtakingly ambitous 3D wargame .

2 Years on from that release , the same squad that was told bt several publishers that they would "never make it" are rightfully lauded as the masters of the genre and are poised to release a sequel.

The sequel transports the hybrid turn -based and real-time stategy mechanics, the sophisticated but simple command and control system, the astute AI and the unrivalled realism east to the boggy birch forests of byelorussia , the rolling rys fields of the Ukraine , and the snow softened ruins of Stalingrad . On the unit side , there's over 300 diferent types of tanks and vehicles and more the 600 types of infantry.

In addition to this extraordinary unit roster is a wealth of new features that are sure to delight CMBO veterans . The order menu has been expanded to include shoot and scoot , hull down and human wave . Armour is now organised into platoons and tank gunners won't automatically seek new targets after delivering a KO shot but will continue to fire until they get a visual confirmation of the kill in thshape of a brew up or the panicky crew bail out .

Big Time Software make no secret of their functionality first approach to visuals but improvements in this area are not insubstantial, From details like the puffs of dirt kicked up by wayward small arms fire, and the showers of sparks from ricocheting AP rounds , to the uniersal hi res textures and polygon-rich vehicles , CMBO's distinctly mutton flavoured £D engine does a passable impersonisation of a spring lamb .

The first Panzers should cross the border just before Christmas . When they do we wil be riding shotgun, guaranteeing you the most reliable and riveting reports of the fighting to be found anywhere."

3 screen shots as well as a short note on the cover arc command .The at a glance bit PUB: CDV

Developer :BTS Release Date : December (thats gotta be wrong)

All in all a positive review .

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Hi Simon

You may well be correct however after seeing Steve posting in the CDV Direct Action thread the following

Oh please... can we PLEASE not start spreading disinformation about the release dates *again*? It is NOT going to be released in November, December, January, or what have you. It *will* be released in October. It could be as early as the 4th or as late as the 11th. It depends on when they get their manufactured goods in order and out to the distributors.

I suspect he will be really chuffed to see this one smile.gif

[ September 30, 2002, 07:45 PM: Message edited by: Gary Barr ]

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It could be as early as the 4th or as late as the 11th

"Game" had it down for first the 4th, then the 11th (both Fridays - all UK stuff gets released on a Friday), so hopefully 11 October it will be.

Can't take that exasperated "oh PLEASE" stuff too seriously though - we saw exactly the same thing when we were assured we would be getting "exactly the same manual" - the one I've already paid an extra tenner for. If people get let down (for whatever reason) you can hardly blame them if they develop some scepticism.

[ September 30, 2002, 08:02 PM: Message edited by: Hertston ]

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Originally posted by Simon Elwen:

Big Time Software make no secret of their functionality first approach to visuals but improvements in this area are not insubstantial, From details like the puffs of dirt kicked up by wayward small arms fire, and the showers of sparks from ricocheting AP rounds , to the uniersal hi res textures and polygon-rich vehicles , CMBO's distinctly mutton flavoured £D engine does a passable impersonisation of a spring lamb .

Distinctly mutton flavoured? :confused:
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Guest PondScum
Originally posted by Silvio Manuel:

Distinctly mutton flavoured? :confused:

"Spring lamb" = fresh, new, full of life.

"Mutton" = old, dated sheep.

So they were saying that while the CMBB engine is old and dated, it nevertheless has some new tricks smile.gif

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Must mean Preview. Still nice that a 'mainstream' UK pc magazine is sitting up and taking notice. I was afraid CMBB was going to be missed amongst all the other WW2-themed stuff flying around atm. This is exactly the sort of thing BTS need to enlarge European sales. w00t!!111

Then again PCGamer was the only UK magazine that I ever saw that reviewed CMBO. The other common UK pc gaming magazine PCZone (smaller circulation though) hasn't seemed to realised CM exists. Despite several e-mails I sent them. smile.gif

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