Ok, sorry to do one of these, but we all have itches to stratch. I’m looking for something pretty specific, and it’s hard to find these kinds of details through game reviews.
I’m looking for a game that plays exactly like Combat Mission, but in real time, with modern graphics (thus Close Combat series, is out, which is the easy answer). That is, you buy units beforehand using a point system, you place them, then you skirmish. Attack and defend scenarios would be great, as would random maps, but understandably the random map thing is hard to swing. Oh, and skirmish means fight the AI.
So what games are like this? Ideally WWII units with nicely modeled units (a Tiger has great front armor, a Sherman is a rolling death trap but fast and doesn’t bog down), but that’s also just icing. Destructible terrain is another big plus.
What about Soldiers? Never played it myself and maybe it’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but I thought it was supposed to be a pretty good WW2 tactical combat game. Seen it dirt cheap, too, though not recently.
How about Blitzkrieg, one of it’s plentiful add-ons or Blitzkrieg 2? Jason Lutes started a Blitzkrieg thread ages ago which mentioned a realism mod for that Combat Mission fidelity that you’re after.
Or if you want random maps, an ability to design your force and to move them around a strategic map prior to combat, Cuban Missile Crisis offers a quasi-dynamic campaign which has that. Just pretend that T64s are Tigers and you’re set. Of course, the random maps are awfully generic, so don’t get excited about that concept.
Also, I wouldn’t use the word strategy for these games, so Stroker’s mistake was also my initial reaction to the title of this thread.
