As the release date for Combat Mission: Shock Force quickly appraoches (27th July 2007, Battlefront has graced us true strategy game fans with yet another fantastic "deluxe" edition that includes a very nice strategic map showing the invasion plan for Syria.
Combat Mission: Shock Force FYI
At it's core, Combat Mission: Shock Force is a military simulation depicting a hypothetical near-future conflict in Syria following a fundamentalist coup d’état. As in Afghanistan 2001, the radical new government's refusal to shut down major terrorist organizations and its' regional destabilizing effect, compel NATO Coalition forces into action.
The initial release of Combat Mission: Shock Force focuses on the actions of the US Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCT) and Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HBCT) as they fight against Syrian Army Infantry, Mechanized and Armored units. Combat Mission: Shock Force also features Unconventional Threat forces such as terrorists, spies, suicide bombers, IED's and other deadly tools employed in the asymmetric warfare of the modern day.
Along with the standard Red vs. Blue engagements typified in most wargames, Combat Mission: Shock Force will also allow players to fight Red vs. Red (Syria vs. Syria) and Blue vs. Blue (NATO vs. NATO) battles as well.
Here are some really nice in-game pics: http://www.battlefront.com/products/cmsf/screenshots/index.html
Since Combat Mission: Shock Force models combat set in Syria, a nation rich in diverse geography, the terrain types range from flat expanses of desert to vast wooded and mountainous regions and from small villages and towns all the way up to and including dense urban centers. Gamers familiar with the earlier Combat Mission games will be thrilled with the new 1 meter by 1 meter terrain mesh that allows for stunningly realistic maps. Dynamic lighting, deformable terrain, new 'flavor objects' and graphic special effects only help to further accentuate and intensify the playable environments.
Of course this new High Fidelity terrain modeling also extends into the realm of structures. Combat Mission: Shock Force features buildings with distinct window and door placement and interaction, variable roof styles, balconies, foundation sizes and heights. Buildings range from simple single story shops to soaring 8 story high housing and office complexes.
Combat Mission: Shock Force features a completely new experience for players in the form of a highly story-driven, semi-dynamic campaign from the US perspective. Each battle includes a detailed Mission Briefing outlining specific objectives, ranging from traditional "hold this spot" type battles to engagements where maintaining force cohesion or inflicting casualties is the goal.
In addition to the playable story based campaign are many stand alone battles depicting various types of firefights and situations facing the US and Syrian forces. Playable from either side (or both in Multiplayer mode), these single battles will cover a wide range of battle types, forces and environments.
The dynamic style of play inherent in Combat Mission: Shock Force's new game engine allows, for the first time, unique objectives for each side in a given battle, allowing each side to fight to fulfill its own goals rather than a single set common to both. This introduces a new challenge of having to guess and anticipate what the enemy is trying to achieve instead of knowing for sure what the other side is up to.
For those that prefer quick pick-up-and-play games, Combat Mission: Shock Force also includes the fan favorite Quick Battle option, now with more customizable options than ever. Those with a penchant for design can dive right in to the all new designed and expanded Game Editor to create their own battles.
Like in earlier Combat Mission games, games, Shock Force puts players in control of teams, squads, individual vehicles, and support assets organized according to meticulously researched real life TO&E (Tables of Organization and Equipment). New to Combat Mission: Shock Force is that each soldier is now modeled individually, including independent spotting and combat/weapon capabilities.
Vehicles are also simulated in greater fidelity in Combat Mission: Shock Force than what was possible before. This allows not just for exponentially greater data modeling, but also better visuals as the 3D models now sport between 10 and 30 times more polygons as in earlier titles.
To accurately simulate the often frantic and rapid pace of modern combat, the Combat Mission: Shock Force game engine was designed and programmed from the start to be RealTime. Experience Combat Mission like never before as you order your units while the battle rages on around you.
Knowing that RealTime play is not for everyone, Combat Mission: Shock Force also offers the exact same ground breaking WeGo hybrid turn based system that propelled the original Combat Mission games to an unprecedented three Wargame of the Year Awards from PC Gamer magazine.
Play the game as you want, in RealTime mode or in the traditional WeGo turn based style. Battle against the AI or another Human player via TCP/IP, PBEM (Play By Email), or Hotseat.
