Close Combat: Invasion Normandy (Exclusive Range) - PC Games

Units that take excessive casualties (or become isolated or are simply inexperienced) will bolt for the rear, often leaving your lines in disarray. It's this depiction of the human element in warfare that makes the Close Combat series so interesting, and Invasion Normandy is no exception.

The gameplay has been greatly improved and seems much more dynamic. Much of this is due to the vehicles and varied terrain, but it's also because the strategic component allows for choices that simply didn't exist in the previous linear campaigns. However, the flexibility of the campaigns is undermined by the fact that the strategic element is still rather primitive.

Multiplayer CC gives you the chance to fight a human commander instead of the computer, and it's here that the Close Combat series really comes into its own. The game plays smoothly and is quite stable even when both players are on 56 K connections. In fact, the multiplayer mode is probably the best part of Close Combat: Invasion Normandy, and it helps make up for the fact that the computer opponent in the single-player mode tends to be passive and not particularly smart.

There are a few new twists to the game: Because it portrays an invasion, Invasion Normandy includes artillery support from naval vessels. There are also paratroops in the game that start behind enemy lines and have to link up with friendly troops before they run out of supplies you'll also have the opportunity to make beach landings.

Close Combat: Invasion Normandy isn't likely to surprise anyone. All the old elements remain, the graphics are basically unchanged and while the venue may have moved, it still seems very familiar. But for those who haven't yet played a Close Combat game, or for veterans looking for new maps and scenarios for this outstanding series, then Close Combat: Invasion Normandy provides plenty of new challenges. --Trey Walker, Amazon.com