Close Combat: Invasion Normandy.

• Author: Silbergeld, David LL.
• Position: Evaluation - Brief Article

This series has taken you from the beaches at Omaha, the bridges of Operation Market-Garden ("A Bridge Too Far"), the Eastern Front, and the Battle of the Bulge. This is the fifth game, and it takes you back to the beginning of the cycle at the Contentin peninsula--Utah Beachhead and the siege of Cherbourg.

A mechanism called New Force Pool dynamics allows the customizing of your battle group. Fighting among the dense hedgerows of the French Boucage country means tanks cannot deploy properly and anti-tank traps abound. Emphasis shifts to the infantry, which makes the title--"Close Combat"--a truly operative imperative.

You can assign limited support assets, such as air strikes, mortars or naval gunfire. This, in addition to variable weather and supply elements, means that your options will be different each time you play. Alternatively, you can choose to play strictly according to historical conditions.

The improved campaign system allows movement of multiple, customized, battle groups on a strategic map of the Contentin peninsula that scrolls to conform to your unit's progress. You can create your own operations, battles and campaigns using a scenario editor and retain the capability to review the action for improved...