Old-school greatness.
Graphically, the game HAS aged, but you could still hold it up against RTS's of our time. I choose to compare it against Axis and Allies, an RTS I picke up last year, hoping to relive the old glory days of RTS'ing. The 3D models were an impressive touch to an otherwise horrible game, but I looked at CC today, and thought, "Heck, it still holds up, even after all of these years." The real threshold for graphics in an RTS game like Close Combat never really went much farther then they did when CC first came out. RTS's have been pushed to the edge, and it seems that they will age and fade away, barring a miracle from another RTS game to release and awe us again. The likelihood of that? Slim, even though Warhammer is an impressive game.
Gameplay? Methodical, and not bogged down, unlike the aforementioned A&A. In most battles, you will most likely NOT out-muscle an enemy. Ambushes and their own supply of forces prevent you from doing that often, if at all. You will need to flank your enemy, keep your boys on the frontlines in good spirits, and separately formulate plans to take out your enemy. Victory is often decided by either one of two factors:
1. You eliminate the enemy.
2. You take control of designated and strategic spots on the map, and agree to a cease-fire with the opposing AI commander.
Often times, you'll win minor victories, advancing and resupplying your boys, playing the same map, winning in your advnace through the real-world operations provided to you, like Operation Market Garden, an entire campaign in 1944 in which the American paratroopers secured essential bridges in Holland so that Amreicans could use the route to attack Germany. While the actual operation was made famous for "The Bridge Too Far", in Arnhem, Holland, you can control the fate of these soldiers. Make it a good one.
Sounds are frightening is this game. They are good, but frightening. Flamethrower troops torch men to their shrieking deaths, and men can be driven into madness while still on the battlefield. Tanks roll over and rule whatever their treads can handle, bullets still fly with a crisp ring, and even though that's about all that CC offered, that's all it needed to do. It did so well, and that's all that really needed to mentioned. Case closed.
CC was and is a landmark in games, and I'm glad Gamespot still has the old cover art and reviews in place: CC deserves it.