Brings back memories of the good-ol-days.

User Rating: 7.4 | Close Combat: Cross of Iron PC
CC:CoI is as what it is: a re-release of the famed and loved CC3. Almost all of the goodies that made CC3 the hit it was is back in CC:CoI, which makes this a love and hate affair.

It is fun to play CC3 all over again with the new and improved Windows XP-supported format (which comes in the form of the Close Combat Command Centre). But as you go through the game, the graphics instantly remind you that this is a mere re-release and not a completely new game. Despite the dated-pixs, the action gets hot and the tension gets high as soon as the campagn progresses. Who can forget the agony when a lone Russian KV wiped out all your Panzers IIIs just because the 88 crew didn't do their job right?

Yet, for $29.90, CC:CoI is not exactly a bargain. I'd have chiped in another $20-odd bucks to have gotten one of the other new releases with state-of-the-art graphics and revolutionary gameplay. It took me quite a while (with many a reminiscence of the good thrashing I gave to my pals) to firmly decide to take the copy to the counter and give the cashier my hard-earned cash. I don't think the next guy would have done the same thing if he hadn't played the game or didn't like the series.

All in all, I'd say that this game would appeal to the fans of CC and to those who missed the days of rumbling their tanks down the Steppes of Kursk. For the new ones who would rather have a casual go at the RTS genre, CC:CoI would be the last thing they would want to place their (*cough* inexperienced *cough*) hands on.