Combat Mission: Shock Force

They finally got it right!

User Rating: 9 | Combat Mission: Shock Force - Marines PC

By mazexx | Review Date: September 29, 2008

The first iteration of the new Combat Mission engine (Combat Mission Shock Force) was a real disappointment when it was first released. The original Combat Mission games where so good, and the new engine had looked so promising on the sketch board. The problem was that version 1.0 of the game had so many bugs it destroyed most of the potential... Battlefront kept on trying to fix the issues and in version 1.07 we finally started to understand how they had intended the game to work. In version 1.08 it was getting really OK, but it still had that unpolished feeling. The original Combat Mission games where simply more fun to play.

Enter the addon "Marines" which also includes the 1.10 patch. It is the 1.10 patch that is the big thing here, even though I love the Marines stuff too. There are a large number of improvements in version 1.10 that suddenly gets the CMSF engine over the hill it's been struggling with since the disappointing version 1.0. Suddenly the game is FUN to play. Really fun! Now I play the game and think of the tiny marines down there as soldiers - and not heaps of pixels doing irregular things. In version 1.0 they would disembark from a Stryker IFV under fire and just stand there confused getting gunned down. In version 1.10 they automatically find the best cover available and rushes there - some of them stopping briefly to return fire. When fighting intense urban combat they do it the way I ordered them - instead of getting stuck outside a house when a Syrian MG cuts them down. The difference is enormous. CMSF Marines i now the best tactical combat simulator out there - no doubt!

Some bugs remain though, the path finding for vehicles can fail sometimes etc. I am sure that Battlefront will fix this, and it works good most of the time...

Right now I'm really looking forward to the day when Combat Mission returns to WWII with this engine!

Other Helpful Reviews for Combat Mission: Shock Force - Marines

• Rating:9.5

  With the Marines Module and patch 1.10, Combat Mission: Shock force is where it was supposed to be originally.

  By dalathos | Review Date: Sep 29, 2008 | PC

  When I first got CM:SF over a year ago, I was at first thrilled. Then, I rapidly became disappointed by the bugginess of the engine, the multitude of features that weren't in, and the gameplay that was lacking. I turned ... Read Full Review

  2 of 3 users found the following review helpful
• Rating:3.5

  A missed opportunity to upgrade the game engine and very little content for the money.

  By Michael_Dorosh | Review Date: Nov 09, 2008 | PC

  MARINES should have been the product to get the new Combat Mission game engine back on track; instead, all it offers is a handful of scenarios and unit types and really fixes none of the issues with the game engine while... Read Full Review

  1 of 3 users found the following review helpful