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Combat Mission: Shock Force Impressions
We get an exclusive first look at Battlefront's upcoming wargame.
by Steve Butts

April 12, 2007 - Whenever we get a hankering for tactical level wargame action (which is surprisingly often) we find ourselves turning again and again to Battlefront's superlative trilogy of World War 2 games: Beyond Overlord, Barbarossa to Berlin and Afrika Korps. Soon the fine folks at Battlefront will be taking the same formula into a hypothetical 21st century conflict between the United States and fundamentalist terrorists who have taken over the government of Syria. Though the game still has a long way to go before it's finished, we managed to convince the developers to let us have a crack at an early build so we could get a feel for the game.
Since this new title carries the Combat Mission brand, it's no surprise that the basic interface and format of the game haven't changed much. It still features highly realistic tactical action with players leading squads and individual vehicles. Unlike before, the squads of soldiers are modeled as distinct individuals on the game map. While the previous games used cohesive squads that abstracted the performance of each member, this time around each squad members gets his own morale, fire, line of sight and position in the world.

This time around you'll have access to a wide variety of infantry as well as the US Stryker Brigade Combat Teams and the Heavy Brigade Combat Teams. Arrayed against them are the terrorist forces in charge of Syria. Though they don't have the SBCTs or HBCTs that the US have, they do have their own armored vehicles as well as IEDs and other unconventional assets. Naturally, each side is described through detailed OOBs and TO&Es.
To better reflect the pace and immediacy of the battles, players will now have the option to play the game in real-time. The control scheme still needs a bit of work, particularly with selecting and commanding large groups of units, but the intense feeling of running through a battle in real time is well worth it. Old school Combat Mission players still have the option to play in the hybrid turn-based/real-time mode that the series is known for. Shock Force will also offer the same types of multiplayer modes we've seen in previous Combat Mission games including hotseat, play by email and Internet/LAN play
Shock Force will differ from previous Combat Mission games by including an actual story-driven campaign that lets players lead US forces through the course of the entire war. Specific briefings give a nice outline of the action and put each mission into a unique context. Reading some of the briefings in the missions we played, it was clear that the designers are trying to tie each mission into the larger story of the war itself. Though we're told that the campaign develops in "semi-dynamic" fashion, we've only been able to play through detached scenarios.

The most recent build we've played offers up three such scenarios, each playable from either side. Unlike the old Combat Mission games, these new missions feature different objectives for both sides. Rather than simply vying for the same objective or trying to deny the enemy an opportunity to achieve their own goals, players will now have to divide their strategic planning between racing for their own goals and simultaneously trying to discover the enemy's goals and prevent him from achieving them. All in all, it adds a lot more variability and unpredictability to the game. The Flanking Fire scenario takes place in a large open desert. In the midst of a light sandstorm a US Heavy Brigade Combat Team composed of Strykers and Bradleys are tearing across the desert to execute a flanking maneuver in southern Syria. Unfortunately, a large group of BMP-1 AFVs are waiting to check the US advance. While they're no match for the US vehicles, the large group of T-72M1s lurking behind the next dune are. If the US units aren't careful about their advance, they could find themselves driving right into a terrible ambush.



The next scenario, Rescue Mission, represents a much more direct and immediate confrontation. An Abrams tank has been disabled by an IED and now the crew is stranded on the road. The US forces of Strykers and Bradleys have to rush in and establish a defensive perimeter around the tank and fend off a Syrian attempt to capture the tank and its crew. The good news for the US player is that the Abrams gun is still able to fire. The bad news is that the long straight desert road offers no concealment or cover of any kind. With nowhere for either force to hide, the key here is concentrating your fire to suppress or eliminate enemy threats as quickly as possible.
The final scenario, Day Patrol, takes place in the latter days of the war as NATO forces are overrunning Damascus. This small-scale scenario sees a convoy of US Strykers passing through the streets of the city on a routine patrol. Unfortunately, though much of the Syrian army has been destroyed, there are a number of soldiers armed with AK-47s and RPGs still lurking in the city. They'll have taken up position to ambush the convoy as it passes by. Since the vehicles are carrying additional infantry that can clear buildings and alleys, the Syrian forces have to be careful not to trigger their ambush too early.

Given the wide range of scenarios and campaigns present in previous Combat Mission games, we have every expectation that we'll see loads of missions that cover pretty much every possible engagement type. Beyond that, there's a quick mission generator that you can use to set up one-off battles. Though the basic conflict is between the US forces and the rebels in control of Syria, the new game will also allow players to set up battles between friendly forces. Whether or not we'll see actual scenarios where one side will have to fight against its own units and hardware remains to be seen. In any case, the full-featured mission and map editors will allow you to create your own engagements.
Shock Force has been built from the ground up using the new CMX2 engine. The team started work on the engine three years ago in an effort to bring the series up to date. While the visuals still don't live up to the likes of Company of Heroes or Supreme Commander, they're a big improvement over the previous Combat Mission games. There are much better vehicle models this time around, complete with loads of moving parts, from the top hatch to the suspension. There are also loads of new component-specific damage models that go beyond the already impressive system used in the previous games.
Combat takes place in a variety of locations, from broad desert dunes to dense city streets to densely wooded mountain ranges. With over a hundred different 1mx1m tiles, buildings up to eight stories high and a vast selection of "flavor objects" to dirty up the levels, the maps in Shock Force are remarkably detailed. Better still, the environmental objects are deformable, giving you a clear sense of the power and shape of the battles that are raging around you. As an added plus, the texture blending here is much better than it was previously. There are still some issues to work out but the days of rigid division between two adjacent tiles are now in the past.

Unlike the previous Combat Mission games, Shock Force presents buildings with real windows and doors. While it might sound like a small thing, fans of Combat Mission games will understand just how cool it is to look at a nearby building and actually see an enemy soldier in the window. Likewise, enemy forces will now have to use doors to get in and out of buildings. There are also new balconies and rooftops that you can make use of when placing your troops.
All of these elements work together to create a very believable and interesting environment. Still, the action is what matters here and Shock Force delivers it with the authenticity and accuracy that the Combat Mission series is known for. We've had a blast playing through the small bit of content in our current build and are looking forward to the improvements that the designers are sure to make in the coming months. Hopefully Battlefront will release a demo so you can try this all out for yourself. In the meantime, keep checking back with IGN for further details.

The link:

http://pc.ign.com/articles/779/779980p1.html

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