Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far
Encyclopedia
Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, or Close Combat II, is a World War II
real-time tactics
game, developed by Atomic Games
, and released on September 30, 1997. The second installment of the Close Combat series, the game is played on a two-dimensional map, between two players.
Close Combat is based on Operation Market Garden
; most units in the game are based on those used in 1944, with the exception of a few which are only available in custom games. The game may be played as either the Germans
, or the Allies, the latter divided into the British
, Americans
, and Polish
. The game received mainly positive reviews.
and cover
, such as hills, hedges, foxholes, trenches, streams and buildings. Units have limited fields of vision (particularly vehicles), suffer from fatigue, have limited ammunition, can be suppressed
, will break and flee if their morale
drops too low, and generally behave in a manner similar to real life (although there are options to make units always visible, always obey orders, and/or fearless).
The units used in the game vary, but are nonetheless divided into two categories: infantry
, and support. The infantry category contains most infantry units, such as rifle infantry, scouts, sniper
s, MG42
machine gunners (for the German side), antitank infantry (for the Allied side), heavy assault teams, and reserves. More specialized infantry teams such as flamethrower
engineers, mortar
teams and machine gun teams are placed in the support category, as are vehicles (including halftracks, armored cars, tank
s, tank destroyer
s and assault gun
s) and fixed guns.
The sides vary in equipment (except for the Poles, who use a reduced selection of British equipment). Generally, US and German infantry squads are larger than their British/Polish counterparts.
rail bridge (Battle of Arnhem
). Battles are played in a single seating, and usually last several minutes. Units are assigned to each player at the start of the battle, and cannot be changed. The objective of each battle is usually for the Allies to take victory locations dotted around the map, and the Germans to hold those locations (although this can vary with the map). Sometimes, the Allies may have to secure a bridge
(by forcing the Germans off the map) before the Germans can destroy it. Declaring a ceasefire
or retreating from the battle immediately ends it.
If the player fails to win the entire map, he/she still receives points based on the number and value of victory locations controlled. The victory level at the end of the operation is based on the sum of victory points accumulated at the end of each day.
Unlike battles, in an operation the players can customize their force before each battle by purchasing units before each battle, using requisition points (obtained over time as a result of receiving supplies). Up to nine infantry units and six support units may be brought into a single battle. A unit that takes losses will be eventually replenished (although it may be better to simply remove that unit and requisition a new one).
Additionally, both sides can declare a ceasefire, which stops the battle for one to seven hours while both sides recuperate. A badly beaten force can also choose to flee from the battle, although this can result in engaged units being captured by the enemy, or even (if the map is the last one in the operation controlled by the retreating side) result in the operation being canceled.
, Nijmegen, or Eindhoven. Each sector campaign consists of a number of operations fought in parallel (thus, rather than playing an entire operation and moving on to the next one, the player will be fighting battles in multiple operations at once).
The objective in each sector campaign is similar that of the operation; that is, to take and hold maps. The victory rating for the Arnhem sector campaign is based on how well British and Polish forces are holding out at the end of the campaign (compared to the historical outcome of the real-life campaign), while that of the Nijmegen and Eindhoven sector campaigns is based on how quickly XXX Corps can advance through that sector (likewise).
If the Germans can seize the landing zones, they will be able to prevent the Allied airborne units from receiving supplies. Moreover, they can delay XXX Corps's progress by attacking a road or bridge after it has already passed that location.
At the end of each day, both players must choose a sector to supply (other sectors will also be supplied, but not as much). German forces can receive supplies by land at any time, while Allied forces can only be resupplied by land in areas which XXX Corps has already relieved. Additionally, the Allied player can also airdrop supplies into any sector (unless the Germans control the landing zones).
Victory is determined based on how fast XXX Corps reaches Arnhem (or if they even arrive at all), and how much ground 1st Airborne has managed to hold when reinforcements arrive.
, Keith Zabalaoui, the President of Atomic Games in 1999, was asked about the sales of Close Combat. He noted that "Worldwide sell-through of Close Combat I and Close Combat II has been around 200,000 units for each game. That tops sales of our previous games by a factor of about ten. So, yes, we're very pleased with the sales."
Notable awards received by this game include: coming seventh in GameSpy's "Top Ten Real-Time Strategy Games of All Time", editor's choice from PC Gamer
, and runner up as the best wargame of the year, by PC Gamer
.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
real-time tactics
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
game, developed by Atomic Games
Atomic Games
Atomic Games is a video game developer, specializing mostly in wargames. The company has developed titles such as the Close Combat series, the World at War series, as well as the V for Victory series. Atomic Games was acquired by Destineer Games on May 6, 2005 while collaborating on Close Combat:...
, and released on September 30, 1997. The second installment of the Close Combat series, the game is played on a two-dimensional map, between two players.
Close Combat is based on Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
; most units in the game are based on those used in 1944, with the exception of a few which are only available in custom games. The game may be played as either the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, or the Allies, the latter divided into the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The game received mainly positive reviews.
Gameplay
Combat takes place on a two-dimensional map with three-dimensional terrain elements. Depending on the map, terrain features can include a variety of features providing concealmentConcealment
Hiding is obscuring something from view or rendering it inconspicuous.Concealment is obscuring something from view or rendering it inconspicuous, the opposite of exposure...
and cover
Cover (military)
In military combat, the concept of cover refers to anything which is capable of physically protecting an individual from enemy fire. This differentiates it from the similar concept of concealment, in that an object or area of concealment only affords the benefit of stealth, not actual protection...
, such as hills, hedges, foxholes, trenches, streams and buildings. Units have limited fields of vision (particularly vehicles), suffer from fatigue, have limited ammunition, can be suppressed
Suppressive fire
In military science, suppressive fire is a fire that degrades the performance of a target below the level needed to fulfill its mission. Suppression is usually only effective for the duration of the fire. Suppressive fire is not always a direct form of fire towards targets; it can be an effective...
, will break and flee if their morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
drops too low, and generally behave in a manner similar to real life (although there are options to make units always visible, always obey orders, and/or fearless).
The units used in the game vary, but are nonetheless divided into two categories: infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, and support. The infantry category contains most infantry units, such as rifle infantry, scouts, sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
s, MG42
MG42
The MG 42 is a 7.9mm universal machine gun that was developed in Nazi Germany and entered service with the Wehrmacht in 1942...
machine gunners (for the German side), antitank infantry (for the Allied side), heavy assault teams, and reserves. More specialized infantry teams such as flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
engineers, mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
teams and machine gun teams are placed in the support category, as are vehicles (including halftracks, armored cars, tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, tank destroyer
Tank destroyer
A tank destroyer is a type of armored fighting vehicle armed with a gun or missile launcher, and is designed specifically to engage enemy armored vehicles...
s and assault gun
Assault gun
An assault gun is a gun or howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis, designed for use in the direct fire role in support of infantry when attacking other infantry or fortified positions....
s) and fixed guns.
Forces
There are four main forces in the game:- US Army (represented by the 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division101st Airborne DivisionThe 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
) - British Army (represented by the 1st Airborne Division and XXX Corps)
- Polish forces (represented by the Polish 1st Independent Parachute BrigadePolish 1st Independent Parachute BrigadeThe 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute brigade under command of Maj.Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, created in Scotland in September 1941, with the exclusive mission to drop into occupied Poland in order to help liberate the country. The British government, however, pressured the Polish...
) - German Army (represented by the 15th Army and 9th SS9th SS Panzer Division HohenstaufenThe 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen", also known as SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 9, SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 9 Hohenstaufen or 9. SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen, was a German Waffen-SS Armoured division which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. The...
and 10th SS10th SS Panzer Division FrundsbergThe 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg or 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg was a German Waffen SS panzer division. The division was formed at the beginning of 1943 as a reserve for the expected Allied invasion of France. However, their first campaign was in the Ukraine in April 1944...
Panzer divisions)
The sides vary in equipment (except for the Poles, who use a reduced selection of British equipment). Generally, US and German infantry squads are larger than their British/Polish counterparts.
Gameplay modes
The player can choose to play a single battle, or a longer operation or campaign made up of multiple battles.Battle
The "battle" depicts a single one-day engagement, such as the taking of the ArnhemArnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
rail bridge (Battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
). Battles are played in a single seating, and usually last several minutes. Units are assigned to each player at the start of the battle, and cannot be changed. The objective of each battle is usually for the Allies to take victory locations dotted around the map, and the Germans to hold those locations (although this can vary with the map). Sometimes, the Allies may have to secure a bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
(by forcing the Germans off the map) before the Germans can destroy it. Declaring a ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
or retreating from the battle immediately ends it.
Operation
Operations are made up of a series of battles (up to five), and depict an operation spanning several days in a specific locale (such as the offensive at the Arnhem Bridge). The overall objective of each side is to control the maps in the operation, with each map having a certain point value:- Regular map: 10 points
- Landing zoneLanding ZoneA Landing Zone or "LZ" is a military term for any area where an aircraft can land.In the United States military, a landing zone is the actual point where aircraft land...
: 20 points - Road: 30 points
- Bridge: 40 points
If the player fails to win the entire map, he/she still receives points based on the number and value of victory locations controlled. The victory level at the end of the operation is based on the sum of victory points accumulated at the end of each day.
Unlike battles, in an operation the players can customize their force before each battle by purchasing units before each battle, using requisition points (obtained over time as a result of receiving supplies). Up to nine infantry units and six support units may be brought into a single battle. A unit that takes losses will be eventually replenished (although it may be better to simply remove that unit and requisition a new one).
Additionally, both sides can declare a ceasefire, which stops the battle for one to seven hours while both sides recuperate. A badly beaten force can also choose to flee from the battle, although this can result in engaged units being captured by the enemy, or even (if the map is the last one in the operation controlled by the retreating side) result in the operation being canceled.
Sector Campaign
The sector campaign offers a larger scope of combat than the operation or battle. Sector campaigns take place in one of the three sectors: ArnhemArnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, Nijmegen, or Eindhoven. Each sector campaign consists of a number of operations fought in parallel (thus, rather than playing an entire operation and moving on to the next one, the player will be fighting battles in multiple operations at once).
The objective in each sector campaign is similar that of the operation; that is, to take and hold maps. The victory rating for the Arnhem sector campaign is based on how well British and Polish forces are holding out at the end of the campaign (compared to the historical outcome of the real-life campaign), while that of the Nijmegen and Eindhoven sector campaigns is based on how quickly XXX Corps can advance through that sector (likewise).
If the Germans can seize the landing zones, they will be able to prevent the Allied airborne units from receiving supplies. Moreover, they can delay XXX Corps's progress by attacking a road or bridge after it has already passed that location.
Grand Campaign
The Grand Campaign is the largest in scope of all the gameplay modes, and offers the most strategy. It combines all three Sector Campaigns into a single campaign, depicting the events of Operation Market Garden starting from September 17, 1944. The ultimate objective is Arnhem, particularly the road bridge.At the end of each day, both players must choose a sector to supply (other sectors will also be supplied, but not as much). German forces can receive supplies by land at any time, while Allied forces can only be resupplied by land in areas which XXX Corps has already relieved. Additionally, the Allied player can also airdrop supplies into any sector (unless the Germans control the landing zones).
Victory is determined based on how fast XXX Corps reaches Arnhem (or if they even arrive at all), and how much ground 1st Airborne has managed to hold when reinforcements arrive.
Critical reception
In an interview with IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, Keith Zabalaoui, the President of Atomic Games in 1999, was asked about the sales of Close Combat. He noted that "Worldwide sell-through of Close Combat I and Close Combat II has been around 200,000 units for each game. That tops sales of our previous games by a factor of about ten. So, yes, we're very pleased with the sales."
Notable awards received by this game include: coming seventh in GameSpy's "Top Ten Real-Time Strategy Games of All Time", editor's choice from PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
, and runner up as the best wargame of the year, by PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
.