Combat Mission: Shock Force Demo

Battlefront has a long tradition of developing realistic war games, with Combat Mission being one of their most successful franchises. What makes their games so enjoyable is the fact that they do not look down on players and they certainly do not leave anything out when it comes to tactical possibilities and the amount of options you get once the battle begins.

Unlike the previous titles that focused on the second World War, Combat Mission: Shock Force presents a more actual conflict, namely the one that took place in Syria, between the local forces and the NATO operatives, in an attempt to free the country from its tyrannical rulers. Thus, you get make use of modern warfare equipment, for a change, and employ a wide array of different tactics on the more modern battlefield.

Before each mission, you are allowed to choose whether to play as the Blue or the Red team, which basically means that you are given the chance to fight as the Syrian army, or the NATO forces. Alternatively, the custom game section even enables you to play out some interesting combinations, such as Red vs Red, or Blue vs Blue.

Just as the series accustomed you over the years, you can hardly count the amount of options that are put at your disposal by the game, especially since you have full control over every unit that is under your command. Moreover, you also get to view what kind of weapon they use, how much ammo each unit's got left, as well as their experience level, which is crucial in confrontations.

The technical aspect has been heavily improved too, especially when it comes to graphics and the physics that govern the game world. Thus, the surrounding environment is much more susceptible to damage from projectiles, which in turn makes the battlefield more dynamic and prone to deformation. Ballistics are as accurate as always, since every bullet is accounted for and each explosion does the appropriate amount of damage.

In the end, Combat Mission: Shock Force does exactly what it is supposed to: improve on the previous installments and provide you with additional hours of true war strategy. This, coupled with the new technical improvements and the brand new setting, should be enough of an incentive to keep you playing for quite some time.