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(c) 2000 James Burrows
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Dear
Mum, glad you're not here. I'm on the beach near
Cherbourg and under enemy fire. I'm no strategist
and I know that soon I and all my units will die.
The controller of the German forces knows exactly
what he's doing: at one point I thought I might
have won the battle, but my forces were soon overwhelmed
by the superior opposition. Why they put me, a
novice, in charge of the invasion force, I'll
never understand; all I know is that I never stood
a chance. . . .
.
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| Welcome
to Game of the Week! Each week there will be a
new featured game on this page. The game may be good,
average or diabolically bad, it really doesn't matter!
Just look at the pics, read the text and enjoy the nostalgia!
:-) Game of the Week! is open to contributions so if you
would like to contribute
a game article for this page you're more than welcome
to! Every article we receive will be considered! |
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Battle
for Normandy
1983 Strategic
Simulations, Inc.
Programmed
by Tactical Design Group
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| Most
text of the present article comes from the review published
in the first issue of the British C64 magazine ZZAP!64
(May 1985). |
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BATTLE
FOR NORMANDY
US
Gold, £14.95 cass & disk,
keyboard only
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O
Large, absorbing war game packed with detail
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Never
mind all those history lessons, you can now re-enact
D-Day for yourself -- you can even be driven off the
beaches and lose the Second World War.
You
command 33 combat formations, which you have to deploy
on the beaches of Normandy and use them to establish
the beachhead from which you can strike inland. You
have 18 American units which can be landed at Utah and
Omaha beaches, and 15 British units to be landed at
Gold, Juno and Sword beaches.
The
Normandy area is represented by a map made up of hexagons
on which are marked the terrain, forces, bombardment
line, and reinforcement entry hexagons - the units are
indicated by small, rather unclear symbols.
It's
possible to move in any of six directions from each
position. At the top is the sea, the patches of four
dots
are the beaches, and the letters US, G, and B mark
the positions of American, German, and British units.
There
is only one landing point at each beach, and this means
congestion easily builds up if you don't move your forces
quickly. Next you have to drop your three airborne divisions
and allocate importance to fuel, general, combat, and
amphibious supplies, which your forces require once
they have landed. You will also have to allocate 'air
interdiction' which will hamper the movement of enemy
forces.
Most
of your time is spent moving your forces and either
attacking or defending the Germans. This is the most
important stage, and victory or defeat will be determined
by your combat points, fatigue, leadership, air and
naval support, and attack or defence strategy.
This
main phase of the game is repeated with both sides battling
for supremacy during the 24-day period of the campaign.
The Germans can be computer controlled, or you can have
two players fighting it out.
You
are given the option to change the game ratings, but
if you leave them as they are you will have to play
the expert game.
BW
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To start with this wasn't as compelling as Combat
Leader (reviewed elsewhere in this issue), but my
feelings changed once I
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got into it. Invading Europe to liberate France
soon proved to be absorbing. The presentation,
as with most US Gold titles, is excellent. Being
able to change the difficulty levels means you
can go on for hours, or even days.
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Charting
the Battle
The instruction booklet contains copious charts to
help you plan your actions. It also provides you with
information on the weather, and how it affects your
transport, and expenditure of supplies, which are limited
and must be planned ahead in order not to run out.
The
all-important effects of combat points, air and naval
strength, interdiction, and strategy, are also detailed,
and constant reference to these is necessary. Lastly,
there is advice on the game ratings and the effects
of the terrain, truly a comprehensive list.
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I
became thoroughly engrossed in retaking France
and it is easy to play this game for hours on
end. There is always plenty of opposition, and
the variables built in to the program mean that
no two games will be the same. One criticism is
that all the figures can be confusing at first,
so
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a careful read of the instructions is essential. The
card showing the map and unit roster is helpful and
well explained.
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| PRESENTATION |
ORIGINALITY
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| 86% |
Long
instructions, charts and helpful separate card. |
50%
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Oldest
of scenarios but different implementation. |
| GRAPHICS |
HOOKABILITY
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| 42% |
Confusing
forces symbols but a clear map and colour scheme. |
44%
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The
complexities are daunting unless you persevere. |
| SOUND |
LASTABILITY
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36%
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Noises
of engagement and alarms. |
83%
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A
single game can offer hours (or days) of absorbing
play. |
| VALUE
FOR MONEY |
| 74% |
Expensive
but worth it for war gamers. |
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Htmlized
by Dimitris
Kiminas (17 May 2001)
Other
"Games of the Week!"
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