Close Combat: Wacht am Rhein Reviews

It's beautiful. Multiplayer is where this game shines like a diamond. Wait until a sale is on, or find an alternative place to buy it other than steam.

Classic Close Combat action. Those who like it, can't get enough !! One of the best for long drawn out battles leaving maps strew with destroyed vehicles until it is impossible to get around them.

Now completely outdated but in its time somewhat decent game. Hopeless AI, buggy LOS and unrealistic damage modelling.

I played this when I was a kid and never understood the tactical depth of this game. I still liked it as a kid, as an adult I love it! Most realistic strategy game I've played. 4.5/5 + Tactical realism and depth + The slow pace is perfect for this size of engagement and it's more about analyzing than clicks per minute + Pretty smart AI + Graphics and style still holds up - learning the game is done by trial and error - sound design aren't that great

There is a resolution problem and the game will not maximize on Windows 10. Read the suggestions on the community page, but there doesn't appear to be a fix. Odd, I have three Close Combat games, and this is the only one that's jacked.

An enjoyable franchise,precursor to games like armored brigade,cc isnt perfect but has its own unique charm,recommended to all wargamers and strategy lovers,you will be replaying battles multiple times just trying to find that sweet spot for your at guns lol.

Battle of the bulge/wacht am rhein was the first of the CC series i got to know, back in the late 90's. After, i also bought almost every other part in the series. I truly appreciate it. Of all the parts in the series, wacht am Rhein is my most played / most favorite version. The steam version has a few differences. First of all, the sound. The sound has been improved dramatically. An MG42 now actually sounds like an MG42 instead of a generic "prrrpp". The menu interface has been slightly altered, noticable when you give your units artillery, airsupport and such in the planning screen. And because of the resolution difference (this is a late 90's game) it is not always easy to spot the details (to me). [strike]One major advantage, compared to some other steam versions of the CC series, is the mouse support. It moves in the right way. And not too fast like in Gateway to Caen, where scrolling is way too fast.[/strike] This was solved in GTC. I do set my windows resolution back to 1440x900 when i play this game, otherwise it becomes too small in my opinion. The immersion for me is still there, especially now with the improved sounds. Hearing that MG42 opening up on the enemy, followed by "WE'RE UNDER HEAVY FIRE!" puts a broad smile on my face. In total, the game behaves exactly as how i would expect. Would i pay full price? No, but in a discount it is well worth the money.

I own almost all of the CC games and have played them since CC1 came out and this one is by far my least favorite. The enemy AI, depsite being on the offensive, will not do anything until you move your units around. The friendly AI will randomly decide to move out into the open and proceed to get annihilated by the tank or MG team in the field they've had eyes on the entire time. AT guns will randomly decide that its a good time to move as they're firing on a tank or infantry team. It's incredibly frustrating to deal with all of this. I was able to get a few hours in before finally giving up on trying to make it any further in the campaign. Huge disappointment.

You forget just how bad this game was. The AI will not budge until you make a move, regardless of whether you are offense or defense. Vehicles turn 'round and 'round before advancing. Troops in ambush position are blind to enemies 20 yards away. They should be able to smell them at that range! Avoid like the plague.

I thought I would give this another go after the update. The scaling is still a total mess. Battle maps scale okay, but the in battle menus are huge compared to the map and the main menu screens are still tiny, there's also a glitch where the scenario editor screen becomes misty if you select a battlegroup. There's a few minor gripes too, mostly carried over from the original release; there's still no Tiger 2s or Sherman Jumbo tanks unless the player sets both sides to recruit difficulty (I remember this was the first thing I modded when I originally played it, the force pools are just absurdly large on those easier settings. Luckily the Matrix versions of CC games are very easy to make small mods like this). The original CC4 had the actual December and January dates but this just has turn numbers, not game breaking, just a backward step for immersion. The original had unit leader pictures too, Wacht am Rhein just has a name in text. The dates for the historical weather settings seem off and I recall more Luftwaffe raids in the original CC4 (January the 1st is listed as a storm in WAR but was actually the date of the Luftwaffe's last offensive because the weather was improved over previous days, again, all things that are easy to mod yourself). There's also the lack of an option to toggle the colouring of occupation zones on the strategic map, which makes it hard to tell a river from a road unless you are actually fighting over a sector and can see it in a colour that isn't shaded red or green. Lastly, there's not even the victory videos that the original game had, although, since the update the intro video runs. I always remember being perplexed that Wacht am Rhein expanded the play area with some really nice new maps, but still managed not to let 5th Army get anywhere near their actual high water mark, near Celles, still less threaten Dinant. I needed my Panthers battling through the icy pines fix, but I wouldn't suggest this to anyone not like minded, especially not while the scaling issues are unresolved. If you are still a sucker for the nostalgia like me, then definitely get it on sale, as the usual asking price is insane for a poor steam port of a twelve year old update of a twenty year old game. WAR doesn't even include the updated mortar mechanics or campaign management options or night battles from the other old Matrix re-releases like Last Stand Arnhem or any of the other nice tweaks that came with Gateway to Caen or Panthers in the Fog, let alone any new content like extra maps for an expanded play area for areas like Monschau in the north, Echternact to the south, Celles to the west or any of the terrain nearer the Meuse for a 'what if' opportunity. I love the classic CC games, but this port could really have been a lot more polished. For all its faults this does still provide a gaming experience that nothing else quite manages, not quite a full on sim and more complicated than mere popcorn, there is still nothing like classic CC.