jwarrenw13
Posts: 1897
Joined: 8/12/2000
From: Louisiana, USA
Status: offline
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This game and TACOPS are the only games I've kept on my computer for several years. I think the reason why is that both are simple and good. You always get surprises. There is always something new. (TACOPS btw is in the process of adding a WWII OOB.)
Last night I returned to COW and played the Middle East 73 scenario as the Israelis solo, for the first time in several years. This is a pretty good solo scenario because the Israelis are of course outnumbered, which helps the AI, and the terrain is restricted so it is hard to really surprise the AI, and you just can't make a lot of mistakes.
In the end I won a marginal victory while setting off WWIII in the process.
On the Golan heights I held, and then broke through and drove an armored brigade to the gates of Damascus, prompting Soviet intervention. I got a warning and would have withdrawn but my unit was out of supply that turn. So I ended up fighting Soviet airborne units as well as the Syrians, but in the end pushed them back to the suburbs of Damascus when the game ended.
On the Egyptian front I of course had to weather the initial Egyptian attack, stabilize the front, and then figure out where to counterattack. I finally breached the canal in the center but had lost too many units to exploit to the extent the Israelis really did in 73. But it did cause the Egyptians lots of havoc. Nevertheless, I ended up fighting hard for the win. I never did clear the Egyptians in the south, and there was bitter fighting for the Mitla Pass. In the north I cleared the canal but a last-minute counterattack took Al Qantara.
By then we were several turns past the 'last' turn of the scenario, something else neat about COW, and I was right on the edge in victory points. In fact, the loss of Al Qantara moved me from a marginal victory to a draw. Obviously the AI was trying to gain points before the game ended.
I scraped together a few units, retook Al Qantara, held it against Egyptian counterattacks, held the Mitla Pass, and thankfully the game ended with an Israeli victory.
Meanwhile in the news, North Korea had invaded South Korea, US and Soviet ships in the Med were shooting at each other, and there were air battles over Central Europe.
It was a good thing Jordan didn't invade, because I had stripped Israel completely of units to enable me to win against Egypt.
And it was 2 a.m.
What fun. That is another reason why COW is such a great game. Even though the AI has its limitations, with the right scenario, it can be quite a challenge.
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A reminder of why this game is so good. - 
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