This classic gets my vote for best ever, but I also gotta put the original Close Combat I-III series near the top. I've heard many accolades for Combat Mission, but never played it. What do you think, guys? Maybe my closeness to SPWaW makes me prejudiced towards it (LOL, what am I saying--of COURSE it does), but seriously, does the old warhorse still remain at or near the top of the heap?
Posts: 4804
Joined: 5/8/2000 From: Jackson Tn Status: offline
As far as my portfolio of games go the answer is: YES YES YES!! SPWAW is on of only two games that I have never stopped playing for more than a few days at a time. (CIV series being the other). I just can't help feeling like I am playing my old board game love "Squad Leader" when I play certain scenarios.
TOP OF THE LIST. Dave
_____________________________
"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."- W.T. Sherman
Maybe my closeness to SPWaW makes me prejudiced towards it (LOL, what am I saying--of COURSE it does), but seriously, does the old warhorse still remain at or near the top of the heap?
It does, but to a certain extent this is because its genre has more or less died out in this world of RTS click-fests. I still love it, though. It's one of the few games I keep coming back to over and over again.
Posts: 39
Joined: 5/11/2001 From: St. Louis Status: offline
I think that the whole series of Steel Panthers are the best wargames that I have ever played. The only other game that is close is Harpoon 2-3. I played Close Combat. You could not see all the action and the oob's were not realistic. Even the sounds in the Steel Panthers series are realistic.
JimPY, you mentioned the sounds, and they are unsurpassed. With a good sound system, you are THERE. I realize that I'm preaching to the converted, but don't forget that the long campaigns give you the opportunity to take command of a reinforced battalion and lead them through the entire war. This is the best feature I can think of, as you can re-equip and reorganize your force as the war progresses. Other than Close Combat, which followed a scripted path as opposed to SPWaW's randomness, there is no comparison. Combine this with the Mega campaigns and the hundreds of scenarios, no other game can come close.
Posts: 39
Joined: 5/11/2001 From: St. Louis Status: offline
I have a stepfather who fought in WW2 in the Pacific. He and my mother were visiting me one time and I was playing SPWAW in another room. Soon after I started he came into my room to ask what was going on. He thought that he heard machine gun fire. I showed him the game. He says the .50 cal sound was exactly the same as the real machine gun, which he fired many times on landings.
Have you ever gone to the Wargamer and looked at the number of downlaods, For Wild Bills Korea series, its well over 1000 alot of SPWAW fans still out there!!! How goes the New Mech testing, anyone heard anything??
Oh, well, I can't help but be a cheerleader for SPWaW. It's a timeless classic. Origins is still 17 days away, but I'm getting psyched--can't wait to meet the guys.
For the record, I still like John Tiller's Battleground series games-- I have Shiloh, Bull Run, Antietam & Gettysburg. Some good mods were made for these games, and I have them.
Also, for ancient battles-- I have the Great Battles of Alexander, Hannibal & Caesar.
All this to say, I used to play operational-level games, but the tactical level grabbed me, and for wargaming, this is now my favorite mode of play.
On the WWII level, though, SPWaW is the king--does anyone dispute this?
Ok, I'll bite--what is X-Com, and why would I want it?
You probably wouldn't... X-Com is an old series of games from Microprose, where the player controls an organisation called X-Com against alien invaders. The tactical part of the game involves moving individual operatives around an iso-3D map to capture and/or destroy a range of alien adversaries.
It was a good game for its time (1993, unless memory fails me), but mostly for its atmosphere. SP: WaW beats it pants down.
On the WWII level, though, SPWaW is the king--does anyone dispute this?
No.
I'd still like to see SP: WaW ported to the modern era, though. Back in the day, I spent far more time with SP2 than SP1. SP: MBT was a disappointment of enormous proportions.
On the WWII level, though, SPWaW is the king--does anyone dispute this?
No.
I'd still like to see SP: WaW ported to the modern era, though. Back in the day, I spent far more time with SP2 than SP1. SP: MBT was a disappointment of enormous proportions.
The thought of the SPWaW engine being able to recreate the Battle of 73 Easting from Gulf War I is a wonderful idea, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
Posts: 1172
Joined: 8/22/2000 From: Torrance, Calif. USA Status: offline
I will say that from my perspective the series of SP games are the best wargames out there. The game offers so much variety that one can play just about any scenario they want (from recreations to what ifs, from small fire fights, to large battles). Though I have never played SPWWII, I have been playing alot of the SPMBT since my main interest is in modern combat (I do wish Matrix had done a modern game though!). So in term of versatility, I think the SP series has it all!
_____________________________
Semper Fi Randy
The United States Marines: America's 911 Force-The Tip of the Spear
Ok, I'll bite--what is X-Com, and why would I want it?
You probably wouldn't... X-Com is an old series of games from Microprose, where the player controls an organisation called X-Com against alien invaders. The tactical part of the game involves moving individual operatives around an iso-3D map to capture and/or destroy a range of alien adversaries.
It was a good game for its time (1993, unless memory fails me), but mostly for its atmosphere. SP: WaW beats it pants down.
Well, you may not like X-COM, but to call it "good game for its time" and "mostly for its atmosphere" is a mistake IMO. There was not even one game after X-COM which had all its main features: all enviroment is destructable (fighting inside burning hull of your shuttle after it was hit by rocket), operations both inside and outside of multistoried buildings (cutting through the wall to get to your enemy - Israel Army applied this tactic in urban combat couple of years ago for the first time), units poses, wounds, mlee, moral etc. There weren't any successful clones of the X-COM either
Oh, you're very much mistaken! I LOVED X-Com back in the day, and spent many, many, many hours playing it; all I'm saying is that it's been supersceded, and hasn't stood the test of time.
SPWaW is a great game. I played SP, SP2, SP3 and SPwAW. Something keeps pulling you back - the mark of a great game.
Combat Mission also rocks, but you can't play anything like the numbers of troops in the field in SP.
Xcom was great fun and had possibly the best mood music to ever accompany a game. It got so you were afraid to order your men to open a door 'cos the music was giving you the willies ! The first System Shock was also very creepy.
But think about it - how many games that you first played 10 years ago still live ( essentially unchanged ) on your HDD ? Not a lot.
Posts: 1705
Joined: 10/31/2000 From: Palouse, WA Status: offline
For sheer variety, SPWAW is the obvious choice and a wonderful game. But for gameplay on the small to medium plus battles, Combat Mission is better. No doubt about it. CMAK is way better than the original and is simply great.
Also there's Laser Squad Nemesis which is good although it's mainly multi-player, the new game from the makers of xcom. It's the tactical battles without the overview.
If you go to http://www.the-underdogs.org/ you can still get XCom (as well as many other classics). It might take a bit of work to get it running on a modern system though.
As far as turn-based tactical wargames go, SPWaW is as good as it gets for me. I also enjoy SPMBT and SPWW2, but SPWaW just seems more advanced than those two.
When comparing tactical wargames overall, Combat Mission is my favorite. It uses a different system that is a hybrid of turn-based and real-time gameplay. You plot your orders for each turn, then the turn plays out in one minute of real-time. This allows for a more realistic game in my opinion.
The scope of the Combat Mission games is a little narrower so you don't have quite as much variety as you do in SPWaW, but the battles are awesome.
I still play SPWaW regularly though, and will continue to do so for a long time to come...
SPWAW (and SP2WW2/SPMBT) is surely the best all time hexbased wargames ever! You can play it in most imaginable ways and if you don´t play much you surely have lots of fun modding it!
Combat Mission (BB/AK) surely won´t vanish from my computer that soon either! Very realistic, addictive and my prefered choice for PBEM since some time. ....oh and you can have lots of fun modding those too!
Oh..did I mention "Hearts of Iron" yet?
Now if I only could find a mod that removes the useless sleeping hours from my days,..or yet better add another 8 hours to get more wargaming out of them!
I'll put it this way. I've yet to install any tactical based wargame that has yet to knock Steel Panthers off it's pedestal. I even bought the first two Combat Mission games. Good games, but in the end i still end up booting up Steel Panthers, either WaW or SPMBT. Those two games are fun and the 3D battlefield is a nice change of pace but i still prefer SP.
Steel Panthers, in one incarnation or another is the only wargame i've ever owned that has stayed on my hard drive for 10 years and counting. Thats a record that may never be beaten.
Posts: 1172
Joined: 8/22/2000 From: Torrance, Calif. USA Status: offline
I agree 100% about SP (in all its variations). As I have pointed out in the past, this game is limited only to one's imagination. Combine SPWAW with SPMBT and you have over eighty years of armored warfare! You can play as small as an infantry squad to as large as a brigade. You can do historical recreations or "what if" scenarios, its all up to the player. Also, though I haven't played too many other games, the aspects of playing SP is very easy to learn. This game has been out for almost 10 years now, and we still play and react to the game as if it just came out. I think this game will be played for years to come.
_____________________________
Semper Fi Randy
The United States Marines: America's 911 Force-The Tip of the Spear
Printable Version
All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Steel Panthers World At War & Mega Campaigns >> Is SPWaW the Greatest-Ever Tactical Game? 
Is SPWaW the Greatest-Ever Tactical Game? - 
RE: Is SPWaW the Greatest-Ever Tactical Game? - 
RE: Is SPWaW the Greatest-Ever Tactical Game? - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread