76 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
76 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
CONFLICT: MIDDLE EAST
|
|
|
|
CONFLICT: MIDDLE EAST (CME) from SSI pits the Israelis against the Arabs. It
|
|
is historically accurate in scope, since Jordan is present but not
|
|
participating. There are two basic scenario choices: historical 1973 and
|
|
hypothetical 199?. (This review is based on the IBM version.)
|
|
|
|
CME is a basic war game. Movement is still based on hexes. Units are given
|
|
movement allowances and, depending on unit type and terrain, units can move
|
|
to the maximum distance listed. Sometimes, however, slight inconsistencies
|
|
appear. For example, an artillery unit has a movement of 12 as does the Mech
|
|
Infantry unit stacked with it. You move the Infantry unit on a road 12 hexes.
|
|
You then move the artillery unit on the same road and it will only go 11
|
|
hexes. There is no obvious answer in the manual as to why this occurs.
|
|
|
|
Combat is straightforward: You stack up to two units in a hex; surround an
|
|
enemy unit/stack if you can; and bring your artillery to within three hexes
|
|
of the target hex. In turn, the computer opponent brings anything and
|
|
everything to bear on your units. Attack/defend points are calculated and a
|
|
"die" is rolled. Combat between units is accompanied by units having
|
|
explosions on top of its icon and sound effects.
|
|
|
|
Combat results are pure board game: You kill your opponent(s), they kill
|
|
you; they retreat, you retreat; or nothing happens. Combat Strength values
|
|
are deducted from the units involved, if they aren't killed outright.
|
|
Eventually, the units run out of value and die. What is interesting is that
|
|
the player can combine units into "super" units, at a penalty of decreasing
|
|
combat readiness. This is the only way around the arbitrary two-unit stacking
|
|
limit. There are limitations, however: You cannot add an unlimited number of
|
|
dissimilar units, say, two different APCs, tanks, or artillery. But you can
|
|
strip out artillery from a mechanized brigade and add more tanks or infantry.
|
|
|
|
The player can (and should) assign tactical air missions: Strike,
|
|
Interdiction, Close Air Support, and Air Superiority. The Israelis have
|
|
better equipment and pilots; the Arabs, more of both. The manual suggests
|
|
that you concentrate in the early days on SAM suppression and Interdiction
|
|
missions, then on Airfield attacks and Interdiction, until you control the
|
|
air. Then, if you last that long, your remaining a/c have only to deal with
|
|
the organic SAM/AAA of the ground units you attack. I have several problems
|
|
with the combat results in the air campaign; the Arabs seem just too good at
|
|
any level above pushover. But this may be only an "interface" problem rather
|
|
than a mathematical problem. It just seems that the Arab AFs survive too long
|
|
under prolonged airfield assault.
|
|
|
|
CME for the IBM comes on one 5-1/4" disk, and is installed on a hard drive
|
|
by typing: A:\Install. For those who have a 3-1/2" drive as your A:, CME will
|
|
load from your B: drive. Installation is simple and straightforward. It takes
|
|
approximately three to four minutes to load on a 20MHz 386 machine.
|
|
|
|
CME's manual is 42 pages plus cover, and is required for an "ownership"
|
|
check at the start of each game: You must type in the appropriate word from
|
|
the manual. The booklet is divided into: six chapters of rules; four chapters
|
|
of notes on such things as solitaire and two-player play; scenario and
|
|
victory conditions; and Player and Designer notes. There are also six
|
|
appendices covering Icons, Equipment Descriptions, 1975 order of battle and
|
|
appearance, 199? order of battle and appearance, a list of abbreviations, and
|
|
the formulae used to resolve combat. The chapters on loading and starting the
|
|
game are for the Amiga as well as MS-DOS versions. Commands given here refer
|
|
to the IBM version, if there is a difference.
|
|
|
|
CME is controlled by either the keyboard and a mouse (if available). The
|
|
interface is straightforward, though there are one or two places where a
|
|
little more (or even less) color would make a beginner's life easier. It is
|
|
difficult to differentiate between choices on the main menu bar. The graphics
|
|
are nothing out of the ordinary, typical of past SSI offerings.
|
|
|
|
CONFLICT: MIDDLE EAST is a fun game, and can hold your attention. At the
|
|
higher levels, CME is a real challenge and is a good value. However, it is
|
|
_not_ "the" Middle East game, so experienced players and students of the
|
|
period and/or area should take a very close look at this program before
|
|
buying.
|
|
|
|
CONFLICT: MIDDLE EAST is published and distributed by Strategic Simulations,
|
|
Inc.
|
|
|