CLOSE COMBAT V: INVASION NORMANDY
PC Gamer US Edition|December 2021
Twenty years later, this RTS is still just as innovative.
Steven Messner
CLOSE COMBAT V: INVASION NORMANDY

NEED TO KNOW

RELEASE October 2000

PUBLISHER Mattel Interactive

DEVELOPER Atomic Games

LINK bit.ly/2ViLhqN

During the frigid Canadian winters, the forest behind my house became a battlefield. Every night I’d meet my friends there and distribute our collection of toy guns, and then we’d reenact the scenes we had seen in war movies. I vividly remember sitting in the snow, back against a tree, pretending I was pinned down by my friend, who was now a German sniper. I was ten years old, and blessed with an absurdly active imagination. Immersion was everything, so crawling for an hour through freezing slush just to get to safety was not out of the question.

This was just one of the ways my childlike fascination with war manifested itself. Between gory drawings of battlefields or watching what few WWII documentaries I was allowed to see, ten-year-old me was obsessed with the thrill and glory of battle. Naturally, that troubled the hell out of my parents, who knew that war wasn’t glamorous or cool. But despite them trying to tell me otherwise, that realization only hit me the first time I booted up Close Combat on our family PC. This real-time strategy game was unlike any other I’d played, and it quickly taught me that war is a lot more horrifying than my kid brain could comprehend.

Reinstalling Close Combat V today, it’s funny that I initially found its low-res battlefields so harrowing. But even if its graphics haven’t aged well, there’s still something unique and innovative about one of PC gaming’s forgotten real-time strategy games.

INTO THE BREACH

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PC GAMER US EDITIONView all
Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.
PC Gamer US Edition

Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.

Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big. Four years later, its successor Inkbound’s launch from Early Access was looking more like Sandwich Big.I’m not just saying that because of the mountain of lamb and eggplants I ate while meeting with developer Shiny Shoe over lunch, to feel out what the aftermath of releasing a game looks like in 2024. I mean, have I thought about that sandwich every day since? Yes. But also, the indie team talked frankly about the struggle of luring Monster Train’s audience on board for its next game.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
SCREENBOUND
PC Gamer US Edition

SCREENBOUND

How a 5D platformer went viral two months into development

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
OLED GAMING MONITORS
PC Gamer US Edition

OLED GAMING MONITORS

A fresh wave of OLED panels brings fresh options, greater resolutions and makes for even more impressive gaming monitors

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
CRYSIS 2
PC Gamer US Edition

CRYSIS 2

A cinematic FPS with tour de force visuals.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
PLOD OF WAR
PC Gamer US Edition

PLOD OF WAR

SENUA’S SAGA: HELLBLADE 2 fails to find a new path for its hero

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
GALAXY QUEST
PC Gamer US Edition

GALAXY QUEST

HOMEWORLD 3 is a flashy, ambitious RTS, but some of the original magic is missing

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
FAR REACHING
PC Gamer US Edition

FAR REACHING

Twenty years ago, FAR CRY changed the landscape of PC gaming forever.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2024
THY KINGDOM COME
PC Gamer US Edition

THY KINGDOM COME

SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE is the culmination of decades of FromSoftware RPGs, and a gargantuan finale for ELDEN RING

time-read
9 mins  |
September 2024
KILLING FLOOR 3
PC Gamer US Edition

KILLING FLOOR 3

Tripwire Interactive's creature feature is back

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
IMPERFECTLY BALANCED
PC Gamer US Edition

IMPERFECTLY BALANCED

Arrowhead says HELLDIVERS 2 balancing patches have 'gone too far'

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024