Close Combat

Close Combat is a 1996 real-time wargame published by Microsoft and developed by Atomic Games. It covers the fighting in Normandy after D-Day, between the American 29th Infantry Division and the German 352nd. You command squads, guns and vehicles on top-down maps, giving orders in real time.

Its distinguishing feature is psychology. Every soldier has a morale that responds to fire, losses and fatigue. Under pressure, soldiers may refuse orders, break and run, or freeze. The model was designed with help from a specialist in combat trauma. Units have limited sight, limited ammunition, and suffer from suppression.

It was one of the first games to treat soldiers as frightened people rather than pieces, and that makes its battles unpredictable and human. A series of sequels followed, covering other campaigns of the war.

It is a wargame more than a squad game, and its interface and look are dated. It rewards patience and knowledge of real tactics.

Close Combat shares Commandos' real time and its period, and nothing of its stealth. It is here because it takes seriously something Commandos ignores: soldiers who are afraid. Its morale model is a lesson for any real-time squad game that wants its people to feel alive.