I don’t know a lot about computer gaming so I could use a little help. I’ve done a little searching around online and not found anything yet. I’m looking for a computer game that is combat command oriented (like the Close Combat games) based on a hypothetical World War 3 battle or campaign between the Soviets and the USA. Perhaps a massive tank battle all over Europe or something.
Can anyone suggest a few titles? that’s all I need… I can do the rest of the research myself.
Thanks.
I’m not sure exactly what you mean by “combat command.”
The Operational Art of War: Century of Warfare has several good NATO v. Warsaw Pact scenarios, and plenty more are available online (it’s also an excellent game in general).
Steel Panthers II and III each have WW3 campaigns and scenarios, and are more tactics-oriented than TOAW. Again, these are quality titles (II moreso than III, IMO).
That’s all I can think of for now.
I honestly can’t think of any RTS games like that. Now, Command & Conquer: Generals has a hypothetical WWIII-type setting, but it’s the USA vs. China vs. Terrorists, and set about 20-30 years in the future. The Command & Conquer Red Alert games feature a USA vs. USSR conflict, but it’s set in an alternate universe where Einstein went back in time to kill Hitler and Russia ended up being the big bad guys.
But I can’t think of any realistic RTS WWIII-type games.
All I could think of was Command and Conquer: Red Alert myself. But I think that’s a pretty good fit. V2 Rocket Launchers are pretty neat.
Red Alert and Red Alert 2 are pretty much the same game, except Red Alert 2 is presented as more of a dark comedy bording on Sci-fi(Since the soviets didn’t really have physic technology, nor the allies time/space teleportation tech.)
[Joshua]
Want to play a game?
[/Joshua]
Did anyone ever make a real game of “Global Thermonuclear War” from War Games?
Probably not. The only way to win is to not play at all, remember?
Actually, wasn’t there a ColecoVision game based on War Games? I think it had to do with stopping nuclear war rather than waging it, though.
Two other Cold War themed games dealing with nuclear war:
Avalon Hill made a computer game call “B-1 Nuclear Bomber” which was a purely text-based simulation of flying a bomber into Soviet territory, avoiding air defenses, and dropping a nuke on a city. I learned about this game from reading a review in the TI-99/4A newsletter “MICROpendium”. I don’t know what other versions were made, and I’d guess that the game isn’t available anymore.
I also remember seeing “SDI”, the Cinemaware game, on a friend’s Commodore Amiga. It was pretty science-fictiony, though, given that you played a hot-shot American space-fighter pilot who had to defend a bunch of SDI satellites from Russian attack. There was also a sequence where you stormed a Soviet space station armed with your trusty laser gun.
There’s always Harpoon, except that’s aimed at naval combat people.
How about a Rocky IV video game? 
Operation Flashpoint?
It’s a way too realistic IMO first person action game of the USA fighting Russians on some made up island. You getta play with everything from the humble jeep to the M1A1 to the apache and everything on the Russian side too. Not exactly the huge massive campaigns that would come from WWIII but you can always make your own missions.
I’d recommend the C&C or Red Alert series, they’re both quite similar to what you’re looking for.
LWL has the right of it, on the Wargames cart for the Colecovision. You had to defend the US from a Soviet nuclear attack, with interceptors, anti-ballistic missiles, attack subs, and a wandering laser equipped satellite, for a pre-set time period. If your DEFCON level reached 1, and stayed there for 60 seconds, a full scale retaliation was launched, and you lost.
This wasn’t the same type of game, but there was a “nuclear exchange simulator” called Bravo Romeo Delta, IIRC, released a whole bunch of years back. You played as either the US or USSR, and tried to bring your opponent’s offensive capabilities down to nothing, without getting nuked into a glowing wet spot yourself.
I could never get any outcome besides mutual destruction with that one. Joshua was right.