Unity of Command - Review

Let me paraphrase the opening paragraph of a professional game reviewer elsewhere. Before I got Unity of Command, I made the mistake of glancing at a few screen shots. They worried me. Those unit's busts instead of NATO icons, the barren interface lacking recognizable buttons for all things sacred in hardcore war gaming, the list of unit's stats shorter than my bank savings account deposit records. Oh no, it's going to be one of those games isn't it? One of those "spiritual successors" trying to bank on the genius of designers of great things we grew up and moved on from? One of those generic turns and hexes "war game light" clones that keep sprouting like mushrooms on a rainy day?

Unity of Command (UoC from here), turned out to be neither. A lean, fast and fulfilling operational level war game with a computer opponent that will hurt your martial ego and keep you in the edge of your seat to the very last turn is the best way to describe it.

Pat Proctor in National Public Radio

What a surprise yesterday when I heard Michel Martin say in her program Tell Me More that Pat Proctor was her guest. Pat has published Task Force Patriot and the End of Combat Operations in Iraq and is finishing his Ph.D. studies in military history. You may know him from the ProSimCo line of tactical games.

Pat's blog is in our blogroll, down below in the side bar.

Cheers,

ArmA 2 - Asymmetric Warfare Components Mod Needs Testers

Iraq and Afghanistan veteran (and fellow reader of the blog) BO is modding ArmA 2 from his experiences with the real deal.



Now looking for testers of his mod.

Cheers,

Steel Beasts ProPE Version 2.640 Update - Released

Well folks, what a massive update. The backlog of gaming fun just got bigger ... No complains, though. :)

Plenty of new goodies. Main attractions for me: 3D infantry and ... wait for it ... a crewable T-72!
Come on in and grab a chair. I have screenshots.

Unity of Command - Gameplay Notes - 2nd Kharkov Scenario - The March Up North (06Jun42 / 18Jun42)

All things considered, it turns out I have trashed my operational tempo by over-sizing my main effort.

The Soviets are packing and fleeing up north!

My command is battle-weary, understrength and behind schedule to secure the two remaining objectives.

Tigers Unleashed (HPS Simulations) - Screenshots

Some screenshots of Tigers Unleashed, an impressive, highly detailed simulation of WWII tactical combat that will be released any minute now. More impressions and an AAR are coming up, stay tuned.

The USS Dale at Pearl Harbor

This entry was intended for yesterday, but it was delayed by real life issues.
Zenith Press has a great portfolio of military-themed books. Yesterday, the company's blog featured an excerpt from an excellent book about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Pilots aboard Nagumo’s six carriers awoke very early from what surely must have been a nervous sleep. Yet, despite all of the anxiety, Flight Commander Fuchida found Lieutenant Commander Shigeharu Murata, leader of the torpedo bombers who would soon strike Pearl Harbor’s battleship row, hungrily wolfing down a hearty breakfast. Murata called out, “Good morning, Commander Fuchida. Honolulu sleeps!”

“How do you know?” Fuchida asked.
“The Honolulu radio plays soft music,” Murata responded. “Everything is fine!”    
At 0600, Nagumo’s six carriers began launching the first wave of airplanes. At 0630, Commander Fuchida turned south in command of forty Kate torpedo bombers, fifty-one dive-bombers, forty-three fighters, and forty-nine Kate high-level bombers. Months of training were about to culminate in an operation that would commit Japan to a war with the industrial might of the United States.
Though most of Honolulu slept, a few were being made aware that something was up. In the early morning darkness, the destroyer USS Ward (DD-139) spotted the periscope of an unidentified submarine near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. TheWard attacked the submarine, sank it, and then reported the incident up the chain of command. Then, at approximately 0700, an alert army radar operator saw the approaching first wave of Japanese airplanes on his scope and called in a report to his superior. Both reports, however, fell on deaf ears and nothing was done to increase Pearl Harbor’s readiness for what was about to come from the sky.

There is more at the Zenith Press blog. Please take a look.

Cheers,

Unity of Command - Gameplay Notes - 2nd Kharkov Scenario - The Fall of Izium (17May42 / 06Jun42)

Izium fell on the first week of June1942 to a backdrop of ferocious attacks and counterattacks.

The human toll has been horrendous, the enemy too obstinate to give up ground.

ArmA 2 - Combat Outpost Defense

This video brought to you by BO, who appears to be having lots of multiplayer fun ... :)



From the video description:

An ArmA TvT event in which we get our collective asses handed to us. As part of the beta MP TvT campaign "A Fork in the Road" which requires ISAF personnel to conduct KLE's, route clearance, weapons interdiction, raids, clear and hold mandates, humanitarian operations (building wells and schools), etc... we establish a new COP in a contested area overlooking a valley. 

Within two hours of our patrol establishing said COP, AAF conduct a complex attack on our position. Outnumbered nearly 6-1 we hold our own, but only because of the Close Air Support provided by ADFGrunt06. We eventually abandoned the position.

Cheers,

Scenario Design Center, Contributions Needed

The Scenario Design Center is a great site for all things HPS and John Tiller software. It was founded and it is maintained by a very dedicated fellow from Australia who is spending his own money on hosting.

If you are into HPS or John Tiller software, I'm sure you know about this site. A voluntary contribution will be appreciated.

Cheers,