Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far

Operation Market Garden becomes a tense, map-by-map command problem where every squad’s nerve matters as much as its firepower. Set during the Allied attempt to seize key Dutch bridges in 1944, Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far trades grand strategy spectacle for close, ugly engagements between infantry, armor, and entrenched defenders. Battles unfold in real time, but the pace rewards deliberate positioning rather than reflexes: a single machine gun covering a road or an anti-tank gun hidden behind a hedge can decide the day. Its mood is uncompromising and historical, with soldiers who panic, tire, hesitate, and refuse orders they consider hopeless.

Players deploy small units, issue movement and targeting commands, use cover, and watch lines of sight with great care. Buildings, upper floors, raised ground, woods, and narrow streets all create tactical opportunities, while tanks require infantry support to avoid ambushes from concealed anti-armor teams. Command extends beyond individual firefights in the larger operations and campaigns, where limited replacements must be sent to the sectors that need them most. Captured ground, destroyed vehicles, and battered squads carry forward, so a costly victory can weaken the next battle just as badly as a defeat.

Its strongest feature is the way tactical and operational decisions feed into each other. A force can advance across connected maps or be driven backward, making the campaign feel like a fluid front rather than a string of isolated missions. More than 130 period infantry types and vehicles provide variety, while the Battlemaker mode lets players assemble custom engagements with chosen forces. The interface and presentation show their age, and newcomers should expect a learning curve, but the underlying simulation remains sharp. Fans of Combat Mission, Steel Panthers, or slower WWII strategy games will appreciate its emphasis on morale, terrain, and consequences; players seeking rapid, arcade-style action probably will not.