Graphics: I’ve said it plenty of times – strategy games don’t need fancy graphics. Give me some counters, hexes and a computer to do the math for the game’s rules, and I’m happy. That being said, if a strategy game gives me a 3D-rendered world and a camera that can be moved around and angled at will, I expect things to look attractive, and CMSF – Marines isn’t really attractive. While I would never expect the vehicles and Marines that are part of an MEU to look flashy, they need to be well rendered if the camera can be zoomed in close. Otherwise, do us all a favor and keep the camera at a distance.

Interface: With a game as complicated as this, the interface is probably the difference between hopeless confusion and a smooth, tactically competent experience. In many respects, the interface here is successful. Units are easy to order around the map, and managing most of the mechanics of battle is fairly simple. However, newcomers to the game will be frustrated by the lack of tool tips, forcing players to reference the manual to see what a particular icon represents. A further difficulty involves targeting airstrikes and artillery. Depending on how the camera is oriented, it is possible to think you have selected a certain area on the map for bombardment, when in fact the game thinks you meant something a few cells north or south of your intended target. It is something that will annoy players until they get used to this quirky part of the game.

Gameplay: Between the level of detail and the designers’ choices of what to abstract and how, CMSF – Marines can be pretty entertaining, but this is not a game for those who want a quick adrenaline fix or some mindless pointing and clicking. The game forces you to think hard about what you are doing and shows very little mercy in its mechanics. There are no quick and easy victories, even against the AI, until you have gained considerable experience.

Multiplayer: In the tradition of 1970s tabletop war gaming, CMSF – Marines is really meant to be played with two human players. Most scenarios and campaigns can be played against a human, and the quick battles demand a human opponent to get anything out of them. The game can be played via hotseat, email, LAN or Internet. There is no matching service, but you won’t miss it. Even the shortest battle can take hours to finish, and you will no doubt want to play with friends, not someone you meet randomly on a chat server somewhere who’s going to call you a noob for the entire game.

Sound FX: Rather than try to outdo other games in the sound department, Battlefront has chosen to keep their sounds simple, and it works. Most battlefield events have proper sound cues, from explosions to military-appropriate radio chatter relating to airstrikes. It’s never overwhelming and it never really gets old.

Intelligence: In the scenarios and campaigns, the AI does a decent job of fighting. These kinds of engagements require extensive scripting, and the game is the better for it. AI is no replacement for a human player, but I never felt that this part of the game was underdeveloped. In quick battles, however, the AI does rather poorly, no doubt caused by its inability to be scripted for such engagements.

Difficulty: The 212-page manual for the original game has been padded with 29 extra pages for the expansion, and believe me when I say that you should read every one of them. While CMSF – Marines has a passable tutorial, there is simply too much information you need to learn to really prepare yourself. This is not a bad thing, and I am never one to shrink away from something that is intellectually challenging, but interface issues make the learning curve unnecessarily steep.

Overall: If you already own and love Combat Mission: Shock Force, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of the Marines expansion for $25. There’s plenty of added content, and the game has only gotten better. If you are new to the series, and you miss games with high levels of detail and rules that require your strategy to be well thought out, check out the $45 bundle of the original and the expansion. It will certainly keep you busy.