Normandy '44 is the second game in HPS
Simulation's Panzer Campaign series. It is an operational-level
wargame set during the Allied invasion of Normandy during D-Day. Gameplay
is executed through the usual turn-based method. Each unit receives a
number of action points which it can use during a turn. Action points are
spent on movement and attacks, and can be affected by morale, fatigue, enemy
fire, and supply. Saving action points after your turn will allow your
units to take advantage of opportunity fire during the enemy's turn.
Combat is very meticulously modeled, and damage is modeled on the individual
casualty, gun, or vehicle level. Many factors contribute to the resolution
of this combat, including location of the unit's headquarters unit, fatigue,
morale, supply, and more.
The game provides a rich set of scenarios and allows the player to design his
own.
The game can be played in either a 2D or 3D mode. The 2D mode looks
good, but is the standard computer-rendered version of a traditional cardboard
counter and hexagon map board game. The 3D mode tries to present the
battlefield from a three-quarters perspective camera angle. I use the term
'tries' because it doesn't really succeed. The units become very hard to
distinguish and look nothing like the vehicles and equipment they are meant to
represent and the map itself is not too pleasant to look at either. Stick
with the 2D view.
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