Operation Combat

Operation Combat is a video game in the strategy genre and published by Merit Studios, Inc. originally released in 1991. It is currently playable on DOS.

Operation Combat is a decent entry-level wargame that, according to veteran wargamer M.E. Brooks, '.... did nothing really well, although it was one of the first to emphasize modem play'.

The game has some innovations worth noting, such as the attractive isometric graphics and real terrain (which is still tile-based, but not obviously) and modem play options, as noted by M.E.B. One of the most interesting features is the 'timed turn-based' game mode: you have 240 seconds to finish your turn, so mental quickness is required.

Despite the new features, in the end a wargame is only as good as its AI and range of commands, and here Operation Combat falls short. The game is very limited, even considering the narrow scope of pitting a nondescript red army against the blue army. There are only a handful of maps you can choose to wage war on, and no randomization is possible. This makes the game much shorter than other abstract wargames like QQP's venerable The Perfect General, and much less engaging. Modem play is fairly well implemented, although the options still pale beside Dani Bunten's classic Modem Wars.

Compared to other wargames, Operation Combat is simply too primitive and simplistic to merit the attention of wargamers. Stay away from this mediocre game, unless you're curious about what early multiplayer-centric games are like ;)

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.