Battlefront.com has announced that you’ll soon be able to download a playable demo of its forthcoming game Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin. The company expects to release demos for (Classic) Mac OS and Windows on September 1, with the full game available for online purchase later next month.
Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin is the newest game from Battlefront.com, and it features a combination of turn-based strategy and real-time action that grognards far and wide lauded when its predecessor, Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord, was released back in 2000. It’s a realistic ground combat simulation set in World War II, on the Eastern Front. Players take control of Axis or Allied troops in various campaigns from 1941 through 1945.
In Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin, the game starts with Operation Barbarossa — the German invasion of Russia in 1941 — through the 1945 storming of Berlin and VE Day. Players utilize historically accurate forces and equipment from Germany, the Soviet Union, Finland, Italy, Romania, Hungary and Poland in their quest for success. The game incorporates 60 battle scenarios and 10 operations, and supports Internet, LAN, Play By Email and Hotseat multiplayer action.
Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin also includes a map and scenario editor so you can create your own battles and operations, and a Quick Battle Maker that provides access to an unlimited number of computer-generated scenarios.
Battlefront.com has previously advised MacCentral that Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin would be playable on Mac OS 9.x or lower only. The game’s Mac version utilizes Apple’s QuickDraw 3D RAVE technology, which is not supported in OS X. The company said it will require development of a new graphics engine to power the game for OS X, but did not specify what the schedule for that development will be.
The demo will be comprised of two playable scenarios, and if you’ve never played the game before, a beginner’s tutorial is also included. Look for the full game to be ready on September 20, 2002.