Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear — Computer Game!
We were very surprised, and very happy, to learn Matrix Games and Academy Games teamed up to produce a computer version of Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear. Even better it should be available soon.
COH has long been our favorite WW2 tactical wargame. The computer version looks great and if it faithfully mimics the boardgame should be a must get.
Designed and developed in cooperation with Uwe Eickert, the original designer of Conflict of Heroes, and Western Civlization Software, the award-winning computer wargame studio, no effort has been spared to bring the outstanding Conflict of Heroes gameplay to the computer. Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! includes an AI opponent as well as full multiplayer support with an integrated forum and game lobby. To remain true to the core gameplay of the board game, the PC version is designed to be fun, fast and easy to play, though hard to master. The game design is also historically accurate and teaches and rewards platoon and company-level combined arms tactics without overwhelming the player with rules.
The year is 1941. Germany has defeated Poland, Denmark, Norway, and France with ease. In the morning hours of June 22 over 3 million German soldiers attacked Soviet forces along a 1600 kilometer front heralding the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. Complete surprise was achieved and the Germans struck deep into Soviet territory. The Germans thought that the Soviets would fold like a house of cards. Their officer cadre had been massacred by Stalin, training was poor, and morale low. The Blitzkrieg catches the Soviets by surprise and they lose over 1.75 million men in the first two months alone.
The Germans are unstoppable, their Panzers pushing to the very gates of Moscow. But then winter hit and the cold drained the German’s resources, strength, and morale. The Soviets began striking back in the dead of winter and the momentum began to shift in their favor through the following spring. The bear had awoken!
Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! takes you to the Eastern Front of World War II during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. This release includes a historical roster of infantry, artillery, mechanized and support units for the Axis and Soviet forces for the time frame of Operation Barbarossa.
The View from the Turret 
03Apr12 at 1158
I picked up Tigers Unleashed not long ago; there seem to be a lot of “boardgame” like tactical games now, and a direct port with a programmed AI is not unwelcome, but the one feature all these squad-based games seem to be lacking is a full-fledged map editor. If they could release a game that allowed scenario designers true flexibility in designing scenarios, it would be a real advantage over just playing the boardgames via VASSAL.
03Apr12 at 1924
Well that would be truly great. I suspect one limiting factor is an unknown board configuration makes AI programming very hard. Of course having said that Combat Mission has always done well in that environment.
We would love to see even a ‘construction kit’ with no AI that just supported pass and play or online play.
03Apr12 at 1929
I guess I shouldn’t jump the gun. A decent AI would be a good step; looking forward to it. Conflict of Heroes had a very good reputation among board gamers, especially for production values – I own a copy and the physical boards and counters are, in a word, beautiful. It actually seemed to be the draw of the game; if they manage to get a compelling AI opponent into the computer game, they will have done something just as valuable.