14 DAY TRIAL // Matrix Games, Slitherine Strategies and Strategy 3 Tactics have announced that they plan to release a new Close Combat package, called Last Stand Arnhem, early in July 2010, giving everybody a chance to play the challenging wargaming situation offered by Operation Market Garden with the latest Close Combat engine and a host of improvements.
Last Stand Arnhem is based on the classic Close Combat – A Bridge Too Far and on The Longest Day. The player will be in charge of one of the most risky moves of World War II, the gambit to move past the Rhine and assault the industrial heart of Germany while bypassing its Western fortifications.
The player can be in charge of the Allied leadership and aim to complete the operation without the horrific losses that happened in real life while, as the Germans, they must put together a group of units to slow the tempo of advance of the Allies and stop them at Arnhem Bridge. The developers are also saying that the Grand Campaign has been reworked so that it can offer a situation as close to real life as possible.
Among the improvements offered in Close Combat: Last Stand Arnhem are a new strategic map layer and 64 completely redone battle maps. Players will also be able to better manage their battle groups and challenged by more complex assault crossing of rivers and by the possibility of blowing up bridges.
When the announcement was made, David Heath, who is the director of operations for Matrix Games, stated that “Close Combat – Last Stand Arnhem is packed with engine improvements, beautiful new art, and much more. Players who have enjoyed the perfect mix between exciting new features and the original gameplay that made the Close Combat series famous will certainly enjoy Last Stand Arnhem.”
Here's a trailer for the new Close Combat game: