what game should I get?

[krikeel]

I have it down to 3 but I can only get 1 this week. My choices are, John Tiller's campaign series, Close combat cross of Iron, and Forge of freedom. I have played the 1st 2 games on my list before (CC3) and liked them both allot. The civil war game looks more along the lines of HOI with I have and like as well.

So there it is, what game of the 3 would you recommend?

[junk2drive]

JT's CS is the bargain of the bunch. FoF would be new to you.
 
WWII or ACW?
 
Turns or RT?
 
Borrow someone's credit card and get all 3.

[Titanwarrior89]

Go with JT CS. I like it best among the bunch.

ORIGINAL: junk2drive

JT's CS is the bargain of the bunch. FoF would be new to you.

WWII or ACW?

Turns or RT?

Borrow someone's credit card and get all 3.

[CJMello63]

CS as it is a good price too for what you get.

[General Quarters]

I can't compare the three because the only one I have played is Forge of Freedom. But it is, in my judgment, the only Civil War game in which the action has the flow and strategic opportunities of that unusual contest. It won awards even before the latest patch, which improves it dramatically.

I can compare it to HOI. I would say it is slightly less complicated than those -- you can play a turn much more quickly -- and the AI is very much smarter. It can really give you a run for your money. FOF also has the option of playing tactical battles. I have not tried those, but players who do say it is the icing on the cake.

[jchastain]

I agree with the above posters that CS and FoF are both great choices.  To me then, if you must only get one, the biggest deciding factor is which "flavor" you prefer and/or are in the mood for.
 
CS is strictly tactical, but with the ability to "flow" from one scenario to the next so you have continuity and can progress from game to game.
FoF is strategic in nature, but with an excellent detailed battle capability as well.
 
If you just want to fight, CS is the right choice.  If you want to take a step back and think about the economy and how to build your forces, FoF adds that to the mix.
 
I think both are absolutely solid choices.  That said, if I knew I would eventually buy both, I'd get FoF first.  It is a little more "mature" at this point, with most of its patches behind it.  CS, while starting from a stable game, likely has a bit more growing ahead of it.  So you might as well play the mature title now and allow CS to get a few more patches under its belt before you turn your attention that way.

[ravinhood]

While the CS game is the better value for the $$ I really see it as a SPWAW that was just split up into modules and sold for full retail prices instead of one package deal like it is now. You're just getting more for your money with East Front, West Front and the Pacific land war as well. None of the other choices you have will provide as much play value and longevity as CS will. It's at an impressive price and a much much much better value than COI which that series should have been in a package deal as well like this one for $34.99. I was really surprised they released COI alone and not the others with it in a package deal. I can only hope the Battleground series is released as a package deal like this as well since all 3 of the series are old and most of us have them all already.

[Oleg Mastruko]

I would vote for CS as well - a pinnacle of Tiller's career as designer (went downhill after that IMO), fun games, great graphics, PBEM, tons of games + bazillions of scenarios, bargain price..... no brainer.....

[TheHellPatrol]

[8D]Forge Of Freedom is a game that will be on your hardrive for eternity...you can't get much more for your money than that[;)]. Cross Of Iron is super fun and up until Carriers At War was my goto "fun" game.
IMHO i have every Talonsoft game ever, even the compilations, and have played them to death. I even saved a couple ME PC's just for them...although they're still in the garage. Unless your looking for nostalgic purposes i would try something fresh.
In summary:
Forge= hours of strategic/tactical gameplay so that you won't "need" anything else for quite some time.
Cross Of Iron= great fun with a huge amount of gameplay/scenarios that you can play in little chunks or hours on end. The new campaign with COI is sweet!
CS= alot of bang for your buck with an old classic.
Basically it WW2 vs. Civil War, either way you can't go wrong. May i suggest you also look at Carriers At War and Battlefront/Decisive Battles Series(BiI, BiN) from SSG...one the the best if not THE best game systems ever made IMHO.

[Hertston]

CS for a combination of gameplay, lasting interest and value for money. I must confess to a little bias against FoF as I think the AGEOD Civil War game is a rather better one, not to mention being somewhat cheaper.

[B/snafu]

Agree with CS--I went a little nutso in my goal of catching up on games I wanted and now have to chose which one to get into first this weekend after purchasing (cs,toaw,cl:coi,hhtr,and witp) . From first looks--CS seems to be the easiest to jump into of them all.

ORIGINAL: Oleg Mastruko

I would vote for CS as well - a pinnacle of Tiller's career as designer (went downhill after that IMO).....

--------------
----Curious--just got CS so not too up on it yet--but from a UI perspective in itself--the later tiller designed UI's seem to have improved as far as more option availabilty (more taskbar options access,etc). Might be just my familiarity bias from the later designs but once I get into this I might change my mind. Already can see that although cs is how many years older --the graphics of cs puts the later to shame.

[dexbox]

i found cs the easiest to get into, i dunno i havent played the last one but i prefer cs over close combat, personally, i hope that helps in some way?