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am thinking of taking advantage of the sale and will get BATTKES IN NORMANDY or BATTLES IN ITALY. my question is which one?

i have played the sicily scenario multiplte times in TOAW and really enjoyed it. also wore out a keyboard plaing the V for Victory nos. 1 and 4 (the americans at cherbourg and the british at caen). i am familiar with the histories of both campaigns. just wondering what your thoughts are on both these games and the game system in general.

thanks

ORIGINAL: waynec

am thinking of taking advantage of the sale and will get BATTKES IN NORMANDY or BATTLES IN ITALY. my question is which one?

i have played the sicily scenario multiplte times in TOAW and really enjoyed it. also wore out a keyboard plaing the V for Victory nos. 1 and 4 (the americans at cherbourg and the british at caen). i am familiar with the histories of both campaigns. just wondering what your thoughts are on both these games and the game system in general.

thanks

Both are truly excellent! You'll make a great choice either way! At the end of the discussion it really comes down to do you prefer Normandy (and the included Ardennes Offensive) of BiN or Sicily/Italy of BII. If you like both (as I do[:D] )...

BII is a much improved game engine (as compared to BiN)... I only make (and play) scenarios for BII because of its improved play & capabilities. Then again BiN is no slouch in its own rights (I do miss the improvements of BiN/BII when playing KP).

In general BII has much better user created scenarios... BiN does stand out with a Kursk scenario that has not been ported over to BII.

Both have large campaigns... I'm playing both (2 games of each)... at this point I am having more fun playing the large campaign of BII. A lot more tense IMHO. Allied player has the option of invading Italy early on... becomes a question of how much effort to put into slowing the Sicily advance for the German commander... many high level decisions impact the way the operation turns out...

The game's best player (Fantassin) recommends starting with BiN for most players (Normandy is better known & more fluid than the SSG historical campaigns for BII).

BiN often plays out similarly to the historical results (overall feel is similar to V4V which I loved). BII Sicily plays out closer to historical results very consistently (like its feel more than TOAW).

Enjoy whichever you choose!

Personally I picked BiN because of the subject matter. Invading Normandy is great fun. Also BiN includes a version of The Ardennes Offensive which I also enjoy playing. I expect I'll pick up BiI sooner or later, as I do love the game system. I chose BiN because the subject matter trumped any improvements in the BiI system.

However having said that, I am interested in buying Korsun Pocket, but am a bit nervous that going to a lower resolution will feel rather like a major step backwards. From what I've seen, the engine underwent a huge improvement (with both screen resolution and other user interface refinements) between Korsun Pocket and Battles in Normandy. Battles in Italy on the other hand while it does sport some interesting refinements is much closer to BiN than BiN was to KP.

Anyway, if you're chosing between BiN and BiI, I'd recommend going with whichever battle most interests you.

Just gonna do a quick reply;

I have them all from the earliest Ardenes offensive to the latest Battles in Italy, and I have to say that ALL of them is actually worth playing. I am playing them all the time and i never get tired off them, they are simply very very good! But ofcourse the later off them, Battles in Normandy and Battles in Italy is the most polished. All of theese games has a AI worth playing against and that is not a thing i have been spoiled with during my gaming days.

You liked V for victory and Avalon Hills sequells? YOU GONNA LOVE THEESE ONES[:D]