Favorite World War II themed games

Mussolini got me waxing nostalgic about the evolution of WWII themed video games. Being a member of the gamer generation I have seen a myriad of WWII themed games out there. Many helped solidify my passion for Second World War history. Some were amazing, others were downright terrible. Now that the Call of Duty series is returning to the European Theater many websites have been running "best of" lists.

Figured we could start a little thread on personal favorites and fails for the present and past gamers on the forum.

Spear of Destiny 1992.

A sequel to Wolfenstein. Once again you are Blaskowitz hunting down Nazis for the mythical spear. This title played on the Third Reich's ties to the occult. Classic bosses and just enough intensity.

 

I was a big fan of the Medal of Honor series, until Call of Duty came out with their own WW2 games way back in the day.

Call of Duty 2, way back in 2005, was 'my game'. I was part of a clan, almost exclusively played Rifles Only, and dominated maps! I went by the name of 'LRDGRat' back then and had a key binding of 'Not in my Tunnel!' as there was a specific map that had a tunnel entrance to the main building. I could hold that tunnel, singlehandedly, against whatever the other players could through at me and would post "Not in my Tunnel!' everytime I killed some one down there.

Fun times!

 

My favorite COD game of all time. Actually, I'm in the middle of the Tunisian campaign as we speak.

 

Mostly, old school.

The original Panzer General.
Great Naval Battles of the North Atlantic.
Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe.
European Air War
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 - World War II in the Pacific.
Task Force 1942
Close Combat series
Combat Mission series
Medal of Honor: Airborne!

Do I have to pick just one? As all were great time sinks, back when I still called myself a "Gamer," and games, for the most part, were released "bug free."

 

Bug-free, without a day-1 patch, and without another $150 of DLC to make the game 'complete'.

 

Hearts of Iron II: Darkest Hour was pretty good, and I'll always have a place in my heart for Call of Duty 2.

 

World of Tanks...

 

CAC, you are no longer allowed to be part of this thread! Blasphemy! I imagine thats partly due to the generation gap.

While not specifically WW2, I think my first grand strategy game was Norm Kogers The Operational Art of War series...TOAW for short.

 

One of the worst I have ever played was another FPS entitled Hour of Victory. How this game was even allowed into production is beyond me. Awful mechanics, ridiculous AI and blotchy graphics. My wife picked it up on a Amazon for $5. Suffice to say it wasn't even worth that.

 

The very first WW2-themed game I have ever played, and the game that got me into WW2 was "Secret Weapons Over Normandy," where you play American volunteer pilot James Chase, who flys for the elite RAF squadron know as the Battlehawks, and you are tasked with thwarting various weapons projects by the Third Reich, such as the "V" series rockets, the Me-262, and the Ju 390 heavy bomber, while having to contend with their Luftwaffe rival squadron named Nemesis, lead by ace pilot Oberst Krieger. Listening to the soundtrack of the game brings back memories and gives me a sense of nostalgia.

 

I've played many WWII video games, but for me non was more memorable than the first Medal of Honor. It was the only game i played over and over again. The best part was having fun with Germans, specially in missions were the player had identification papers: Ihre Papiere Bitte!

It was revolutionary, It had great music, beautiful locations, incredible missions, lovely documentaries, nice briefings, smart and funny AI. Even the bugs were very funny and cool instead of being frustrating; like when Germans kept charging when you equipped some of the MG 42s, or when they ran in circles, shot and shouted...

 

I remember Secret Weapons Over Normandy as well.

Obviously I am a fan of Combat Mission (the first three - Beyond Overlord, Barbarossa to Berlin, Afrika Korps) but havent really gotten into the newer versions of it. We've had a few mini-tournaments of Combat Mission here in the past.

Panzer Korps Gold Edition (all expansions etc) is on sale (75% off) on their website last time I checked yesterday, if people were interested in it.

Red Orchestra (the 1st one) is probably my favorite 'modern' WW2 Shooter. I quite like how each side is limited to a certain amount of each class (1 or 2 snipers, for instance) and really reflects how working as a squad is the best way to win. Their can be some pretty intense combat, especially when tanks are involved. I loved sniping the commander of a tank (sticking his head out) to take down the tank at range!

 

Ive wondered how often that may have happened...I see it in footage and games and say to myself...I could take that shot! American tank designs seemed to give some credence to this scenario with armoured hatches and view ports...

 

That is a good question to ponder, actually.

Obviously, tanks are supported by Infantry, and if you're headed into combat you hatch-up for the obvious reasons. But I am sure that there are instances when a hidden sniper or some such would have an opportunity to kill a tank-commander who is sticking out of the hatch.

 

Might interest those on this thread.

If you have played or enjoyed Panzer General II, a free open source version is available, called "Open General", aka "OpenGen"
You can find all necessary links to download in their forum.
JP’s Panzers Wargame & History Forums • View forum - JP's OpenGen Forum

If you enjoy the original Panzer General, the mod community has updated it to run on modern systems...Without having to resort to using a DOS Emulator like DOSBox...
Called "Panzer General Forever" aka PGForever(also included is Allied General, Kaiser General, and K.u.k. General)
download links can be found here: JP’s Panzers Wargame & History Forums • View forum - JP's Panzer General and Allied General Forum

If those of you remember Steel Panthers, there are two free downloads that have updated the game.
Steel Panthers World at War by Matrix Games: SPWaW FULL GAME and PATCHES - Download Links!

and

WinSPWW2 by Camo Workshop/Shrapnel Games: winSPWW2

Camo Workshop/Shrapnel Games have also updated Steel Panthers II Modern Battles(also a free download): winSPMBT: Main Battle Tank

 

Drag and drop was the easy way...Drag the DOS pg.exe over and drop it on the DOSBox...program launches in DOSBox.

 

Thanks Otto! A much neglected channel, but the editing/saving/uploading seems to take forever. I do need to start making more uploads to it...and fix my mod on TTS...but its time consuming!