Ha! There is only one war game left to review this month, and I have hidden in the cupboard at the back of the office so they cannot make me do it. All I have to do is lie here for a while and - hey! What this? Some sort of cardboard box with a note attached. If I can just get it up to that crack of light... 'Dear Rich. Review this. Love AMIGA POWER'.
From what I can make of it (it is a bit dark here) Operation Com-bat is more of a straight battle game than a strategy one, and hence a lot easier to play (and describe). See that screenshot? (that is the game, that is - Ed). What you have to do is to move those diddy little tanks around the battle field, blow up all the nasty baddy tanks and take out the enemy HQ.
The grid at the bottom shows the entire playing area (there are four scenarios to choose from), the top half of the screen only shows a strip; here you click on the tank you have an uncontrollable desire to move, click on where you want it to go, and (provided there are no hills, water, rocks etc in the way) off it will trundle. If there are any enemies about, then you can shoot at them too - each unit is allowed to fire once each turn.
And yes, give or take the inescapable mobility, fuel, fun range, fun power and hit point statistics of the different tanks, the air support (for a better look at the map), and the time restrictions on each turn, that really is it. And yes, give or take the above-average-for-a-war-game-graphics (animation and scrolling) and the digitised gun-fire (hmmm), it really is that dire.
We have complained before about war games (in a groaning voice) 'not exploiting the full potential of the Amiga', but this is quite simply presposterous.