Command Ops 2 goes on sale

A screenshot of the Malta “what-if” scenario in “The Cauldron” DLC.

I have logged over 900 hours on my favorite game, Command Ops 2, with most of that time spent creating scenarios and playing the ones I make. If you add in the Slitherine version of the game (Command Ops), my total is probably 2,000 hours. I don’t think there has been a bad hour, it is still an exceptional game.

When Lock n Load became the game’s new publisher (taking over from Matrix/Slitherine) they pushed the game onto STEAM and came up with an innovative strategy to market it. They offered the core game (three scenarios) for free and the rest of the scenarios from the Battle of the Bulge, Conquest of the Aegean, and Highway to the Reich games as DLC. Basically, they made a demo version and sold the original DLC as stand-alone games.

I have no insight as to how that went for them financially, I remember being disheartened by the lack of new offerings for long-time players of the game such as myself. At that moment, I ended up only downloading the core game and buying the “Westwall” and “Knock on All Doors” DLC (which were new and price reduced), but I chose not to buy the rest, including “The Cauldron” which was also new. Instead, I still play my Slitherine version of the game for the Greece, Market Garden and Bulge scenarios.

Since then, the game had been sidelined in development with a “Bradley at Bay” DLC and a Far East effort. I and other fans of the game like “Bie” in the Steam Workshop have kept the game going with new, user-made content for Normandy, Eastern Front, etc ( I highly, highly recommend all of Bie’s scenarios BTW). I suspect the emergence of new Facebook groups of hobbyists has also helped promote the game too and keep it alive by word of mouth. I know I have posted more than my fair share in these groups about CO2.

During this time period Winter, Spring and Summer Sales on Steam have come and gone, with LnL/Panther Games standing pat on their pricing or at least that is my memory of it. They aren’t alone in this kind of full-pricing strategy. John Tiller has almost never conducted a sale for his games (they did this past winter, and they do have about ten titles on sale in their store (sidenote: it is time to change out the games). Slitherine, on the other hand, is very good with sales (Easter, Holidays, Anniversary coupons, etc).

But that is a lot of water under the bridge so to speak because Command Ops 2 is ON SALE UNTIL MAY 1. And so, I purchased “The Cauldron” DLC last night and I might just break down and purchase more.

This game is worth every penny. The AI is challenging in every scenario, no matter which DLC you play. The historical modeling of troops is down to the last bullet and shell. For the most part, the maps are incredibly detailed. The user interface is improved from the original game with windows you can toggle open and shut. Panther, the game’s designer, used to receive a lot of guff about presentation (2D maps, with simple counters), but I actually think this is swinging back in their favor. My read of gamers in the various forums is that they crave historical detail and challenging AI more like George Patton; not in-game chrome and AI that fights like George Custer.

If you haven’t heard of Command Ops 2 or have held back because of pricing, now is the time to take a look.

You can download the core game and purchase price reduced DLC here on STEAM.