The best of the three is undubtly CC3. Make sure to check the TONS OF MOD FILES FOR THIS TITLE.

"best battles on the pc"
cc1-4 are the best tactical wargames on the pc,with realistic sounds,action and detail. i love it and cant wait to play against real people on the net.i would reccomend these games to any body with an interest in ww2

"Drat, another tank crew barbecued by a Soviet T-34!"
Yep, I've said that and many other things as the Soviets decimate mysmall group of German soldiers. The Close Combat series is truly an awesome game series. I have only played Close Combat III so my review is bent towards CCIII, but other reviews here on Amazon point out that Close Combat II is cool as well. My cousin installed Close Combat III on my computer and I loved this game from the second I started! However, I would warn the reader, if you like fast paced action games (like the Quake series) and don't like strategy games (like Command & Conquer) then the CC series is definately not for you. However, if you like strategy and like taking such minor factors like a grove of trees or a row of small hills into consideration when placing troops; or have actually been in a battle or just like playing an arm chair general, then the Close Combat series is definately for you! So read on and learn more about Close Combat III.

Close Combat III is very easy to learn and easy to play. At the start of the game you can chose what side you want to fight for (Soviets or Germans) and can also chose to fight one of 14 different historical campaigns from the initial invasion of Russia to the final days in Berlin. Or, you can chose to fight a single battle in one of those campaigns (like the last day of the war.) Or, you can chose to fight the Grand Campaign which goes through all 14 historical campaigns. In addition to chosing sides, you can set your name as the commander, and choose your reality level (from beginner - your troops don't run as easily and they always hit what they are shooting at; to hero - where morale really takes a toll and troops run much more easily.) Additionally, before you start the battle you can read your orders and other briefing material before you position your troops and tanks anywhere on the map. In placing your tanks you can take as long as you like to find the best terrain (which is slightly unlike real war.)

When the battle starts you find out why CCIII is so highly recommended and why I say it is really fun and very realistic. The sounds are awesome with the guns sounding VERY real and the graphics are fairly good with explosions, flames shooting from tanks, and tracer rounds looking pretty real. And speaking of real, consider the AI. You can choose whether to make your units sneak, move, move fast, fire, or lay smoke; but, if those troops are under fire or have low morale they will refuse your orders or even run the other way and surrender to the other side. There is also a good range of units available to fill your ranks and the manual that comes with the trilogy (although skimpy) gives a fairly decent overview of the various equipment used by the Soviets and Germans.

And, contrary to some, the war in the East depended heavily on tanks so many battles need many tanks to destroy the Soviets.

I only have a few major gripes about the playablity of the game. First, is that once your tank is disabled by Anti-Tank fire or another tank you can't order the crew out even if they are wounded. You just have to wait for them to bail out which usually means that you lose your tank crew to the enemy's machine gun fire. And, second, every soldier screams the same way when he dies or every commander yells in the same voice which can get a little annoying (I would like to see them add a few new voices.) Third, there are no "what if?" scenarios. I pushed my troops into Moscow and took the Kremlin (something the real Germans never did) yet it had no effect on the war at all.

The final gripes I have about the game are more historical. First, where is the famed Soviet Winter! I had troops sitting out in the -30F cold for half the battle and they were still classified as "healthy." Now where does that actually happen? Actually the winter played very little in lowering the soldier's moral or freezing my tank's engines. My second gripe is the Battle of Stalingrad. I was expecting to see some real close combat action with troops having to fight their way from house to house through hails of bullets to take the victory locations with snipers posted in every high tower. Unfortunately, I fought it with more tanks than I did troops and didn't do any house-to-house fighting (and no snipers) which was not really true in the real battle. (Actually, I would like to see CC5 deal with Moscow and Stalingrad with the entire game dealing with conquering those two cities.) Third, there were no partisans. One of the major troubles effecting the Germans during the Soviet war were partisans blowing up rail lines and harrassing troops (which I would have liked to see civilians run in from behind me and shoot my AT crew or shoot my commander.) Fourth, Soviet resistance doesn't increase as I near the end of the war. Troops still run away as easily as they did when I first crossed the border which can make the game less fun since I was expecting true "close combat - fight to the death warfare." Historically, Soviet resistance increased during the war due to the NKVD (Soviet secret police) shooting any deserting Soviet soldiers.

Okay, beyond all of that the Close Combat series is great and well worth the $ that Amazon charges. I would suggest starting with CCI to get the feel for the game and then play the other two because they are very fun.

"3 Award -Winning War Games?"
Who the ... dishes out these awards? I admit that these games improve as the series prolongs (CC4 is the best thus far) but every part of this trilogy is a rip off. Perhaps I am being too picky. I would go into greater detail as to why this game bites, but this would be a very long list. I must admit the graphics and sounds are not bad, but the gameplay is horrible. Spend your money on a better war game, you'll be much happier. What else would you expect from Microsoft?

Try a free game called Chain of Command.