Tag Archive: Company of Heroes 2


EGM Review: Company of Heroes 2

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July 23, 2013

Harsh winter, harsher reality

In America, we often glorify our own involvement in World War II. But it’s easy to forget about our allies—especially the Soviets, who we’d subsequently spend much of the rest of the 20th century villainizing after the war. If Stalin and his men hadn’t forced the Nazis into a prolonged war on three fronts that bled Hitler’s boys dry, though, we might be living in a very different world indeed.

It’s easy to look back on a conflict that saw the loss of so many—and went on for so long—as a mere collection of dates and names of battles. It’s safer to just look at statistics (like the estimated 60 to 80 million deaths worldwide) and detach yourself from the thought of so much human suffering.

And that’s a major reason why Company of Heroes 2 is so fascinating. Not only does it highlight the war fought along the Eastern Front from 1941-1945, but the single-player campaign tells this underappreciated tale through the eyes of (fictional) lieutenant Lev Abramovich Isakovich—and how he copes, years later, with the questionable tactics the Reds often used for “the sake of the greater good” as he’s interrogated by a former superior officer.

The campaign weaves its way through the greatest battles along the Eastern Front, from the very beginning with Operation Barbarossa, through to the bloody Battle of Stalingrad,  continuing to where the Soviets started turning the tables with Operation Iskra (as well as plenty of events around and in between these key moments), and forward right up until the end of the war. Each battle offers a specific set of mission-completion parameters that push your own strategic merits to the limit—and show off what Relic’s new Essence Engine 3.0 can do from a visual perspective.

Some of these visuals effects include the all-important, brand-new weather system that simulates blizzard conditions. The idea of “General Winter” is one that’s protected the Russians for generations, and to see it in full force in Company of Heroes 2 is a new wrinkle that shouldn’t be taken lightly; soldiers who stray from shelter or the warmth of a campfire for too long will start to suffer from hypothermia. There’s no worse feeling in Company of Heroes 2 than watching your soldiers drop, one by one, as they march across the frozen Soviet wasteland, leaving dead bodies in their wake like breadcrumbs. You’re struggling to search for salvation before you’ve even fired your first bullet.

The flipside, of course, is that General Winter can also create new terrain by freezing lakes and rivers. This allows clever players to send an enemy tank that’s decided to take a shortcut over thin ice to a watery grave or cut off a combatant’s retreat or advance with some well-placed mortar fire that shatters the ice.

But aside from this added wintery nuance and a tweaked line-of-sight system that requires your forces to actually be able to see something directly in order to remove the fog of war, there’s very little new here for returning players. That’s not to say that fans will be disappointed—far from it—but if you’re looking for extreme innovation, you might be disappointed.

But as much as Company of Heroes pros might be able to jump right in and get a relatively quick grasp on the situation, newcomers might be as lost as a hapless German soldier trapped behind enemy lines in the Russian winter. The campaign tutorials do little to explore the full upgrade branches of many troops; they limit players to abilities that would fit the situation. This provides a sense of realism rarely seen in an RTS, but it also makes it difficult to learn just what your units can do when certain abilities are suddenly missing for reasons that aren’t adequately explained.

When you get to the multiplayer aspects of Company of Heroes 2, the game is like most any other RTS title. You set up your base, acquire resources, upgrade troops, and attempt to annihilate the enemy from the map or capture certain objectives. Here, RTS vets will find a polished experience that provides a plethora of options to keep the experience fresh; you can set a variety of in-game parameters, such as the all-important weather scenario or computer-controlled AI options. But those coming here from the campaign will be in for a shock; the multiplayer pacing is drastically faster, and the first few matches might give players a rude awakening.

Company of Heroes 2 serves as a shining example of what the best developers can achieve in the RTS genre. The compelling characters and situations seen in single-player and the bountiful array of multiplayer options combine for a winning combination—like borscht and vodka.

Developer: Relic Entertainment • Publisher: Sega • ESRB: M – Mature • Release Date: 06.25.13
8.5

While there’s little new here to differentiate between titles besides the change of scenery to WWII’s Eastern Front, Relic once again delivers a premiere RTS experience.
The Good Expansive single-player campaign that does real-life events justice while featuring a bevy of multiplayer options.
The Bad Not for newcomers—and nothing new for veterans.
The Ugly General Winter’s icy grasp.
Company of Heroes 2 is a PC exclusive. 
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Hands-On: Company of Heroes 2

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment
January 2, 2013

In Soviet Russia, Game Plays You!

World War II has long be fertile ground of video games, and for good reason. There are clear-cut good guys and bad guys, enough conflict to tell the story of countless heroes, and plenty of opportunities to romanticize the cultures and countries involved. There’s one area of the war, however, that games have long had a blind spot for: the Eastern Front.

As the Germans continued to spread out across Europe and into North Africa, they found their greatest difficulties arose when they attempted to cross the Ural Mountains and conquer the Soviet Union. The USSR, of course, fought using attrition warfare, whittling down German forces, take advantage of the long Russian winters, and even destroying some of their own resources to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Many believe it was this strategy and prolonged conflict that finally led to the fall of the Third Reich.

But that’s enough history for today.

Company of Heroes 2, THQ’s follow-up to the popular real-time strategy game, looks to explore this rarely represented conflict—and take full advantage of those long Russian winters as well. Earlier this month, I got to go hands-on with both the single-player and competitive multiplayer modes, giving me a chance to see firsthand what it’ll take to survive along the Eastern Front.

During my single-player time, I tackled a mission that tasked me with building up the Russian forces and conquering three strategic points along a riverbed. The bleakness of the winter setting was immediately apparent, as a whirling snowstorm blew in and hindered my onscreen vision. I also saw the effects of hypothermia set in on my troops, causing them to take ill and requiring me to build fires to keep them warm while we waited out the storm.

As I started my advance across the frozen tundra, I approached the riverbank and experienced another new dynamic as German tanks started moving across the ice towards my position. The game advised me to use mortars to blow holes in the river to sink the German tanks. It would hinder my progress, shrinking the lanes my troops could use to cross the river, but considering the damage it would do to the German armor line, I was left with little choice. As the Panzers sank to their watery graves (in exquisite detail for an RTS game, I might add), I was able to advance across what was left of the frozen river and conquer the objectives with little resistance from the remaining German forces.

While much of this single-player excursion played out like most other RTS games with regard to stockpiling resources, building units, and attempting to use superior strategy to overcome our foes, the new environmental hazards and dynamic terrain were a joy to play around with. From minor visual details like tank tracks in the snow to the new tactical options afforded by the winter elements, there were enough innovations here to make the standard RTS gameplay feel novel and fresh.

After thumping the Germans in the single-player mode, I was afforded the chance to take on some human opponents in versus multiplayer. Wanting to continue to experience the cold Russian winters, I tried out some new maps—including one where the middle capture point was placed on a tiny sliver of land surrounded by a frozen lake. Here, after my experiences in the single player campaign, I made my greatest RTS stand in quite some time.

Allowing myself to fall behind early and basically giving my opponent the middle capture point, I settled in around my base and began to build. Tank after tank after tank would soon dot my base’s perimeter. With only 50 or so points between me and defeat, I sent my armor columns onward towards the middle point. My German opponent did not stand idly by while I built my forces up and had quite the armor division himself by the time we faced off for our grand conflict.

He had unwisely placed much of his armor on the fragile ice, though. With a few well-placed barrages from my tanks, I sent much of his armor to the bottom of the lake and deployed a single engineer to capture the point. Thanks to my shelling, I’d set up a natural barricade of broken ice that my opponent was unable to overcome. Victory was mine, and it was time to break out the finest Russian vodka to celebrate!

Much like the single player campaign, the multiplayer was tremendous fun, and having to balance the elements along with the unique terrain made for a RTS experience unlike any other. What’s more, the level of detail on each unit and locales is almost unheard of in an RTS. If the small snippet of game play we saw was any indicator, Company of Heroes 2 should be a must-have game for strategy fans and World War II buffs alike when it launches on PC in 2013.

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