In 2006, Relic Entertainment and THQ revitalized the world of real time strategy titles with Company of Heroes. The game’s focus on unit tactics, realism, and lack of resource gathering in the traditional sense paved the way for a whole host of copy cats. Now, in 2013, Relic Entertainment has released a sequel, Company of Heroes 2 – this time under the publishing house of SEGA, who purchased the IP from THQ during its dissolution.
This time taking place in World War II’s Soviet vs German battles, Company of Heroes 2 offers players the chance to lead these armies against one another. The gameplay has largely remained the same as its predecessor, with the biggest difference being the new units of the two new armies as well as their different doctrines. The Soviets are built around a much larger number of troops and almost use a cookie-cutter approach to overwhelming their foes. The Germans are a bit more like the present-day US military in that they are smaller in number but much more effective on a per unit level. Tank gameplay has been altered somewhat in the sequel – the tracked vehicles are much more all-around useful and, depending on the particular model of tank, can fulfill several roles. While some reviewer’s criticized this aspect as being against the first game’s balance system, I applaud it as tanks really were the kings of the battlefield in the ground war. Additionally, Relic has added a couple of interesting features to the game, such as troops dying of hypothermia if they don’t stay in buildings or by camp fires, and AI Soviet commanders which randomly-shoot troops that try to retreat.
Company of Heroes 2’s most fun moments come during multiplayer and co-op sessions. The game’s single-player campaign is a bit on the unpolished side, with poor cut-scenes and not-too memorable gameplay moments. Fortunately, the matchmaker has been greatly enhanced and players can select a particular battlefield commander/doctrine before going into battle a la Dawn of War 2. One interesting feature of Company of Heroes 2 is the in-game integration of the Twitch.TV streaming service. Players can easily stream their games via Twitch so that friends and gamers at large can watch.
Visually, Company of Heroes 2 is so much more beautiful than the original that it makes its predecessor pale in comparison. Environments are crisp and weather effects are truly inspired. Game audio is equally crisp, with sound effects coming in and out of focus depending on the location of the game’s camera. Speaking of the camera system, moving the camera around is just as annoying as it was the first one, with the camera only moving with the arrow keys or by moving the mouse to the corner of the screen.
Overall, Company of Heroes 2 has some very fun gameplay to offer the co-op or multiplayer gamer. Unfortunately, its single-player campaign should be looked at more as a tutorial to get players ready for the online stuff.
[easyreview title=”Company of Heroes 2 Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]
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