Recently (27/10/06) I acquired the game, Company of Heroes. A World War II game made by Relic, it has to be the best Real Time Strategy (RTS) game made in years. Websites and reviewers have given it an average of 9.5/10. This game actually took my concentration off many other games, and I have only played this ever since.
This game takes place in the World War II period, and you will play as the Allied soldiers in the campaign. The campaign is based on the battles in Normandy, so you will play in many familiar places like Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Hill 400, and so on.
One huge difference from other RTS games is that this game doesn’t concentrate on the usual “the one with the most and best units win” style of playing. Many other factors can take place in this game. Infantry can take light cover, heavy cover, and garrison in buildings. Tanks have a concept such that its front armour is the strongest part of the tank, and the rear, the weakest. Therefore, the one who can position, control and flank the best should win.
Same as the Dawn of War games, resources aren’t gathered. There’ll be various points on the map, and capturing these points will earn you a steady income of either ammunition or fuel. Every point contributes to the income of manpower. Manpower is used to recruit all infantry and tanks, build buildings and many other things. Ammunition is usually used to purchase upgrades and call for artillery strikes, and fuel is used to get vehicles.
When you play as either Allied or Axis, you’ll be able to choose one of three different divisions to play as. The Allied has Infantry, Airborne, and Armour. Each will specialize in its task and you will be able to use different abilities specific to its division. The Axis has a Defensive Doctrine, a Terror Doctrine (lots of firepower), and a Blitzkreig Doctrine.
A great game with amazing graphics, the explosions from the V1 rocket and howitzer shoots will amaze you the first time you see it. The sound is superb and realistic, and the voice acting is really good. I review I read somewhere said, “the voice acting makes you feel sorry for the death of an unit”. Even the sound of the turret moving on the tank can be heard. Units can actually take cover behind objects, something I haven’t seen before.
However, the pathing for tanks is bad. Commanding a group of tanks at the same time can lead to a traffic jam, and getting into a battle while in a jam isn’t a good thing. Sometimes you might also want the tank to reverse all the way back for safety reasons, but the tank doesn’t. Tanks only drive on reverse when it is a short distance. So to achieve long distance reverses I have to keep clicking behind the tank. However I don’t really like using tanks, as I’m not as talented in using them so that’s not a big problem for me.
The number of skirmish maps are on the low side, but a Map Editor and even a Movie maker is going to be released soon (who knows what “soon” means). That will mean more maps and maybe even a custom made campaign. The artificial intelligence (AI) is a little crazy on skirmish battles, and some have even said that they cheat. Generally the AI can roll out tanks and expensive weaponry a lot faster than we can imagine. And of course, the AI can mircomanage a lot better (imagine a person with 5 mouse’s, hands, monitors and keyboards) and can command many different troops simultaneously.
I’d like to say that this game is Call of Duty: The RTS
Now that I’ve completed the game, I have to start playing skirmish battles and wait for the map editor to be released. Once its released, my battles start again. =)
Company of Heroes Trailer (1:25)
Graphics: 9.5
Sound: 9.5
Gameplay: 9
Lasting appeal: 8
Overall: 9.5
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