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Company of Heroes 2

Company of Heroes 2

Company of Heroes takes the battle to the Eastern Front. We've wrapped up warm in order to check out the view from the frontline.

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I suck at real-time strategy. I still like to dabble, from time to time, but I often struggle to keep track of everything happening on the battlefield. In this respect Company of Heroes 2 is just as demanding, if not more so, than other games in the same genre.

Limited exposure to the first game meant I was already on the back-foot when I booted up CoH2. In a nutshell, the AI ate me for lunch, and then spat me out, then stamped me into the ground with a firmly planted jack boot. I'm blaming balancing issues, and will continue to do so until the same outcome happens when the final game's released. Then maybe I'll concede defeat.

But surrender is not an option, so on I soldier, through the pain barrier, and despite the resounding thrashings I receive on the way, I'm still enjoying the process of learning the game's systems and intricacies.

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Against another human player I fare a little better, even after several games. We were both learning the ropes, and as such it was a much more forgiving experience. It wasn't just me that was having trouble with the pesky AI, when co-oping against two computer-controlled forces we were both totally overwhelmed within minutes.

We're both relative novices, and still getting to grips with the game's basics, but when played against each other, things became much more enjoyable. As with all games, playing against a similarly skilled opponent is the key to having fun. Played in this vain, CoH2 is already entertaining.

There's issues. That's to be expected. The early game feels much shorter than it is in the original, with tanks rolling into combat much sooner than you'd expect. This is significant because tanks change everything, and currently it doesn't feel like there's enough time to make use of your infantry before the hulking behemoths roll onto the battlefield. When they do, unless you've stocked up on the relevant anti-tank weaponry, it's game over. Tanks will overrun your positions, and before you know what's happened, the end is nigh.

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This will likely be changed slightly before the game is presented to the public. As Relic gets to grips with how people are playing the game, and can gauge what's working and what isn't, along with taking on board feedback from those playing the beta, we're going to get an increasingly refined experience. It's baby steps at the moment, with the emphasis first and foremost on stability. They want to make small changes as they go, and will likely refrain from making knee-jerk decisions at this early stage.

However, all the pieces are in place, and I'm not expecting any wholesale changes before launch because what's already there is solid. The UI, for example, is already looking good. Everything is easy to see, and information is clearly signposted. You can easily ascertain which units are engaged in combat, where action is transpiring on the mini-map, and which units are queued. In short, it all works so far, and again I expect only minor tinkering between now and release.

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Perhaps the stand-out feature of the game is the weather conditions, and these greatly impact play, in more ways than one. There's ice rivers that can be damaged and will crack - potentially sending vehicles into deadly water, and deep snow that can slow troop movement to a crawl. It means managing your units carefully as they navigate the maps, making sure they take the optimum route to their destination.

Then there are the blizzards. On certain, snow-white maps, play is interrupted by game changing storms that can halt an army in its tracks. Troops stranded out in the cold can freeze and die, and must be positioned near fires or in buildings to ensure survival. On more than one occasion whole attacks were stopped by the blistering winds and the decreased visibility that comes with them, with both sides waiting for the weather to change before proceeding. It creates interesting stand-offs, and brave wind-swept land grabs as players push through the deadly cold to take control of the various capture points that grant potentially game winning points boosts.

These capture points are key to victory in both variants of the multiplayer game. The Annihilation mode is more straightforward - you simply have to overwhelm and totally destroy your enemies forces. Taking control of the various points increases fuel and munitions supplies, allowing for faster expansion in other areas.

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In the points-based mode, grabbing the three Victory Points is the way to win. Taking control of the majority of these key objectives reduces your opponents score, with the winner being the first to grind their enemy down to nothing by dominating these hotspots. To do this more efficiently it helps to have resources. The more fuel you have, the more quickly you can build tanks, for example. Victory is usually achieved via careful balance between taking these points and building enough strength crush your enemy's forces so they can't wrestle control from you.

The German and Soviet forces have, as you would expect, distinct tech trees to be climbed. I'm not going to be pretend to be a military expert, but the two sides seem to have appropriate units at their disposal. As you build your force you can hear the voices of the units under your command - the German voice-over is a little on the hammy side - but the chatter isn't overwhelming and on the whole adds to the atmosphere. On top of all that, it looks very nice, with varied maps and detailed units scurrying across them. Relic's new game engine certainly looks the part, and when zoomed in it's easy to see that the attention to detail is impressive.

So far so good then, and Relic still has plenty of time to tweak here, and massage there, as they get the final product ready for launch. Hopefully we'll have more robust tutorials (probably via the campaign) to help us get to grips with the myriad of options, but even without that helping hand it didn't take long to get to grips with the controls, and work out some basic strategies. Players who pre-order will be granted access to the beta, and for fans of the series who want to help shape its eventual presentation, you could do worse than check it out, as CoH2 is shaping up nicely. That said, it's not finished yet, and for those wanting a more polished and refined experience, waiting to see if CoH2 can reach the standards set by its illustrious forbear isn't a bad idea either.

Company of Heroes 2

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