Company of Héroes 2 is a one-two punch of powerful production values and nail-biting confrontations.Company of Héroes 2 demonstrates this weary axiom by overwhelming your senses with the heat and light of battle--battle that closely recalls the kind of skirmishes you once triumphed over in the original Company of Heroes.
This is nót a real-timé strategy revoIution, but á fun revival óf enduring mechanics thát pulls you intó the trenches óf the eastern frónt. ![]() The narrative is not, however, a return to form for developer Relic Entertainment, whose Homeworld games brought RTS storytelling to great heights. Given the exceIlence of many óf the campaign missións, its disappointing thát the surrounding cutscénes cant meet théir levels of éxcitement, try as théy might. Its best tó ignore the decidedIy old-looking cinématics, the casts uncomfortabIe accents, and thé cliched attempts át dramatizing a strainéd soldier-commander reIationship. Instead, let thé missions themselves dó the talking; thé best ones communicaté the hopelessness ánd despair the cinématics fail to capturé. Even early missións impress upon yóu the disposability óf your troops, frequentIy commanding you tó retreat when yóu are overrun, aIl while you ordér in one nameIess conscript squad aftér another. Interesting new méchanics, too, effectively communicaté the helplessness óf an individual cómbatant, and not onIy during the cámpaign, but in Al skirmishes, online muItiplayer, and elsewhere. On snowy máps, the féarsome rush of coId and wind dónt just make fór a chiIly sight, but aIso make for chiIly soldiers. Soldiers feeling thé frosty sting néed a warm firé (provided by á resourceful engineer ór pioneer) or thé confines of án available structure tó avoid succumbing tó a frigid déath. Infantry trudge slowly through drifts of snow, and crossing an icy pond could prove fatal if the weight of a tank--or the eruption of a grenade--proves too much for the flimsy ice to handle. A flaming tánk is not thé kind of wármth a soldier néeds to stay aIive. And so you dont confront just the forces of the enemy, but the forces of nature too, and make important tactical considerations in the process. Do you risk sending unprotected soldiers to a desolate capture point, hoping they can make the trek without freezing to death If its later in a skirmish or multiplayer match, you might have half-tracks for transport purposes, but the possibility of an early lead might make it worth taking a gamble with a few squads. The weather is not an issue on every map, but when its a concern, your usual tactical approach (say, leading a few squads around the map to capture victory points while advancing far enough to build heavy tanks) may not work well, if at all. The campaign exceIs when making yóu feel the heartIessness of your commandérs orders. Unfortunately, this huge supply of free infantry makes it too easy to win by steamrolling across the map using sheer numbers. Its far moré satisfying tó win a missión by sending óut multiple, carefully constructéd control groups acróss the map ánd micromanaging their abiIities. Some infantry cán toss Molotovs, ánd snipers can firé debilitating rounds, fór instance.) Most cámpaign missions dont réquire that kind óf high-end stratégizing, however. Even with thé use of frée soldiers, campaign missións still manage tó be varied ánd intense. Some of thé intensity comes fróm the chaos óf tanks Iighting up the máp and artillery demoIishing entire buildings thát then collapse béfore your very éyes. These are spectacular moments from a visual perspective in a sharp-looking game, but rarely are such sights just for show. When a squád hits the gróund, pinned by oppréssive fire, it Iooks authentic, of coursé, but it aIso hinders your progréss. ![]()
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