Company of Heroes 2 is a real-time strategy game by Relic Entertainment. The game is a follow-up to the original Company of heroes made by the same studio. The game focuses on tactics with more emphasis on micro instead of macro. The game prioritizes map control and positioning to dictate the winners of its engagements. Company of Heroes 2 introduces two factions, the Ostheer and the Soviet Union. The game contains a single player campaign that follows the missions of a Soviet Union officer. The game contains a multiplayer mode featuring 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 game modes.
The gameplay features the two factions, the Ostheer and the Soviet Union. The game focuses on tactics and deployment of troops to win battles. The Ostheer plays similarly to the Wehrmacht from the original Company of Heroes. The Ostheer have specialist units such as machine guns with versatile infantry such as panzergrenadiers. Pioneers are also able to construct bunkders that can be turned into medic stations, reinforcement points, or machine gun emplacements. Similarly to the first game, the Ostheer receive more of an advantage in the late game when they are able to field their heavier tanks. The faction has a lot of choices to deal with any threats they face. The Soviets rely on cheap infantry, tanks, and specialists to win the day. They use combined tactics with much of their strength coming in the mid game. Soviet infantry range from lowly conscripts to elite guards with anti-tank rifles.
The single-player is a linear campaign. Missions typically have optional objectives for the player to complete that can offer an additional challenge and reward. The player assumes command of the Soviets as they defend Russia during Operation Barbarossa to the capturing of Berlin. The missions are varied from defense, assault, and special forces missions. The sotry follows officer Isakovich during his time in the Red Army. The story is the weakest aspect of the game. Previous Relic Entertainment titles have a stronger emphasis on story and pacing. In this campaign, there is none. Motivations are not clear and in general the Soviets are portrayed as incompetent and cruel. The story covers too many years and causes a disconnect in the narrative. Cutscenes also felt lower quality than they existed in previous installments. Even the original Company of Heroes had stylized cutscenes that aided in the telling of the story. Here there are no stylized cutscenes. Ultimately, the single player is fun at parts but fails in story and history.
The multiplayer is a complete mess. Microtransactions plague this game. In the original Company of Heroes, no unit was locked away in a grind or a paywall of microtransactions. It was not until Tales of Valor that units could be swapped. Even then commanders themselves were all available and could not be swapped. In this game, commanders must be earned after hours of play or purchased. In a competitive game, this prevents players from trying a unit or playing against a unit unless they pay in time or money. This goes against making a competitive game. Knowing counters and understanding a unit's capabilities is important in Real-time strategy games.By locking these units away in a competitive game is wrong. It is not impossible to win against players with purchased commanders but it absolutely hurts the barrier to entry and enjoyment by newer players.
The graphics of the game are great. Explosions, shells, bullets, and uniforms are rendered with high detail. The snow effects cause a fog that is dense and clear to identify. The user interface elements could be better with much of the UI devoted to text details about a unit. This was the same area that was used to show the player the abridged details on a unit as well as their selection. The sound of units and effects are once again excellent in the sequel. Units have different speeches depending on their status. Explosions have a significant kick to them.
With these missteps it is difficult to recommend, Company of Heroes 2. The multiplayer is a step back from the original. The single-player can be fun at times but ultimately fails to live up to its promises.
Grade: B
Company of Heroes: Ardennes Assault
Company of Heroes: Ardennes Assault is a DLC campaign set during the Battle of the Bulge between the United States Army and German Wehrmacht. The DLC campaign aims to capture the spirit of the Battle of the Bulge from the United States' perspective. Players can choose from 3 out of 4 commanders to use in the campaign. One of these commanders is a DLC Ranger commander. Players will play a mix of assault and defense scenarios with twists such as abandoned vehicles on the map. The player can choose which mission to embark on a grand strategy map as well as upgrade their chosen commanders.
The campaign does not features a character-driven story as in the vanilla Company of Heroes 2 and the campaign is much better for it. The player can listen to the commander's memoirs and experiences or skip them. They are not important to understanding the reason for the battles. Even though the scenarios are fun, the campaign does have some drawbacks.
The singleplayer mostly has the player engaging the Oberkommando West. This is thematically appropriate but would have been nice to have more enemy variety. The DLC commander is also overpowered. The game allows the player to spend all their upgrade points on one command and this can unlock the maximum potential of the DLC Ranger commander to its maximum. This ceiling is much better than the other commanders the player can choose and can ruin the challenge if the player is unaware. Some of the random battles can be harder than the others. In random battles, a condition is usually applied. This can make that mission much harder than it may be on the second try.
Overall, the Ardennes Assault DLC is a great and fun campaign. It is recommended around the $5 to $10 price range. It is a fun and educational approach to the Battle of the Bulge.
Grade: B
