 |
|
| | Title:
Company of Heroes
..............................................
System:
PC
..............................................
Genre:
Real-time Strategy
..............................................
Publisher:
THQ
..............................................
Developer:
Relic
..............................................
Release:
09/11/2006
..............................................
Online:
Yes
..............................................
ESRB:
Mature (M)
..............................................
 |
While World War II games have completely worn out their welcome (except for the impending Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway), one can only wonder...what else can they do with the era? Relic Entertainment is taking Real-time Strategy gameplay and World War II and is putting them together for what may be the best looking RTS WWII game to date. The Allies vs. Axis is seen from a standpoint that is as dynamic as any Brothers in Arms game. Yet it is as compelling and strategy oriented as the original Close Combat. From manning turret guns to blasting down houses, this game appears to offer a lot originality in a worn out genre.
Since this is an RTS game, the standard class of characters will be available and upgradeable, along with a plethora of vehicles. Firing teams, snipers, mortar teams, engineers/explosive experts, tanks of various sizes, air support, cannons, stationary machine guns, and more will all be available for players to use. There is even the standard base building and vehicle or building repairing that will help to turn the tide of the war in the player’s favor.
The one thing most RTS fans should notice, though, is that this game can get right down there in the nitty-gritty of the action. Most strategy games fear getting too close to the action because of the lacking details and shady quality of graphics. The graphics scenario is the complete opposite with Company of Heroes. Visually, everything is amazing, from the details in the soldiers’ uniforms and the way they move, or the way bricks are slightly chipped or tanks show elements of corrosion; it’s all there. Relic even takes gamers straight into the veins that pump the action onto the screen. Gamers will witness mangled bodies (thanks to the realistic rag-doll physics) and some of the best Havok-esque style demolitions around. The game looks like it may be running on an advanced version of the Project-E5 engine. Individually, allowing detailed obstructions within the map to de-construct according to the force of impact, etc.
The other cool part about Company of Heroes is that vehicles and explosives can work as instruments for cover fire. Players can direct troops into holes created by mortar or tank fire, or use a broken down tank chaff as a marker for further movement. The environment plays a very intricate and dynamic role in the way every battle plays out. Troops can be directed to use a house as a sniping point, or as a flank for enemies passing by. Soldiers will man stations at windows that will chip and break away under heavy fire. Interestingly enough, everything in Company of Heroes will chip and break away under extremely heavy fire. For instance, soldiers camped out in a house were laying heavy fire on enemy troops. That is, until a Mortar team came up and laid waste to the entire side of the house from where the soldiers were firing. In one case, the Allies lined up along a fence, trying to knock out enemy troops traveling along the road. The enemy, naturally, returned fire that caused the wood to individually break and fall apart that the Allies were using for cover. The battlefield will change drastically under any measure of strategic attacks. Calling in an air-strike might make it difficult to get tanks across a certain area. Sometimes damaging a certain area or knocking out specific buildings with heavy fire can even prevent the enemy from taking advantage of certain mobile points.
Company of Heroes also will use resource management as a way to force players--whether playing offline or in a multiplayer game--to strategically map out their attacks. Any player who goes through, blowing everything up in sight, will more than likely lose the battle very quickly. Relic Entertainment retains classic RTS elements, such as the aforementioned resource management. However, there are also a couple of extras for players to deal with. For instance, to maintain a resource point that was captured (a la Battlefield 1942) players will need to keep the resource line protected. If enemies cut off a resource point from the main base (such as blowing up a specific building or pathway marker) then players cannot replenish sources for the specific outpost. In the same way, though, players can also hit the enemies’ resource line, effectively cutting them off from new supplies or fresh troops.
Pages
|
|
| |
