It’s been almost seven years since the Company of Heroes was released. Since then, the game has gained a huge following complete with streamers and fan sites. The gameplay hasn’t changed too much, but there are enough tweaks that will cater to the old players while inviting new ones.
Company of Heroes 2 is a lot like its predecessor but with two new factions, a loadout system, a dynamic weather system, TrueSight and Theater of War. The Russians rely on weak units that can be massed, while the Germans’ units are strong, but small and expensive. There’s some balancing issues between the two factions; at one point, the German Panzer IV was very overpowered, but the Germans were nerfed a bit too much. Other than that, the two groups are interesting and different from the ones in the original Company of Heroes.
The loadout system is like having custom classes with three different perks the player can choose from. Along with the three perks, you have three commanders to pick from in game. There’s a catch though. The commander abilities are unlocked in a sequence rather than through the ability point system that is in its predecessor. Abilities are unlocked progressively. In the previous Company of Heroes, you could spend points to unlock certain abilities, but in CoH2, abilities unlock as you play through the game. It may seem like a bad idea at first since the ability system in the original Company of Heroes made it easier to adapt to an enemy’s attacks. However, both factions can be used to effectively counter each other, making the gameplay based more on skill than the abilities the players unlock.
Since the game takes place on the Eastern Front, there has to be a few maps that include snow. Of course, Relic doesn’t fail to deliver with a bunch of Winter map versions of the Springtime ones. On these Winter maps, there is a blizzard that comes at random times and last for about two minutes. During this seemingly short time, if you are not careful, units start freezing to death unless they are brought to a heat source or cover, not the mention reduced movement speed and line of sight. Blizzards can be a pain, but they are quite useful for attacking enemy positions while they are weak from the storm. The Winter maps also have frozen rivers that lets players go through different parts of the map they wouldn’t be able to in the Spring. Although these frozen rivers can be very helpful, they can be very dangerous for vehicles. There’s nothing quite like watching a Tiger sink into a river.
The TrueSight system restricts the player to only what his units can see, which can make the game a little scarier. I’m never quite sure what to expect around the corner, but I like to think that if I can’t see them, they can’t see me. It’s a bit easier to manoeuvre undetected, and this can be very helpful if you want to flank your ally’s attackers
Theater of War is a mode similar to Operations in the original Company of Heroes where the player and his friends can battle cooperatively against the AI to within a set of constraints. There is one main condition which is the player must use units that were only available during a set time period. It can get ridiculously hard since a lot of the units aren’t as strong compared to the ones used in multiplayer. In order to advance to the next time period, the player must complete missions. Some of these missions are fun, but can be really stressful. I found myself cutting it close at the end of every mission. This might have something to do with the AI’s behavior, though. On Victory Point missions, the AI likes to bum rush my headquarters rather than attack the flags.
Aside from the problem with playing against AI in Victory Point, the AI is pretty challenging. It plays very aggressively, especially in Winter maps. I don’t believe it cheats as much as it did in the original Company of Heroes, either. That doesn’t mean the AI doesn’t cheat at all, though. Sometimes, it will know where your units are without seeing them. The AI’s behavior is weird, but it doesn’t get in the way of having a good time with it.
On the campaign side of singleplayer, Company of Heroes 2 has a pretty lengthy story. The campaign is completable in at least 14 hours. The story itself feels generic, but its still enjoyable with a couple of moments that made me gasp. The voice acting wasn’t bad, the animations were fine; for the most part, the campaign is best described as passable. Most of the levels are designed for the player to just hurl waves of Conscripts at the Germans which, while historically accurate, gets tiring. Every once awhile, there will be a mission that breaks things up nicely and becomes a change of pace from the hordes of Conscripts. Those missions were very interesting, especially the one where you find your team in Poland.
Is It Worth Your Money?
If you enjoyed the original Company of Heroes, its sequel is basically the same, but with a few different twists that make the gameplay interesting. Sure, $60 is a steep price to pay, but it’s pretty easy to get some bang for your buck between the campaign and Theater of War. Not to mention the multiplayer which is simply fantastic. Relic has done a great job on this sequel and I’m excited to see what they have in store for the future.
