Rifles vs Tanks - Guess who wins?

Sometimes a game succeeds so completely, you have to wonder if you’ll ever be able to go back to another entry in the genre. Company of Heroes is one such game. Yes, I realize Tritone gave this one the ultimate blessing way back in 2006, but I’m catching up here so back off! Company of Heroes presents a perfect combination of features in real-time strategy with an unparalleled level of polish. Let’s discuss.

Setting

The theater of World War II is hard to screw up considering the locations involved, the technical innovations of the period, and the fact that both sides were on nearly equal footing. That is until somebody dropped an extremely large bomb…but just don’t think about that. Company of Heroes presents this theater in stunning detail for an RTS with beautifully constructed battlefields and careful attention to detail with its structures and units.

Smarter is Better

You could say that the gameplay is simplified in that infantry units are selected only in squads. These squads also think for themselves to some extent in that they automatically react to newly uncovered terrain and units as they move. But the simplicity of squad management only makes the possibilities of the game that much greater. Complex tactics including flanking maneuvers, suppressing fire, and long-distance shelling would be annoying if not impossible in a typical micromanaged RTS. This allows the player to think his way through the battle as opposed to throwing an assortment of bodies at a situation. Likewise, the enemy in Company of Heroes isn’t your standard pile of meatheads that will stand and fight to the death regardless of the situation. If you destroy your enemy’s cover, they will fall back to stronger fortifications. If you outnumber and outgun your enemy significantly, they will retreat to return with a stronger defense.

Veterancy and Upgrades

Though I’ve heard of other RTS’s that use this mechanic, I haven’t personally seen one with veterancy since the Myth series. Simply put, units that perform well on the battlefield (and live to talk about it) receive promotions which make them more effective in their next deployment. Squads can also be upgraded with better weapons and abilities while on the field. These bonuses give the player incentive to play intelligently instead of burning through one squad after another. You aren’t required to do so, but it helps.

Territory and Resource Control

Rather than having a continuous line of peons/grunts/n00bs hauling resources to your headquarters, stockpiles of resources can be captured to increase your rate of resource production. Capture an ammo resource node and your army will generate that many more munitions per minute. You can also capture nodes and territory to increase your fuel production rate and population cap. Another step of micromanagement removed, God be praised.

Destructible and Deformable Environment

Every barrel, every window, every wooden fence can be destroyed in a different way. This is purely a matter of polish, but it adds a great sense of realism to firefights. And when you call in artillery fire from off-screen, the explosions can leave craters in the ground. But this isn’t just an altered texture, this is truly deformed terrain which can be used for cover or as an obstacle. I wasn’t expecting this as I’ve never seen it in an RTS before, but it blew me away.

Visuals

Company of Heroes has visuals that blow pretty much every other RTS out of the water. The construction and layout of cities is detailed and believable. The design and animation of infantry and vehicles is wonderfully precise. And the game looks so good that many of its scripted cutscenes are played out within the game engine as opposed to prerendered CGI. The player has full 3D control of the camera which can be brought right down to ground level for a close view of the action. Overall, the visuals have a level of polish that can only come from absolute love for one’s craft. Bravo, Relic.

Audio

An inspired score, quality voiceover work, and top-notch sound design glue it all together. CoH uses yet another of my favorite features from the Myth series, a solemn soldier’s narration carrying the player through the events and progress of the campaign. Audio implementation in this game can’t be beat. Ambient sounds of distant battle keep the quietest moments lively. Voice cues and radio reports from your squad members give you a clear picture of conditions from every corner of the battlefield. A full fledged firefight in CoH sounds as good as any Hollywood production, and man when things go ‘Boom’ in this game, it’s a glorious thing.

I haven’t had a chance to check out the multiplayer in this game (yet) but reports are that it is “the bomb”. That said, Tritone and I have a date with destiny. Destiny is a prostitute, we’re splitting the fee.