Company of Heroes 2

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Gameplay Mechanics

Basic Mechanics and Controls

“Company of Heroes 2,” after all, maintains the unitary core gaming action that makes the predecessor great while offering fun new contributions that drive action and add depth and complexity. On resource management, unit production, and tactical fighting: It’s all about controlling and taking capture of strategic points on the map that provide resources: manpower, munitions, and fuel. All now are needed to build a unit, upgrade a technology, or deploy a powerful vehicle.

The control scheme is easy and intuitive, with keyboard shortcuts and mouse commands combining to quickly allow players to issue orders and handle their forces. Micro-management is essential for the game; players must pay intense attention to their individual unit placements, covers, and lines of sight. Where most RTS games focus on base building, Company of Heroes 2 focuses on dynamic tactical battlefield action as well as ingenious use of terrain.

Tactical Depth and Environmental Interaction.

One more point of “Company of Heroes 2” is that the game puts great emphasis on environmental interaction. The TrueSight system introduced by the game is a system that creates the simulation of realistic lines of sights for the units. This means that units will not be able to see through buildings or forests, so players must scout and use reconnaissance to see things for themselves. This kind of realism and drama is all about the constant risk of surprise ambushes and surprise attacks.

The Other is known to have introduced the ColdTech weather system, which simulates fierce winters in the Eastern Front. Snow, ice, and blizzards may hamstring operations and slow down units or cut visibility, and sometimes temperatures can drop to levels that cause soldiers to freeze to death if not near a heat source. This environmental factor leaves players to think of the enemy and the elements.

Asymmetry and Faction Design

Company of Heroes 2 has two main factions: the Soviet Union and the Wehrmacht, or the German Army, just like its predecessor. Both these factions boast their own unique strengths and weaknesses-and ultimately, styles of play-that will embrace players in an asymmetrical balance to learn and master different strategies from each player’s countenance.

Soviet Union: It is an overwhelming power in numbers, and army attrition. Most of the Soviet units are cheaper and faster to create, which allows the Soviets to create massive infantry assaults. Soldier, however, is less individually powerful than the Germans. The doctrine of the Soviets includes that of pouring conscripts, who can bring back depleted squads on the battlefield. Mobility and versatility are what Soviet tanks, as T-34, are designed for.

The German factions Wehrmacht are heavily skewed towards elite units and technological superiority. German infantry and vehicles tend to cost more but also pack a greater punch and are more resistant to damage. Advanced technologies and heavy armor, such as the formidable Tiger tank, are available to the Wehrmacht. The Germans typically devise tactics to hold strategic positions with well-entrenched defenses and combine arms to defeat Soviet swarms.

This imbalance between the two factions adds great depth to the gameplay for players who have to change their tactics according to the advantages and disadvantages of their selected side. This also adds to the re-playability of any game, since two factions offer distinctive experiences.

Campaign Mode

The single-player campaign of “Company of Heroes 2” continues the story of the Soviet Red Army soaring all the way from the defense of Stalingrad to the basement sieges of Berlin. The story is told from the first-person point of view of Lev Abramovich Isakovich, a Soviet lieutenant under interrogation by a Soviet officer, Colonel Churkin, whose flashbacks narrate Isakovich’s important battles and events fought.

The campaign is historical and at the same time introduces the player to the game mechanics; every mission shows differences in the game, ranging from large, spectacular tank battles to puny human grass fights in urban area. Missions varied and richly designed, with many types of defense, assault, and special objectives.

Although it offers an interesting and fun collection of challenges, the campaign is also said to be anti-historical. According to some of the player-critics, the game portrays an imbalanced, too-negative perspective on the Soviet war effort, elaborating on just the negative repercussive actions the Red Army embarked on, ignoring the nature of the theater that was the Eastern Front. This specific controversy has brought forth hot debates regarding the obligations of game designers in representing history which is to be delved into in more detail later.

Multiplayer and Skirmish Modes

“Company of Heroes 2” is multi-table delight in skirmish and multiplayer modes, where the game is really going to be honeyed over the mechanics and tactical depth. Importantly, having more than eight players involved in competitive or cooperative modes is based on a huge number of maps to provide added tactical diversity.

Multiplayer offers some of the factions like the Soviets, the Wehrmacht, Oberkommando West, and the United States Forces, but these can be played by players just to mention a few. These factions are unique from one another in terms of units and abilities. The new approach in the game is introduced by commanders and doctrines, which further complicate strategizing, as people can select specific abilities and bonuses with respect to their style of play. For example, a Soviet player might prefer a more artillery strikes-defensive fortifications doctrine, whereas a German would rather take that on blitzkrieg tactics and using armor quickly.

Overall, the matchmaking system generally works pretty well, complete with your ranked and unranked matches. Yes, it has a replay system superior to all other games on the market, allowing you to experience all matches again, correct mistakes from previous rounds, and strategize better for future matches. Although definitely nothing like the first couple of weeks after launch, the multiplayer community remains quite active, continuing to play competitively with a core of die-hards.

In skirmish mode, players take on AI opponents either solo or in co-op with friends. This is great for strategizing and trying out different commanders and unit configurations. The AI in “Company of Heroes 2” also has a fair level of competency and can offer a decent challenge, especially on the higher levels.

Expansion and DLC

Since its launch, Company of Heroes 2 has released a number of expansions and Downloadable Content packs, further creating content for the game and adding new factions, missions, and features.

The Western Front Armies: This expansion is opened as a stand-alone and provides two new factions, named the Oberkommando West (OKW) and the United States Forces (USF). The expansion shifts the action to the Western Front of World War II, demonstrating new maps and scenarios. The OKW is a specific faction focusing on elite infantry and heavy armor, while the USF emphasizes mobility and combined arms tactics.

Ardennes Assault: This single-player campaign expansion covers the events of the Battle of the Bulge from a US forces perspective. Unlike the main campaign, however, Ardennes Assault has a more non-linear mission structure allowing players to choose which sectors they will attack or defend. There is also a new feature added in the expansion called the persistent company in which the power of your units in one mission can affect their strength in subsequent missions.

British Forces: This is yet another stand-alone expansion that adds the British Army to the list of playable factions as a DLC. The British Forces showcase a defensively oriented rim with solid infantry and artillery features and the ability to dig in and fortify their positions. New maps and extra content for multiplayer can also be found in the expansion.
Added Commanders and Skins: Relic has released multiple add-on commanders, unit skins, and additional cosmetic items through DLCs. Here is a bunch of customization for players for their armies and strategies.

Many people enjoyed the expansions and DLC; however, some feel that the monetization method of the game was quite wrong because they thought some parts should have been included in the base game. No doubt, though, that the expansions add huge value and playtime to the game, especially for those into multiplayer.

Company of Heroes 2 – Since its launch, Company of Heroes has established a new “monument” of the modern strategy game genre, with many micro standards, to be able to become gaming the “hot” network of the year.

Overcoming victories, THQ (now bankrupt) and Relic (returned under SEGA) continued to release the second part of the series, bringing players to the Eastern front full of misery.

Although being put a lot of “enthusiasm” but Company of Heroes 2 has not really met the requirements of gamers.

Still “following” closely to the soul of the previous version, Company of Heroes 2 takes players to the most fierce battles on the Eastern front.

The game screens are designed to be divided into many stages, bringing players from getting used to the game screen, increasing the pace up to the main and sub-quests “puzzle” players, gradually pushing up the pace of the battle climax, full of drama.

This makes the “excitement” of Company of Heroes 2 still guaranteed compared to the first version.

Besides, the way of building the game screen is also extremely reasonable, “describing” the “quality” of the Eastern front when the number of troops on both sides is more crowded than the first version.

Fortunately, this large number is largely in the hands of machine allies, otherwise, with the “bold” micro-control style like Company of Heroes 2, the whole battle will become chaotic and difficult to control.

This approach helps “bold” add to the severity of the battlefield compared to the existence of only “small” units, like the previous version.

Compared to Company of Heroes, this second version is upgraded quite a lot in terms of graphics.

The models have increased the number of textures that make the characters more “real” than ever.

Even the cutscenes based almost 100% on the game engine, have the same quality as the pre-built movies of other games of the same type.

Most especially, the application of a new physics mechanism makes the combat on normal and snow environments differently, affecting the player’s tactics relative to the previous version.

For example, the group of troops moving in the snow will be very heavy, slower than walking on the trail with little snow.

Besides, many advanced graphics effects are also included in the game such as Tessellation and Shader 5.0, providing a high level of detail in both terrain and characters.

Therefore, it is possible to compare the graphics detail of Company of Heroes 2 quite high, making the game a “beautiful” strategy game equal to the “monsters” like Rome 2: Total War, in both sides micro and macro.

Unfortunately, when compared to the previous version, Company of Heroes 2 didn’t have a significant breakthrough in gameplay.

Although it has shifted the “focus” to the Eastern battlefield, Company of Heroes 2 still feels almost no different from the American troops in Company of Heroes.

The same old skills like suppressing shot (with PPSh instead of Thompson) and throwing grenades, or only engineers equipped with flamethrowers … also make the infantry array almost “copied” from the original before.

The Soviet tank system has the look of American vehicles when the T-34-84 models are almost the same … Sherman when playing the main attack role or the IS tank line, is similar to the M26 Pershing.

While in reality, these tank models differ in both strength and usage.

If for many games, the A. I error is a hard to accept error then for Company of Heroes 2, this error is quite… bizarre and does not seriously affect the entire game.

For example, many times, military units … stood in front of the enemy and … did nothing to be easily shot down with a series of bullets.

Or there are times when the mechanical opponent sends a few groups of troops to attack within your control and then … run back.

Besides, in certain screens, the behavior of the machine is also difficult to accept when constantly sending troops … to die, or any other “gritty” situations that annoy players!

Graphics are quite a strong upgrade point of Company of Heroes 2 compared to the previous version, but the “cramming” of many effects into the details makes the powerful machines “drag” out unnecessary.

A good example: most of your playtime will be looking at the battlefield from a high position, making it completely unnecessary to apply Tessellation, showing tracks in snow or emoticons on soldiers’ faces. Why do you have time to “zoom in” the scene to see these things?

where can you get a Company of Heroes 2 online

Company of Heroes 2 – PC: Buy it now

Company of Heroes 2 (PC DVD): Buy it now

Conclusion

Such an amazing gaming experience, “Company of Heroes 2”, justifies its description as one of the best real-time strategic games, which features tactically deeper gameplay along an extremely strong story and visual presentation. Innovations like the TrueSight system and ColdTech mechanics also make it something unique in the genre while enhancing the whole experience to make it more interesting and difficult for practically any gamer. This game does a job for the most immersion in terms of details, both in its historical environment and within the actual dynamics of the gameplay, that few, if any, can match in the RTS class.

It has also been marred by some controversies, notably over its portrayal of the Soviet Union, but remains an important title for the world of RTS. The expansion packs and DLCs are of immeasurable value, lengthening the lifespan of the game and bringing into it new contents and challenges. The highly engaged community and modding scene continue to enable Company of Heroes 2 to be relevant and fun for many years to come.

All in all, then, “Company of Heroes 2” is a game for risk-taking and rewarded strategy, forward planning, and flexibility. Giving players challenges of wartime uncertainty and violence with all of their connotations, it provides tools for sliding through such periods and somehow overrides these challenges. For anyone into real-time strategy games and history in World War II, it cannot be avoided, whether you are an original fan of “Company of Heroes” or looking for a new experience.