Company of Heroes
by Kilocron
previewed on PC
Three goals (cntd.)
Goal number two is that they want the AI to be so good that the units practically play themselves. So good in fact, that the units will actually take care about protecting themselves. They will often try to take cover all by themselves and will make it painfully clear to you that they don't want to be out in the open to be someone's victim. They are making these units so smart that they can damn near play the game all by themselves.
The third and final goal involves the playable units. Let's start with vehicles. The vehicles will play a big part in this game. There are numerous vehicles, too many to name them all and I'm fairly certain that I have only seen the tip of the iceberg. One particular one that really stands out was a tank that has these big propellers on the front of it like an infantry lawnmower. I'm not entirely sure if it is a real historic vehicle or not, but it is pretty damn cool. Tanks can be equipped with flamethrowers, cannons and I've even seen tanks with bulldozers attached to the front to mow over walls. As you can see, a lot of vehicles that other RTS' don't bother with will make it into Company of Heroes.
As for the infantry units, we got all of the usual suspects such as grenadiers, snipers, and riflemen. But there are also some more unique one's like engineers who sweep for mines, blow up buildings or roasts things with a flamethrower.
Warning: mod explosion imminent
The game features an extensive single player campaign for those that like to crush the Axis solo. When you're bored with playing as the Allies, you can switch over to the other side and play as the Axis for a while. Some of you may be sitting there at your PC thinking "of course you can" and maybe it's just me, but I'd get the heebie-jeebies playing as the Axis. The Axis is not like playing as the Core, Zurg, or Orcs. No, the Axis was real. But I remind myself this is a game, something, something you'll frequently have to do in Company of Heroes because everything just looks so real.
The game's multiplayer part is your average RTS fare. It will support 2-8 players, like most RTS. Anything more than that, will start crashing a lot of systems which is why so few strategy games go over 8 players. The game is already starting to show signs of a robust fan community which bodes well for its longevity. The game is built to be mod-friendly so it wouldn't surprise me if a huge amount of mods will explode unto the Internet.
Company of Heroes looks good. It plays good. It feels good. So, when it comes out this September, should you be there when the store opens? If you're a diehard RTS fan, then definitely pick it up. If you love WWII games, then yes... probably. Will it save the RTS world again? No, I don't think it will but it will most certainly be a blast. I have a good feeling about this game and to answer my own question, yes I'll be in line. How about you?