![]() The game was released on June 25 in North America and Europe. In January 2013, Sega acquired Relic Entertainment and along with it the Company of Heroes intellectual property from THQ. Company of Heroes 2 runs on Relic Entertainment's proprietary Essence 3.0 game engine. As with the original Company of Heroes, the game is set in World War II but with the focus on the Eastern Front, with players primarily controlling the side of the Soviet Red Army during various stages of the Eastern Front, from Operation Barbarossa to the Battle of Berlin. It is the sequel to the 2006 game Company of Heroes. For long-running COH2 fans who already have access to all of that content, though, $20 for two new armies and a handful of maps is a bit steep.Company of Heroes 2 is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sega for Windows, Linux, and OS X. I'd say that $13 for a single army is too much, but since a new player can get access to the online servers, all other players, and all 31 of CoH2's maps for a quarter the cost of the full game, I'm inclined to call that a bargain instead of a fleecing. If you've been holding off on buying CoH2, you can dive straight into the multiplayer without buying the full game if you buy one of the two new DLC armies. The new maps and armies mesh well with the existing game, and that's no small accomplishment. No matter what army I played, I ended up rolling out my tanks or fully upgrading my infantry in about the same amount of time. These armies and maps fit neatly into the overall CoH2 ecosystem while maintaining their individual personalities. The heavily hedgerowed Faymonville Approach map quickly became my favorite for one-on-one comp stomps. There are eight new maps set on the Western front, and I found them all to be well-balanced and varied. This DLC isn't just about the new armies, it's about adding a shot of new energy to the existing CoH2 multiplayer landscape. If the Americans need to destroy a bunker, they'll have to call in armor to do it for them. I longed for a squad of engineers with demolition charges, and their omission feels a bit like an oversight. The US infantry does have one failing, and that is its weakness against buildings. The adaptive mobility of the American forces in general make them kings of the early game, mopping up in the space before defensive lines have been set long enough to be heavily fortified. A handful of rifle squads charging in with light vehicles for support is not only effective, it feels amazing. The basic rifleman squad can get upgraded weapons and abilities until they are resourceful, mobile, and powerful. I particularly loved diving into the Infantry specialization with the Americans. The Americans, well-equipped but far from home, slug it out against the Germans and their world-famous infrastructure. ![]() These officers are powerful individual units that allow you to field advanced infantry support, anti-tank, and armored units.Together, the two new armies are well-realized looks at the national attitudes and circumstances that inspired them. American players will have to work, however, to recruit the officers needed to run these supply lines. Unlike any other army in CoH2, the American base begins fully formed. If the Germans run on supply chains, the Americans run on star power. In an effort to make the Oberkommando a more vehicle-heavy army, Relic sacrificed some unit individuality. While aircraft can be called in on bombing or strafing runs, they are so rare that I've only seen them once or twice. The SdKfz 251 and 251/17 half-tracks, for example, are essentially the same vehicle twice, except that the mark 17 specializes in attacking aircraft. The West German Army has only three infantry unit types supported by a dozen varieties of vehicles, but I noticed some repetition in the ranks. Playing as the Oberkommandos is an exercise in heavy, awkward hardware.
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