Geeked

Video game reviews: Company of Heroes
By Seth MCM. Donlin

PUBLISHER | THQ
DEVELOPER | RELIC ENTERTAINMENT
PLATFORM | PC
PRICE | $49.99
ESRB RATING | M (MATURE)

WHAT’S COOL: Incredible graphics and sound, varied and challenging scenarios, fully destructible surroundings, an interesting mix of unit types and truly impressive infantry AI.

WHAT’S UNCOOL: No dynamic lighting effects, long load times, an unrealistic reinforcement system and a few other odd breaches of realism.

GAMEPLAY: 4
GRAPHICS: 5
SOUND: 4.5

If there was ever any doubt as to what company is currently turning out the industry’s most impressive RTS titles, Company of Heroes just blew it away. The game’s impressive 3-D graphics and fully destructible terrain seem almost light years ahead of the competition, while the realistic ways in which your infantry squads react to enemy attacks will leave you wondering if they even need you to issue them orders. As amazing as the game is, though, it’s not without its flaws.

The first troubling thing you’ll notice is how long it takes each mission to load. It can get so bad that you almost start to wonder if your computer has called it quits before the scenario’s opening scene begins to play. Once things do finally get cooking, you’ll notice a few other annoying little things—like the fact that your infantry squads only contain six men when in reality they should contain eight. Sure, it might seem like a niggling complaint. This is a game after all; not real life. What does it matter if a squad has six men or eight? Well, it ends up mattering a great deal if you order that squad through enemy fire to toss a satchel, charge into a building or lob a sticky bomb onto a tank’s treads. Those two missing men make all the difference as to whether the squad survives the task as a combat effective unit or just a couple of lucky grunts who couldn’t defeat a fire team of Hitler Youth. Of course, combat-ineffective units can always be reinforced and then brought back to the fight, but that simply reveals another unrealistic element of the game.

Company of Heroes takes place during the Normandy landing and the ensuing push across France. Along with the men of the fictitious “Bravo” Company, a group of mechanized infantry supported by their fair share of armor, you often get to command an airborne company working deep behind enemy lines. Disappointingly, even when operating without any hope of resupply, you can still call in reinforcements for your depleted squads. The individual soldiers parachute out of the sky one by one as if Allied Command sent out a special plane for each of them. A much better way to handle reinforcements would have been a system like the one in Nival Interactive’s Blitzkieg series where you could only reinforce units between missions—a system that encouraged smart tactical play rather than typical RTS “wave” tactics.

Despite, the game’s annoying shortcomings, it’s a hell of a lot of fun to play. No other RTS has offered up such dynamic scenery. Artillery barrages blow craters in fields and roads that your infantry can later use as cover. All buildings can be entered and offer differing levels of protection depending on their structural integrity. And anything you’d like to blow up can be blown up. What’s more, the game’s AI models the reactions of your infantry squads in an extremely realistic manner. Individual soldiers dive and crawl for cover when they come under fire, spreading out to take advantage of their surroundings. (Tanks, unfortunately, are not as “smart,” often presenting their lightly armored rear ends to enemy fire when maneuvering for position.)
All in all, Company of Heroes is a real win. And despite its handful of curious flaws, any fans of the RTS genre should definitely put it on their list of titles to pick up next time they’ve got a few extra bucks to spend.