Company of Heroes has been a successful PC-exclusive RTS franchise for many years. I remember being at the unveiling at E3 several years ago and always thought the series looked promising, and it wasn’t all that long ago that I finally got around to playing CoH2. Impressed, although eventually rediscovering that my type of RTS is of the sci-fi variety (ala Command & Conquer), I didn’t stick with it. However, when given the opportunity to review Ardennes Assault, I was looking forward to change of pace and to try my hand at taking on the Oberkommando West across regions of Belgium.
Playing on my new PC build, I haven’t experienced any notable technical issues and ran the game at max settings in 2560×1080. As this is a single-player only expansion, you will need to click on Campaigns to get into it, which the main menu makes abundantly clear. From here, you’re dropped right into the mix, with your first taste of combat following very shortly. It’s been a long time since I had played the CoH series and I realized that CoH2AA was not going to spend much effort getting me back into the swing of things. This is somewhat understandable being the second expansion to an established game, but then again it is a standalone release, so an optional, detailed tutorial would have been helpful. This is not to say that there aren’t some very helpful visual cues and a bit of hand holding, but, at least on Normal difficulty, the battles are intense and the stakes are high, meaning defeat is imminent without a proper understanding of the controls and mechanics.
Getting over the learning curve is certainly manageable and worthwhile. Once you are comfortable with the busy HUD and can recall things like what each icon in the upper right corner means, and what types of units can do what (i.e. soldiers in the rear company can build tank blockades and other things that rifleman cannot), you’ll be in a much better situation. Unfortunately, this small “victory” is just a primer for the battles that await over the course of eighteen new scenarios (11 missions, 7 engagements), the majority of which I have yet to conquer as of this writing. The missions are challenging, but with clear objectives and the ability to earn upgrades and unlock skill tree options for each of your company’s, things are indeed manageable. Interestingly enough, and this may very well be the first time I have seen this type of design in an RTS, how you choose to play through the missions is largely up to you. From the world map, you can choose between multiple battles to engage in next, with the ultimate goal being to repel the Axis forces back to Berlin. Your eventual victory in your chosen battle isn’t all that counts, either. What happens during the battle can have a significant outcome on the other battles, making them tougher or easier, and it’s rarely easy to tell which way things are going to play out.
This gameplay design adds a lot of ‘weight’ to your decisions and tactics from one minute to the next (or well, even quicker than that usually). You need to keep your soldiers alive; not just because you want to be a good commander, but because as they experience and survive battle, they rank up, becoming more efficient and all around better personnel. Additionally, the more units that survive the better the overall company’s health is for the next battle, which is a surprising but intriguing design.
Balancing playtime between the three companies and their commanding officers is key, not to mention interesting. Each CO has a story and a personality that gets commendable attention as the plot unfolds, and your options as far as calling in additional support be it paratroopers or a fly-by strafing or whatever depends on which company you’re controlling. Company specialties include Airborne, Mechanized Infantry, and the ground-pounding forces of Support. Of note, there is a fourth company, the Fox Rangers, but to my surprise instead of being able to click the select button for these guys, it was a button that said “$4.99.” I don’t play F2P games or those that require or “highly encourage” in-game purchases, so it was a eyebrow-raiser to see this extra $5 charge so seamlessly integrated into what is already a $40 expansion. Anyway, not to get too off track here — I have to say I am really liking how Relic has made the moment-to-moment decisions in battle important beyond the scope of the scope of the battle itself. In other words, your actions effect not only the present, but near future encounters, too.
In sum, other than the early hurdles of getting re-acquainted with the controls and gameplay mechanics, CoH2AA is a solid and forward-looking RTS experience.
