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Something happened in the late 90’s to the 2000’s. Maybe it was the success of blockbuster movies like The soldier James Ryan And The thin red line, or maybe it was just the right distance from one of history’s worst conflicts, but you couldn’t throw a stone into a video game store without hitting a new title based on WWII. The craze spawned some of the most profitable franchises in the industry (remember when call of Duty was exclusively set in World War II?) and eventually led to a certified strategy hit, Company of Heroes.
Company of Heroes 3 is the latest installment in the 17-year-old series, this time set in the Mediterranean Theater. Developed by Relic Entertainment, the real-time strategy game retains most of the mechanics that fans of previous games will be familiar with: controllable and upgradable units, destructible environments, and capture points that provide valuable victory points and resources. These resources—fuel, ammo, and manpower—determine the number and type of units you can build.
A promising Italian campaign
But during Company of Heroes 3 While it may return to familiar mechanics, it expands its scope to include Italy and North Africa – settings all too often overlooked by other WWII games. I was intrigued by what Relic calls the “dynamic” Italian single player campaign, which allows you to chart your own course for retaking Italy through a scaled down strategic map. fans of Star Wars: Empire at War or Total war You’ll be familiar with this turn-based approach, where friendly territory is determined by controlling multiple major cities and towns, and battles zoom in on the familiar tactical view.
This Italian campaign promises ultimate freedom but delivers a restrictive early game. You’re initially tied to a small number of units, which means you’ll sometimes invade a country with just one unit of infantry. It wasn’t until round 30 or so, when I had conquered almost half of Italy, that the game opened up for me and I felt empowered to do what I wanted.
On the ground, the new dynamic environment shines in battles like the one in Potenza, where you’re tasked with capturing multiple enemy fortresses sitting atop heavily guarded hills. The riddle is how to capture each stronghold without being torn apart: usually the right answer is to flank them. Once I figured that out and properly utilized the resources provided, each subsequent Skirmish became a bit more repetitive.
balance of power
But while the single player gameplay might irritate me, Company of Heroes 3 really increases in its multiplayer. Early on, I enlisted my brother to help try out co-op. None of us are slackers when it comes to real-time strategy games, and we felt comfortable enough with the mechanics to take on two computer-controlled Wehrmacht commanders on normal difficulty. Three and a half minutes later we were staring at a defeat screen and wondering how we got rolled over so quickly.
Multiplayer gameplay has nothing to do with the methodical combat of the campaign – it’s fast, intense and unrelenting. My first thought was that the single player didn’t prepare me enough at all. You can’t pause, and you’d better know how to use your faction’s tech tree or you’ll find yourself with your back to your command center, watching the enemy’s victory points stack up.
One of the expressions Relic uses to describe victory point balance Company of Heroes 3 is “tug of war”. Part of our downfall, we found, was that we lost momentum from focusing too much on central keeps and not focusing enough on recapturing smaller capture points. From there our plan was to mess things up and come up with new strategies after we failed, which was frustrating but also fun. Eventually we found the right balance between capturing points and upgrading our tech trees, which usually resulted in the fastest and cheapest way to get tanks.
Resurgence of real-time strategy
Company of Heroes 3 is no ordinary real-time strategy game. The core mechanics are far more complicated than I expected, which is a real feat. Another is the art direction, both in the dynamic single player campaign and in the skirmishes. The colors are bright and everything from the overview of Italy to the tiny soldiers you send into battle has a nice cartoon quality.
In total, Company of Heroes 3 deserves a place in the game library of every WWII fan or real-time strategy fan. Multiplayer games are as sharp, intense and addictive as ever, while the new sandbox mechanics of the dynamic single-player campaign offer players a fresh (if sometimes frustrating) experience.
James Perkins Mastromarino contributed to this story. contributed to this story
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