PLATFORM: PC
GENRE: Real-time Strategy
DEVELOPER: Relic Entertainment
PUBLISHER:
PRICE: FORTY-NINE AMERICAN DOLLARS ($79.99 Digital Collector's Edition)
RELEASE DATE: WW - June 25, 2013
GAF GROUP: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/GAFCoH2
GAMEPLAY MECHANICS
The game will feature the Soviet Red Army as a new faction and will take the player on various stages of the Eastern Front campaign, from Operation Barbarossa to the Battle of Berlin. The game is built on Relic's proprietary Essence 3.0 engine, which showcases new improvements compared to Relic's previous games. One such improvements is the new line-of-sight technology, TrueSight, which aims to better emulate troop visibility in real combat. In contrast with traditional unit visibility, TrueSight more accurately represents a unit's visibility range based on environmental conditions and type of unit. Essence 3.0 will also incorporate an innovative weather-simulating technology known as ColdTech and destructible environments.
Weather conditions will be a major factor in gameplay, with movement and action penalties applied on players' units. Since many battles in the Eastern Front occurred in winter weather, troops can die of frostbite if caught in the outside during blizzards. Bonfires protect soldiers from the cold at the expense of enemy detection. Players moving through deep snow will move at a reduced speed. Certain maps will have frozen bodies of water, allowing for more movement options. However, players face the danger of being attacked from the other side; as a result, the ice can buckle under the weight of the units in movement.
Company of Heroes 2 will take advantage of DirectX 11 but will also support DirectX 9. The game will also utilize Valve's Steamworks technology with matchmaking and achievements. In regards to strategy mechanics, the game is set to retain the traditional Company of Heroes formula.
The game will also offer the player a chance to complete side missions such as protecting civilians caught in the crossfire.
COLDTECH
ColdTech is the revolutionary new weather technology found in Company of Heroes 2. Bringing the bitter cold Winter weather of the Eastern Front to life in a way never before seen in a strategy game, ColdTech will have players making difficult strategic decisions to keep their troops alive, and to engage the enemy intelligently. ColdTech includes an extreme cold mechanic which accurately encapsulates the Soviet winter which reached extremes of -40 degrees F in 1941. At those temperatures human skin will freeze in a matter of minutes, something that is portrayed in the game.
On winter maps, Infantry units exposed to the bitter cold will gradually freeze to death unless the player keeps them warm by building fires and garrisoning them in buildings. Dynamic blizzards will increase the effects of extreme cold making it even more hazardous to leave infantry in the open. The new ColdTech system also allows the Essence Engine to dynamically paint on and remove snow, meaning that not only does it accumulate on buildings and vehicles, but it can also be melted or removed from objects by the player. Snow also has realistic depth which actually impacts troop movement and will retain persistent infantry and vehicle tracks throughout the match unless covered by fresh snow fall.
On top of the innovations in snow technology the engine allows ice to become a weapon in a smart commanders arsenal. Not only does it have a unique texture, affecting vehicle and troop movement, but it can collapse or be destroyed from underneath troops and vehicles, plunging them into the hypothermic Russian waters. Over time destroyed ice will re-form due to the winter conditions in the game. All of these new innovations feature alongside Company of Heroes 2s other technological advancements like the TrueSight dynamic line-of-sight mechanic to make this a worthy successor to Company of Heroes.
TRUESIGHT
Relic's new TrueSight will change how the 'Fog of War' feature is used in RTS games. No longer will you be able to see everything in an area once your units move in, but you will only be able to see what your soldiers can see. This means that units will be unable to see behind obstacles that would block their vision in the real world such as buildings, trees and walls etc. By using Truesight, the Fog of War and Line of Sight mechanics will be more realistic and fluid and allow players more ways to ambush, flank and defeat their enemies.
MULTIPLAYER
Besides revamping the single player experience, Relic Entertainment is also revisiting the multiplayer aspect of the franchise and making it fresh and exciting by adding new features such as:
- Snow based maps where soldiers need to be constantly kept warm by building fires, vehicles or garrisoning them in buildings, otherwise they die of hypothermia
- Ribbons and medals to be earned via multiplayer achievements
- Revised command ability trees
- Two vastly different sides i.e. the Russians and the Germans that offer hugely different strategic options to the player
- Introduction of Commander or Hero units
COMMANDER UNITS
In mutiplayer games, players will be able to summon a maximum of three commander or hero units to the battlefield. These commander units grant different abilities once summoned such as powering up the infantry, calling in artillery barrages, boosting your defense with special emplacements and so on.
These units need to be charged before they can be called in to aid in the battle and once land in, they cannot be changed or substituted. Therefore, to take maximum advantage of these super units, players will have to decide which type of commander to call in, depending on the situation the player is in and also on the his/her play style.
OS: 32bit Vista
Processor: 2Ghz Intel Core2 Duo or equivalent
Memory: 2GB RAM
Graphics: 512MB Direct3D 10 capable video card (GeForce 8800 GT or Radeon HD 2900XT)
DirectX®:
Hard Drive: 30GB free Hard disc space
Internet: Broadband Internet connection
Steam Pre-Orders
Standard Edition
- Tier #1 - Team Fortress 2 Item Bundle, Soviet Hat and German Hat, Soviet Badge and German Badge
- Tier #2 - Dawn of War II Retribution
- Tier #3 - Company of Heroes 2 Commissar Chest: $5.00 Premium Currency, XP Boost, Unit Boost, Commander Archetype
- German Rotbraun and Russian Leningrad Pattern Bundle
- Guaranteed Beta Access
Collector's Edition
Everything in the standard edition plus:
- Company of Heroes Collector's Soviet and German Cap and Badge
- German Whitewash and Russian Winter Cobblestone Pattern Bundle
- Veteran Badge
- Company of Heroes Collector's Pack - Includes the original Company of Heroes and all its expansions
- Theatre of War Mini-Campaign
Origin Pre-Orders
Standard Edition
- German Rotbraun and Russian Leningrad Pattern Bundle
- Guaranteed Beta Access
- Only on Origin Russian Bryansk Front Pattern
Collector's Edition
Everything in the standard edition plus:
- Command Pass
- Company of Heroes Collector's Pack - Includes the original Company of Heroes and all its expansions
- Theatre of War Mini-Campaign
- German Whitewash and Russian Cobblestone Front Pattern
- Veteran Badge
Retail Pre-Orders
Standard Edition
Amazon.com, Gamestop
- German Rotbraun and Russian Leningrad vehicle bundle
Best Buy
- The original Company of Heroes game (with no expansions)
- Best Buy Exclusive German Disruptive Pattern
- German Rotbraun and Russian Leningrad vehicle bundle
Screenshots
Company of Heroes 2 GAMEPLAY Demo @ E3 2013
Company Of Heroes 2 Beta: Gameplay (Full)
Company of Heroes 2: Motherland Mini-Series Episode 1 - Nazi Blitzkrieg
Company of Heroes 2: Motherland Mini-Series Episode 2 - Ruthless Red Army
Art
[More]
Average Metacritic score: 81 out of 100
Destructoid: 100/100
[A] shining example of what an RTS game should be: a mix of classic mechanics with new features and technology.
4Gamers: 88/100
Company of Heroes 2 isn't perfect, because the single player story is mediocre at best. Nonetheless, this is a game every RTS-gamer has to own, because everything else is just perfect. The blizzards, Theatre of War and the new line of sight system are just brilliant and they also give this sequel the innovation the series deserves.
Machinima: 85/100
Its hard to ask for more from a game in terms of content. Company of Heroes 2 provides a robust campaign, substantive side challenges, and a deep multiplayer that has the potential to foster a thriving community. Its unfortunate, then, that control issues and obtuse game systems cloud the experience.
IGN: 84/100
Play the original first (its cheap) but Company of Heroes 2 satisfied my appetite for more.
4Players.de: 84/100
This is a competent sequel to an outstanding RTS game with a compelling multiplayer experience, although problems with AI and path-finding are still evident.
Guardian: 80/100
It's fun for exactly the same reasons Company of Heroes: Tales of Valour was fun. Many hours of rewarding historical conflict await. Play the original first: it's considerably cheaper.
Eurogamer: 80/100
While Company of Heroes 2 sometimes makes you feel like you're fighting the game as well as the enemy, if you take time to understand the systems at work beneath the carnage and pick and choose your battles wisely, you will ultimately be rewarded by a deep and enjoyable RTS.
Game Informer: 80/100
If it had been made by an upstart studio trying to make a name for itself, wed be praising its ambition and presentation. Coming from Relic Entertainment as the follow-up to one of the landmark real-time strategy games in the genres history, though, it fails to meet expectations.
PC Gamer: 80/100
Company of Heroes 2 is the USSR of real-time strategy games: huge, powerful and just a little bit broken.
Gametrailers: 79/100
This is a sequel thats more about refinement than innovation, and elements such as the weather effects and the robust Theater of War serve to make an already great franchise just a tad greater. A heavy reliance on the past keeps it from earning the legendary status of its predecessor, but appropriately, Company of Heroes 2 marks a dogged victory for Relic -- these guys have clearly been fighting the good fight.
Gamespot: 75/100
Its barrage of online and offline skirmishes doesn't always hit its mark. But when it finds its target, Company of Heroes 2 delivers a loud and mighty payload.
EDGE: 70/100
Attempting to explore the Eastern Front thematically proves misjudged, while persistent unit stupidity is wearing thin after seven years and four games. Counteracting that are the core mechanics, which are as enjoyable as ever, and there are smart new missions to test series veterans. Its not a glorious revolution, then, but COH2 is a solid continuation of the finest WWII RTS around.
I'm a turtle player and my building style is digging down, defending my position and then just building heavy, expensive units to force my way through. You certainly don't need the be-on-your-feet-always-moving playstyle to win. That is the beauty of it. 
