![]() ![]() Historically, the Italian Mediterranean front of WW2 is characterised by its focus on tank battles and the employment of guerrilla tactics by both Axis and Allied forces in the desert. Fluid, detailed, and yet immensely tactical (as one would expect from CoH), I greatly enjoyed the first part of the brand-new North Africa campaign, which was aptly titled "Mission Alpha". Just over two weeks ago, Relic Entertainment set us up with a special preview opportunity for the new Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) faction in Company of Heroes 3, and in short, the game is everything a modern RTS should be and then some. Fortunately, an even better opportunity dropped into our laps. But do they make me expect great things from the eventual full game? Yes.Company of Heroes 3 Preview: A great intro for a enjoyably fluid factionĪs far as Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games go, the Company of Heroes franchise is among the best that the genre has to offer, and with its third instalment scheduled for a November release this year, it's about time we checked in on how development is trucking along. A lot of the art assets were missing, British units T-pose before firing rifle grenades, and Coldstream Guards have the icon of Soviet Guard from Company of Heroes 2, but… it’s a pre-alpha. It would be nice to see this type of “almost” real-time in a AAA multiplayer RTS, as it would make battles more about being the better commander rather than the faster clicker.Īll in all, Company of Heroes 3 pre-alpha looks and plays great for a pre-alpha build. ![]() It’s already the main way to play the Combat Mission series, and there’s a good reason why Battle Galactica: Deadlock gets mentioned in every review I write. It’s neat in that it cuts down on micro in single player because Company of Heroes always had too much of micro.įor me personally, it just shows that a turn-based continuous resolution system is the way to go. This is all so that you can formulate a plan easier. There are special markings to show orders during the pause, and even a timeline recording them. ![]() It only works in single-player, so in that sense, the only difference between it and time controls in the or Total franchises is the purposefulness. Other than that, the one thing making people hot and bothered is Full Tactical Pause, which is a fancy way of saying that you can give units orders while the gameplay is paused. This latest game is trying to strike a happy medium between the real campaign we had in Company of Heroes 1 and the improved dynamic campaign of Ardennes Assault. This ranges from regular base-building battles with special maps and cool objectives (like stealing a German AA gun to stop periodic strafing), to the crowd favorite “no base, just a handful of troops hope you do well.” But if you run into an opposing company on the field, you might just duke it out in a skirmish battle (with some fun objectives). ![]() Now, if a company is attacking a special town occupied by enemy forces, you might even play out a bespoke scenario. Really, there’s a surprising amount of depth and mechanics at work on the strategic map. Company abilities are more variable and powerful, like artillery companies being able to engage enemies at range, or special forces companies disrupting enemy supplies behind the lines. For example, medical detachments can heal other units (and provide ambulance call-ins in RTS), while engineers can remove obstacles (an important task as the pre-alpha campaign demonstrates). However, detachments can fight on the strategic map, user their own abilities, and add a bit of support when they’re in range. ![]()
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