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Company Of Heroes 3’s dual campaigns are a fascinating mix of old and new


Over the past six months, I have gradually chosen to overcome Company of Heroes 2 first. I’m currently halfway through its campaign, but the rhythm of calling substitutes and boosting my teams hasn’t yet become ingrained in my hotkey fingers. I always make the mistake of thinking I can make it through with the rest of my forces, but as any COH stalwart will know, that path only leads to total disaster.

Then imagine my surprise when I previewed the latest build of Company of Heroes 3The Italian campaign is dynamic, it’s Total War-style and it seems, you know, to actually make some pretty steady progress as I expand its mission maps. Admittedly I only played the opening levels of this particular campaign, and I also had the help of a handy M4A1 Sherman tank that provided some welcome spare muscle. But in my four hours with it, I felt more in control of the battlefield than I ever did when playing COH2. I made good use of its boost options, and damn, I even remember telling the units to retreat to the nearest relief station so I don’t lose the supports they’ve earned through new EXP based promotions and veteran bonuses. . Then I played a mission from its more linear North Africa campaign, and actually had a very rude awakening. Why, hello, it’s been the frenzied pressure and deadly bullets from Company Of Heroes 2, so long ago.

Then I learned that the quest aptly named ‘Gazala’s Cauldron’ was actually from the middle of Company Of Heroes 3’s North Africa campaign, which would explain the sudden increase in difficulty. jump (see picture). That, at the same time I had to learn a whole new sect. However, despite breaking all illusions, I’m actually fine with Company Of Heroes’ WW2 franchise. Real time strategy, I left the preview session with a happy and optimistic mood. While die-hard COH fans might see those early missions as more of a shrapnel park walk compared to Company Of Heroes 2, it’s clear that Relic put a lot of thought into making the part Their follow-up feels manageable and accessible to relative newbies like me. And besides, if the aforementioned Cauldron is anything to go by, you can rest assured that the pressure cooker’s tension of the series’ fast-paced tactical decisions is still plenty and precise, hints at a much more thorough and comprehensive Company Of Heroes than we’ve seen before.

Brief Summary: Company Of Heroes 3 will give you two different single-player campaigns to choose from when it launches on February 23 next year: the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943 and Operation North Africa in 1942 where you take control of the infamous Deutsche. Afrika Corps (also known as DAK). Nate (RPS in peace) is covered the core of the game’s dynamic Italian campaign back when Relic first revealed the game last year, so I recommend you go back and read his deep thoughts on it if you need a review (he also has a good argument with developers about how they’ve been go all in on tank for this whole item, if you’re interested).


A group of soldiers are pinned down in a town square in Company Of Heroes 3
The coastal town of Gela in the Italian campaign is a bright and cool battlefield, making it easy to see potential attack lines and hiding places. There are also lots of buildings to keep.

From my point of view, the Italian theater looks like a great addition to the classic COH formula. As a reminder, this activity will allow you to alternate between the big RTS battles of the old days and the more considered turn-based Total War-style campaign map. A few lingering bugs and a bit of a glitchy tooltip confirmed that delaying the game from November to February next year was indeed Relic’s correct decision, but overall, I find the combination Its real-time and turn-based combat is both a refreshing palette cleaner. and a great framing device for its larger RTS battles.

In contrast, the North Africa campaign is a much more traditional, linear type of mission-driven campaign like we’ve seen in previous COH games. I only participated in a single mission during my preview, so it’s hard to tell exactly how much connective tissue there will be between battles, but like COH2, Gazala’s Cauldron begins with a paragraph Small cutscenes setting up the upcoming skirmish.

Since you’re playing as an Axis faction fighting the British in this campaign, Relic has chosen to focus these story segments on a Jewish Berber family in the area, showing the devastating impact of DAK in their powerful assault through the cities of Ajdabiya, Tobruk, Gazala and the first Battle of El Alamein.


German forces attack British soldiers in the desert in Company Of Heroes 3
My test mission in North Africa began with a brutal attack on my DAK camp.

“We felt it was important to show the impact of war on people,” Relic executive producer David Littman told me when I asked him about the challenges of telling this type of story. . “Our players have requested [the Deutsche Afrika Corps] faction for many years, and they have asked for a campaign to bring you to the Axis. […] But at the same time, we don’t want to make them heroes. You can always play as the German side in our game since COH1 in multiplayer, but this is the first big campaign we’ve done with them. So it’s important that we show both sides.

“We don’t make a game that changes history, […] but now you’re seeing stories happening in there.”

“So while you’re playing as the Afrika Legion, after your missions you’ll see its impact, and we follow this Jewish Berber family looking back on the war and its what it did, not just the war itself, but the innocent people living in the area.We didn’t make a game that changed history, […] but now you’re seeing stories happening in there.”

Of course, only time will tell whether these stories work as they’re meant to when they’re sandwiched between massive RTS battles that require every last bit of attention to win, because the British were alive, the British definitely had me on their feet for most of my preview and getting a foothold in its rough desert terrain was a real test of tactical mettle .

When we meet the DAK in Gazala, they are preparing for an attack, hold out as long as possible until your commander Erwin Rommel can send reinforcements. Immediately, my COH2 instincts kicked in, and I put my engineers to work putting up barbed wire fences, adding sandbags for cover, and laying mines to capture any of our vehicles. England that they might let their guard down. On my first attempt, they nearly got me down, destroying my anti-infantry Panzerpioneers and anti-aircraft Half-track trucks with ease (though that might help if I give it a shot. his team of machine guns a little forward instead of keeping them far behind). I actually got to defend my outpost in just three and a half minutes of real-time, but even that fleeting skirmish felt much more in line with what I’ve been playing in terms of COH2.


German forces capture an abandoned camp in Company Of Heroes 3


Tanks emerge from the mist as soldiers battle in the desert in Company Of Heroes 3

Finally, Rommel’s reinforcements arrived, and it was time to push out and capture the remaining fortifications on the map. Equipped with a reconnaissance tractor, these fast little support vehicles can mark enemy positions in the surrounding fog of war, providing convenient targets for gun crews. ranged support and my sturdy Panzer tank. However, the real vehicle star of the show is my rescue vehicle. Half tank, half pickup, these big boys can repair and transform other broken vehicles, dropping bombs scattered across the map, including some downed DAK tanks, to replenish Add them to my arsenal.

Indeed, although Relic has previously said that they are focusing more on infantry combat in Company Of Heroes 3, I feel the North African Gazala mission is still very much focused on the effective deployment of these weapons. Your armored, motorized wheel soldier versus your boots on the ground. Indeed, the British regularly hit the battlefield with rockets and long-range artillery fire as I progressed up the map, making it difficult to capture enemy territory without being immediately given a second thought. towel. Support from my own rocket launcher trucks and support gun crews was essential to capturing enemy camps and ensuring that my Command was equipped with the right technology to support the battle. That strategy became an important part of the initial rhythm of the mission.


A recovery vehicle patching a crashed tank in Company Of Heroes 3

In fact, I’ve never been able to puncture the British Socket sitting at the top of the map, but learning how to approach and tackle their hilly defenses provided a satisfying level of challenge. . I’m not sure I’ve had much time to think about all the damage I’ve done, mind you (just the number of DAKs I sent into the oncoming machine gun fire), but as I did mentioned earlier, this is just one mission within a much larger campaign, so we’ll have to wait and see if local Berber communities play a larger role in the operation outside of the ending story scenes. fulfill their duties or not.

One thing that surprised me, however, was how little I needed the game’s new tactical pause functionality.

One thing that surprised me, however, was how little I needed the game’s new tactical pause functionality. Given the troubles I’ve had with COH2’s campaign over the past few months, I was expecting this to be the key to unlocking Company Of Heroes 3 for me. Luckily, I barely touched it during my campaign in Italy, and I only felt the need to invoke it a few times during my North African playthrough. I definitely appreciate it being there, giving me the option to defeat and schedule some attacks without the bomb risk that doesn’t exist in the process, but it’s completely unnecessary to get through. through what was in front of me.

Again, though, it’s another sign that Relic is covering all possible bases in Company Of Heroes 3, giving players as much freedom as possible to access the battle theater. this Mediterranean painting in whatever way they see fit. If you want to go all out with a pure RTS approach, you can absolutely do it. If, like me, you like to take a breather here and there to gather your thoughts and stretch out stuck hotkey digits from time to time, you can do that too – and it’s fun, especially when there’s so much to drown you in. It may still be a few months before Company Of Heroes 3 comes out in full, but without any further delays for the final spit and hit, it looks like 2023 will start off with a bang really for wartime RTS fans.

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