Company of Heroes is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Relic Entertainment. It was released on September 12, 2006, and was the first title to make use of the Games for Windows label. A standalone expansion, Opposing Fronts, was released on September 25, 2007. A second standalone expansion, Tales of Valor was released in April 2009. Company of Heroes Online, an MMO version of the game was released as a free-to-play, microtransaction based game in South Korea in April 2010.[1][2] Company of Heroes: Online Open Beta ended on March 31st, 2011. According to Relic Entertainment, the reason for the servers being shut down is the developers' new unnamed RTS project which will be unveiled in August 2011.[3]
Company of Heroes is set during World War II. In the single-player campaign the player commands two U.S. military units during the Battle of Normandy and the Allied liberation of France. Depending on the mission, the player controls either Able Company of the 29th Infantry Division, or Fox Company of the 101st Airborne's 506th PIR.
The sequel, Company of Heroes 2, was released on June 25th, 2013.
Gameplay[]
Resources[]
The resource management in Company of Heroes retains micromanagement details such as reinforcing troops, which has the effect of creating a more tactical RTS experience.
Players must take control of certain points on the map. The more of these points a player controls, the more resources they acquire. This concept demands constant expansion of a player's territory. These points are connected like supply lines, and so, during the course of a battle a player can capture one point in the supply line, isolating the rest which had been connected to the base through it, therefore reducing the enemy's resource intake.
Players collect three resources: manpower, munitions, and fuel. Manpower is necessary to produce all units. Munitions allows players to upgrade individual squads or vehicles and use special abilities. Fuel allows players to purchase tanks and other vehicles, build base buildings and acquire global upgrades. The player can decide, at a manpower cost, to place observation posts on his resource points in order to increase his production by 40% and make them more durable against enemy takeovers, which means sacrificing resources in the short-term for a greater long-term intake. Resource points must also be connected as any unconnected captured points can not produce resources.
Buildings[]
Units can occupy a civilian building and convert it into a field barracks, allowing certain units or squads to be created by that building, thus allowing a forward unit production and reinforcement point.
Medic stations can also be built on the field to house medics, who can recover fallen soldiers from the battlefield and return them to the medic station. When enough soldiers are recovered by medics (4 for Germans and 6 for American), the medic station will provide a free squad at no expense of manpower.
Infantry units can also occupy buildings and use them as cover or a garrison to protect against attack, but this limits their firing range because the infantry are a stationary, immobile target, rendering them vulnerable to sniper fire and easy to surround. Also, while garrisoned, infantry units can only shoot out of windows or holes blown into a building. Certain weapons are immensely effective against units holed up in a building; satchel charges or infantry-carried rocket launchers can demolish a building, tank fire can blast the building, and infantry or tanks armed with flamethrowers can literally set the building on fire and burn out the occupants, and finally artillery. However, there are advantages; infantry are well protected from small arms and most buildings are sturdy enough to stand up to limited tank fire before collapsing. Company of Heroes was one of the first World War II strategy games which introduced dynamic building destruction which took advantage of the physics engine used to make the game. For example, if a tank was concentrating its fire on one position of a building near the bottom, then the whole building (once its "health" was completely depleted) would collapse in that specific area first and then the rest of the building would follow.
Occupied buildings can be destroyed after taking fire from enemy units or any other attack, like artillery fire or demolition charges. Civilian buildings cannot be repaired or rebuilt. However, both the Allied and German forces can construct garrisonable buildings (the Allies can build a .30 caliber machine gun nest, while the Germans can construct bunkers).
The Americans can build a barracks and weapons support center to deploy infantry (foot soldiers), a motor pool and tank depot for tanks, vehicles and anti-tank guns. The triage center can heal nearby units that have been wounded from enemy fire. A supply yard is also required to be built before building a motor pool or tank depot which enables upgrades to reduce costs of infantry and tanks.
The Germans can build a variety of structures. The Wehrmacht quarters, Krieg barracks and Sturm armory lets players create infantry. Krieg Barracks and Sturm Armory can build light vehicles and other infantry, while the Sturm Armory and the Panzer Command deploys German tanks at the player's disposal.
The Germans can also build Kampfkraft Centre(s) in order to increase veterancy levels.
Combat mechanics[]
Combat includes controllable units that are recruited and ordered directly by the player (through the user interface at player-controlled buildings, or through a doctrine ability), as well as activated support actions, such as artillery bombardment or aircover suppression. Every controllable unit type, whether infantry or vehicle, has an associated construction cost and recruitment time, as well as a range of fighting abilities.
Like many RTS games, the fighting units generally form a rock/paper/scissors hierarchy.
Vehicles and infantry can eventually be upgraded by researching specific capabilities. Upgrades generally improve the unit's effectiveness. Some upgrades are global, granting immediate benefits to all deployed units, while others must be purchased on a unit by unit basis.
In addition to units which engage in direct (line-of-sight) combat, both powers can build mortar and artillery units, which engage enemies at standoff distance through indirect fire. Indirect fire is characterized by a long time of flight to target, and low accuracy, but possesses a wide area of effect. It is particularly effective against massed infantry and light vehicles, but less hazardous to armored vehicles. A perfectly-coordinated artillery strike can turn the tide of a battle, while a poor one can inflict significant friendly-fire casualties.
Most combat takes place through direct, line-of-sight engagements. For small arms fire from infantry units, weapon accuracy and range are factored into the damage calculation. Cover, which can be gained from map terrain, occupying a building, or an adjacent armored unit (such as an anti-tank gun), factors heavily into the calculation. Cover does not provide any protection against most types of indirect attacks (grenade, mortar, artillery), or specialized anti-personnel weapons (accurate sniper fire, flames.) Vehicles also receive cover, though through much more complicated mechanics, usually resulting in survivability bonuses - not unlike their infantry counterparts. In addition to range and accuracy, the direction of fire also has a major impact on the damage a vehicle takes, especially if weak spots are targeted, such as the rear armour of a tank. A head-on shot into the glacis of the tank will do much less damage than a shot to the side, or a direct shot into the rear of the hull. Although terrain cover does not offer the same protection for vehicles as it does for infantry, obscuring terrain increases the difficulty of scoring a target hit by reducing the target's exposed profile. Thus, combat outcome is as much a function of tactical deployment and battlefield terrain, and not just unit composition.
Crew-served weapons can also be manned by friendly troops or captured by enemy troops once the weapon's crew is killed ; this includes machine guns, mortars and anti-tank guns from both sides as well as German Nebelwerfers, Flakvierling 38 AA guns, Flak 88 cannons and American 105mm howitzers. A few infantry weapons are also susceptible to be reclaimed or captured, including American BARs and German bipod MG42s. The high firepower of these weapons (and their elevated production prices) often make them prime targets for enemy snipers.
Factions[]
Allies[]
Represented by the Americans, this faction boasts cheap, versatile units. Veterancy is earned through the act of combat; units gain veterancy as they kill more and more enemy units and buildings. American infantry units are slightly more numerous than their Wehrmacht counterparts, but are generally less effective in a straight fight, and rely on upgrades and abilities to gain the edge in a fight. American vehicles and tanks, while lacking in raw power, are generally faster and capable of various support tasks. The Sherman tank for example, can clear mines using an obtainable mine flail.
Companies:
- Infantry Company: Centered around defense and infantry support, this doctrine allows players to train infantry and build defenses faster, employ heavy artillery, and call in reinforcements such as the elite US Army Rangers, or a randomized group of units with the "Battalion Reinforcement"
- Airborne Company: Centered on air support, this doctrine allows players to deploy paratroopers, call in recon planes, and enjoy the destructive capabilities of the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber.
- Armor Company: Centered on vehicles and armor support, this doctrine is slow to gain strength, but boasts powerful abilities, such as improved vehicle production, vehicle field repairs, the Sherman Calliopes and the powerful M26 Pershing.
Axis[]
Represented by the German Wehrmacht, this faction employs a wider range of units than the Americans. Wehrmacht units are generally more expensive and powerful, but also more rigid and ill-equipped beyond their intended roles. For the Wehrmacht, veterancy is not earned, but "bought" at their Kampfkraft Centre. Wehrmacht infantry range from simple Volkssturm militia to elite Knight's Cross Holders. Their armor, likewise, also gives players the choice between Flak Panzers, the Panzer IV or the powerful Panther Tank. Their force is rounded out by a few more specialized tanks and powerful support units such as Officers and Nebelwerfer rocket batteries.
Doctrines:
- Defensive Doctrine: Centered on artillery and defense, this doctrine allows base structures to defend themselves against Infantry, offers bonuses for defending infantry, and allows players to call in rocket barrages and deploy the powerful [[Flak 88]] cannons.
- Blitzkrieg Doctrine: Centered on speed and offensive operations, this doctrine allows players to speed up their military and economy, and allows players to deploy powerful assault units such as Stormtroopers and the Tiger I.
- Terror Doctrine: Centered on psychological warfare and destructive power, this unusual doctrine provides players with die-hard infantry and the ability to rout the enemy, be it with propaganda, devastating V1 rockets, or a single, powerful Tiger Ace (which has since been replaced in patches by the King Tiger tank).
Campaign[]
The base game of Company of Heroes only has one campaign, the Invasion of Normandy, which follows the actions of the American units Able Company and Fox Company, and their participation in the real-life operation known as Operation Overlord, also known as the Battle of Normandy. The campaign has 15 missions and primarily centers on many of the larger or significant battles of Operation Overlord, some of which are spread over multiple missions. Many of the battles and operations depicted in game are Operation Neptune, the Battle of Carentan, the Battle of Cherbourg, Operation Cobra, Operation Lüttich, and the Falaise Pocket.
Multiplayer[]
For Company of Heroes, Relic began using a new online gaming system called Relic Online. Previous Relic games used GameSpy Arcade or World Opponent Network services. This new system includes many features that the previous systems did not have, including a built in automatch and ranking system.
This game allows multiplayer matches of 2-8 players via LAN or the Internet.
Company of Heroes allows players to fight as both the United States and Wehrmacht forces in multiplayer matches.
Victory Point Control[]
These games focus on controlling several Victory Points spread around the map. These victory points can be captured similarly to strategic points. When one side has more victory points under their control than another, the other side's "points" start to decrease. When one side's counter runs out of points, they lose. Alternatively, the player can simply destroy all enemy structures to win the game. Before the start of the game, the host can choose between 250, 500, or 1000 points. The point function in Company of Heroes works much like the ticket feature in the Battlefield series.
Annihilation[]
Annihilation games lack the victory points of the VPC game mode. To win, the player needs to destroy all enemy buildings excluding observation posts on points.
Development[]
Game engine[]
Company of Heroes is Relic's first title to make use of the "Essence Engine". This engine was designed and coded from scratch by Relic in order to make use of special graphical effects, including high dynamic range lighting, dynamic lighting & shadows, advanced shader effects and normal mapping.
Company of Heroes also utilizes the Havok physics engine, giving it a more realistic physics system than previous RTS games. Parts of buildings can be destroyed by grenades, satchels or mortars, and tanks can drive through sections of walls or other barriers. Smoke created from explosions is programmed to behave as realistically as possible and can even be influenced by wind. Debris is also influenced by explosions; a blast can send barrels flying and shower troops in dirt, whilst leaving behind a large crater. When infantry are bombarded by artillery, body parts sometimes detach and are dispersed over, and some units are thrown about in the immediate area. Bridges and buildings can be destroyed by engineers using demolitions.
On May 29, 2007 Relic released a patch for Company of Heroes that included a new DirectX 10 rendering mode with enhanced terrain, additional world objects, and improved shadows and lighting. This patch made Company of Heroes the first commercial video game to support Direct3D 10.
Reception[]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 93.82%[4] |
| Metacritic | 93%[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | A+[6] |
| Eurogamer | 10/10[7] |
| GameSpot | 9.0/10[8] |
| GameSpy | 5/5[9] |
| GamesRadar | 10/10[10] |
| IGN | 9.4/10[11] |
Reviews[]
Upon its release the game received wide critical acclaim. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game had an average score of 94% based on 61 reviews[14] — making it the third highest rated game of 2006, the highest rated PC game of 2006 and the highest rated Real-Time Strategy game of all time. On Metacritic, the game had an average score of 93 out of 100, based on 55 reviews — considered "universal acclaim" by the site.[15] Currently, it continues to remain the highest-rated real-time strategy game.
In June 2011 the game was ranked #51 on IGNs Top 100 Modern Games.[16]
Awards[]
- PC Gamer: Game of the Year 2006
- Computer Games Magazine: Game of the Year 2006
- GameSpy: PC Game of 2006, Best Sound, Best PC Strategy Game, Best PC Multiplayer
- GameSpot: Best PC Game 2006,[17] Best Strategy Game[18]
- IGN: PC Game of 2006,[19] Best PC Strategy Game,[20] Best Use of Sound on PC,[21] Best Online PC game[22]
- Game Critics Awards: Best Strategy Game
- GameSpot: 2005 Best PC Game of Show; Best Strategy Game of Show; Best Overall Game of Show[23]
- IGN: Runner-up, Best Strategy Game (PC), Runner-up, Technological Excellence (PC)
- GameSpy: Best of E3
- Interactive Achievement Awards: Strategy Game of the Year
Expansions[]
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts[]
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts is a standalone expansion pack. It contains two factions; the British and the German Panzer Elite. Owners of Opposing Fronts will be able to play against owners of Company of Heroes and vice versa, although only using the armies from the game they own. Owners of both games will be able to play all four armies in multiplayer. Opposing Fronts was officially announced on April 5, 2007[24][25] and was released on September 24, 2007.[26] Opposing Front was later rereleased along with Company of Heroes as Company of Heroes Gold and later as part of the Company of Heroes Anthology (together with Tales of Valor).
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor[]
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is a standalone expansion pack. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor was officially announced on November 3, 2008 and was released April 8, 2009.[27][28]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ "THQ Partners with Windysoft to Bring Company of Heroes Online to South Korea". Relic Online. 8 September 2009. http://www.relic.com/news/September-9-2009---THQ-Partners-with-Windysoft-to-Bring-Company-of-Heroes-Online-to-South-Korea/. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- ↑ "[안내 OBT 오픈 시간 안내"]. Windyzone. 27 April 2010. http://coho.windyzone.com/sub_main/csboard/NOTICE/view/board_view.ws?setting_board_id=NOTICE&seq=119&srch=&selGubun=&category_seq=&page=2. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- ↑ "Company of Heroes Online blog.". Relic. March 25, 2011. http://www.companyofheroes.com/announcements/one-week-left-for-coho.
- ↑ "Company of Heroes Review - GameRankings". http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/927618-company-of-heroes/index.html. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ "Company of Heroes Review - MetaCritic". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/companyofheroes. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ Peckham, Matt (September 19, 2006). "Company of Heroes Review - 1UP". 1UP. pp. 1. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3153681&did=1. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ Gillen, Kieron (September 25, 2006). "Company of Heroes Review - EuroGamer". EuroGamer. pp. 2. http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=67931. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ Kasavin, Greg (September 11, 2006). "Company of Heroes Review - GameSpot". GameSpot. pp. 2. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/companyofheroes/review.html. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ Raush, Allen (September 14, 2006). "Company of Heroes Review - GameSpy". GameSpy. pp. 3. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/company-of-heroes/732881p1.html. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ Stapleton, Dan. "Company of Heroes Review - GamesRadar". GamesRadar. pp. 3. http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/review/company-of-heroes/a-20060919154059812037. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ Adams, Dan (September 11, 2006). "Company of Heroes Review - IGN". IGN. pp. 3. http://pc.ign.com/articles/732/732059p1.html. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ "Company of Heroes - Game of the Year (2006)". IGN. http://bestof.ign.com/2006/pc/39.html. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ↑ "Company of Heroes - Game of the Year (2006)". GameSpy. http://goty.gamespy.com/2006/pc/index11.html. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ↑ "Company of Heroes Reviews". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/927618.asp. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ↑ "Company of Heroes (pc: 2006): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/companyofheroes. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ↑ "Company of Heroes ranking on IGN Top 100 Modern Games". IGN. http://au.ign.com/top/modern-games/51. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ↑ "Best PC Game 2006". Gamespot. http://www.gamespot.com/special_features/bestof2006/platform/index.html?page=11.
- ↑ "Best Strategy Game 2006". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/special_features/bestof2006/genre/index.html?page=11.
- ↑ "PC Game of 2006". IGN. http://bestof.ign.com/2006/pc/39.html.
- ↑ "Best PC Strategy Game". IGN. http://bestof.ign.com/2006/pc/17.html.
- ↑ "Best Use of Sound on PC". IGN. http://bestof.ign.com/2006/pc/25.html.
- ↑ "Best Online PC Game". IGN. http://bestof.ign.com/2006/pc/28.html.
- ↑ "2005 Winners". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/companyofheroes/news.html?sid=6127234.
- ↑ Adams, Dan (April 5, 2007). "Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts Announced". IGN. http://pc.ign.com/articles/778/778892p1.html. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ↑ "THQ Announces Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts". GameSpot. April 5, 2007. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/companyofheroesopposingfronts/news.html?sid=6168639&mode=all. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ↑ "Shipping Out September 24–28: Halo 3, Opposing Fronts". GameSpot. September 24, 2007. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/companyofheroesopposingfronts/news.html?sid=6179816&mode=all. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ↑ "THQ Announces Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor for Windows PC". Business Wire. November 3, 2008. http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20081103005317&newsLang=en. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ↑ Faylor, Chris (November 3, 2008). "Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor Announced". ShackNews. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55695. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
External links[]
- Official Site
- Company of Heroes Official Updates Page (Offline since 2013~2014)
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