Company of Heroes 2

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Company of Heroes 2
Studio CanadaCanada Relic entertainment
Publisher JapanJapan Sega
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 United StatesUnited StatesJune 25, 2013 June 25, 2013
European UnionEuropean Union
platform Microsoft Windows
OS X
Linux
Game engine Essence 3.0
genre Real time strategy game
Game mode Single player , multiplayer
control Mouse , keyboard
system advantages
preconditions
medium DVD-ROM , download
language English , French , German , Italian , Spanish
Current version 3.0.0.9 (as of June 25, 2013)
copy protection Steamworks
Age rating
USK approved from 16
PEGI recommended for ages 18+

Company of Heroes 2 [ ˈkʌmpəni ɒv ˈhɪərəʊs ] is a real-time strategy game for the operating systems GNU / Linux , MacOS and Microsoft Windows . The computer game was developed by Relic Entertainment until the bankruptcy of the original publisher THQ and has been distributed by Sega since June 25, 2013.

The tactical strategy game is the successor to Company of Heroes from 2006. Like the previous version, the game is set in World War II , but this time with the focus on the Eastern Front in the German-Soviet War . On the side of the Red Army, the campaign extends from the start of Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941 to the Battle of Berlin in April / May 1945.

Company of Heroes 2 runs on Relic Entertainment's proprietary game engine Essence 3.0 , which, according to THQ, offers developers technical improvements. In January 2013, the Japanese computer games company Sega took over Relic Entertainment and its intellectual property rights from Company of Heroes from THQ .

The computer game was released on June 25, 2013 in North America and Europe. The versions for macOS and Linux were published on August 27, 2015 by the British studio Feral Interactive . The computer game provoked criticism from Russian gamers and was consequently withdrawn from the market by the Russian publisher 1C-SoftClub.

Game mechanics

The game engine is largely identical to the first part. The lead game developer Quinn Duffy described the gameplay as follows: “Wins should be tactical. We want players to win by playing smart and taking advantage of the environment. "

raw materials

The resource system of the first part has been modified. Players will still need to capture flag points scattered around the map in order to obtain ammunition and fuel required to recruit new units. Manpower is used to request all units, infantry and tank guns only cost manpower. Ammunition is used to upgrade individual units and activate abilities. Fuel is used to build vehicles and acquire global improvements.

Instead of infantry units capturing the flags immediately, it is now sufficient for the units to be within a certain radius without any enemy contact. The flag points are not predefined, so that the player holding them can decide for himself whether to generate labor, ammunition, fuel or to set up a field hospital . The acquisition of resources and the size of the army accelerate with the number of flag points captured.

building

Civilian buildings can be occupied by infantry and used as temporary bases. Entrenched units can be fought with artillery, flamethrowers and hand grenades. The damage system for buildings from the first part has been expanded. Set fire to wooden buildings burn to the ground.

The main Soviet building is the Regimental Field Headquarters , from which recruits and pioneers are recruited. Wounded units can be healed in field hospitals.

The main building of the German Eastern Army is the battle group headquarters . As in the first part, the Wehrmacht headquarters can be expanded by three levels to unlock the other four buildings of the Eastern Army: the infantry company, the light mechanized company, the support combat group and the heavy tank corps.

Combat system

The combat system in Company of Heroes 2 has been expanded. The battles include both controllable units that can be recruited and commanded directly by the player, as well as support actions that can be activated, such as artillery strikes and close air support . Every controllable unit, whether infantry or vehicle, has a construction cost and a manufacturing time as well as firing ranges. All units can be expanded to include specific skills (such as hand grenade throwing ) and equipment (such as armored aprons ).

Most combat operations take place by direct fire within sight of the units. As with Company of Heroes , positions that provide cover for soldiers and support units are indicated by colored dots. Infantry units can climb over low obstacles such as fences and walls. Unmanned or abandoned weapon systems can be taken over and repaired. Through the veteran system, the player can provide his units with additional combat skills and improved combat strength.

Crew-operated weapon systems such as anti-tank guns , machine guns, and mortars can be manned by new units once the original crew has been wiped out. The game also offers the option of completing side missions, which is rewarded with an inverted triangular icon. Since the Red Army deployed a large number of recruits during the war, a certain number of recruits can also be ordered to predefined points in the game.

TrueSight

The game engine Essence 3.0 introduced the TrueSight system, which calculates the simulation of the field of view of units. In contrast to the fog-of-war concept used by other strategy games, TrueSight simulates the visibility and shading through buildings and terrain more precisely depending on the capabilities of the respective units. The game engine supports both the programming interfaces of DirectX 9 to 11 from Microsoft and offers new possibilities for the destruction of the environment.

Weather

Weather conditions are a newly introduced game factor that is simulated by the ColdTech weather system. Since most of the fighting on the Eastern Front took place in winter weather, infantry units can die of frostbite and hypothermia if they are outdoors for long periods in frosty weather. A thermometer on the left side of the unit shows the soldiers' body temperature . The soldiers can rewarm their bodies around campfires or in buildings. When units wade through deep snow, they move at reduced speed unless they are walking on a road. Footsteps remain recognizable for the opponent. On some maps there are frozen bodies of water that can be walked on and crossed and which allow additional movements. However, units located on frozen waters can be attacked and the ice can break through fire under the weight of the units.

Theater of War

The newly introduced Theater of War campaign consists of a series of 18 missions for individual and co-op players that deal with different aspects of the fighting on the Eastern Front in 1941, half from the perspective of the Wehrmacht and half of the Red Army. Further missions from 1942 onwards are offered as downloadable content. One of these expansions is the Blue case , which is reserved for buyers who pre-ordered the game or purchased the Red Star Edition . The blue case is about the summer offensive of the Axis powers on the southern eastern front.

The game developer Quinn Duffy said that the extensive history of World War II on the Eastern Front was a good way to tell other stories of the war.

Command 227

The campaign also covered the of Josef Stalin pronounced command no. 227 ( "No step back"), which allowed a withdrawal unless directed by a high-ranking officer. From the fourth mission, which deals with the Battle of Stalingrad , Command 227 has a direct influence on Frontowiki units. A time bar appears on the left side of the map display. The player may not order a retreat for the duration indicated. Otherwise appears political officer of the NKVD from headquarters and kills back one by one until the soldiers on the battlefield.

Extensions

The Western Front Armies

On June 24th, 2014 the add-on "The Western Front Armies" was released. The multiplayer expansion is standalone and runs without the full version. The focus is again on the battlefield of the first part (Western Front in France), the focus of the expansion is the Ardennes offensive and the march on Paris. The game is expanded to include the two new factions, the US Forces and the West High Command. The 23 cards in the main program have been expanded by eight additional cards and the experience system has been revised. The two new factions have the following properties:

  • The West High Command has very fast and light reconnaissance units and extremely heavy armored units. For the first time, the Panzer II "Luchs", Jagdtiger and Sturmtiger units are introduced into the Company of Heroes series .
  • US Forces: The US armed forces from the first part under the command of General Eisenhower have been revised and new capabilities have been added.

Ardennes Assault

The stand-alone add-on "Ardennes Assault", which has been available since November 8, 2014, was presented at Gamescom 2014 . The non-linear campaign over 18 missions takes place on the side of the United States Army against the background of the Battle of the Bulge at the turn of 1944/45.

action

The story of the game thematizes the events on the Eastern Front and is told through flashbacks of Lev Abramovich Isakovich, a lieutenant in the Soviet army who was imprisoned in a gulag in Siberia in 1952 for treason . Colonel Churkin of the Army, his former commanding officer, questions him about his experiences during the war. During the survey, a number of war crimes and crimes against human rights (international rights) are discussed. The criticism of the military leadership is inevitable.

development

In May 2012, THQ announced a successor to Company of Heroes for the first time . THQ Executive Vice President Danny Bilson said the publisher will continue to work on Company of Heroes 2 after the game is released , and buyers can expect additions that will extend the product lifecycle. On December 19, 2012, immediately after the postponement of the publication date, the distribution company THQ went bankrupt. The following month, on January 23, 2013, it was announced that THQ had sold Relic Entertainment to publisher Sega for $ 26.6 million .

On March 6, 2013, Sega scheduled the launch of Company of Heroes 2 in North America and Europe on June 25, 2013. A week later, the start of the closed beta phase was set for April 2, 2013. After the closed beta phase was completed, the open beta phase began on June 4, 2013.

Registration requirement

For arranging online games and saving achievements online platform Steam from Valve used. A user account must be created there and the game activated, which prevents resale. You cannot play against each other in a local network .

reception

Games current 85%
GameStar 90%
PC action 88%
PC Games 88%
Eurogamer 8/10
Computer picture 2.66
4players 83%
PC World 3.5 / 5
IGN 8.4 / 10

Reviews

“When testing the first part, I asked that a picture of Company of Heroes should be printed in the dictionary next to“ Spectacle ”. Now you can confidently stick one of the successor over it. Because, at least online, the hectic checkpoint hunt now feels even faster, soldiers die even faster, rash advances end in disaster even more quickly. "

- Michael Graf, Martin Deppe : GameStar

“For me, Company of Heroes 2 is a good continuation of the groundbreaking first part, but without reaching its unique quality. After seven years, the title is still plagued by incorrect pathfinding, strange unit AI and a camera hovering too close over the battlefield. "

- Eike Cramer : 4Players

“The bottom line is that the second part does a little better, but a lot worse: The innovations don't really ignite, the overview has diminished, and the political groups seem (still) unbalanced. There is also no real progress in terms of the graphics quality and the intelligence of the computer opponents. "

- Nils Matthiesen : computer picture

“Hardly any level is the same, the learning curve is almost perfect for beginners as well as genre veterans, and new tactical options open up again and again thanks to the large variety of units and micromanagement. The playing time is also unusually long for today's games: The campaign takes a good 15 hours and the successful Theater of War mode takes up the same time again. "

- Matti Sandquist : PC Action

controversy

There was extensive criticism of the negative portrayal of the Soviet army during World War II.

In a 25-minute video by the Russian video blogger BadComedian, the latter uses concrete examples from the game to document and criticize the brutality, inhuman tactics and national stereotypes and clichés of the Soviet soldiers portrayed, especially in direct comparison to the very positively portrayed Americans from the first part of the Series.

The Ukrainian game developer Sergey Galyonkin expressed a similar criticism, who writes in his blog that the game “in a way ascribes war crimes of the National Socialists to the Soviet Army” and “makes the Soviet Army appear like a fantasy kingdom of the devil. A Second World War Mordor, so to speak. "

The controversy sparked a shit storm of protests on the Metacritic review page and led to the game being devalued. Due to the continued strong criticism, the Russian publisher 1C-Softclub stopped sales on July 26, 2013. In response, Sega issued a statement that "... this matter will be taken very seriously and the reservations will be investigated with all relevant partners."

Controversial resistance fighters and shootings in the campaign

In a campaign, the player is put into the role of a Russian soldier who has to watch the shooting of some partisans by the NKVD. This controversy alludes to the not atypical reports by soldiers of World War II. The camp detention of the main character, caused by his political criticism of the system and actions of the Soviet army, is also criticized as "US propaganda" by Eastern European gamers.

Despite the controversy, Sega was able to sell 380,000 copies in North America and Europe in five days.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Mac and Linux ready their armies: Company of Heroes 2 arrives August 27 . Feral Interactive. August 18, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  2. ↑ Mike Jackson: Company of Heroes 2 'briefing' on May 7. In: Computer and Video Games. May 7, 2012, archived from the original on December 26, 2014 ; accessed on August 20, 2012 .
  3. ↑ a b With True Sight and the Essence Engine 3.0 you liberate Russia from the Nazis. In: PC Games . May 22, 2012, accessed November 6, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Eddie Makuch: Company of Heroes 2 confirmed for 'early 2013'. In: GameSpot . May 7, 2012, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Alexander Sliwinski: THQ bid winners, prices and runners-up. In: Joystiq. January 23, 2013, archived from the original on February 24, 2015 ; accessed on January 23, 2013 .
  6. ↑ Robert Purchese: Sega and Relic and the whereabouts of the Warhammer 40,000IP. In: Eurogamer . January 25, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  7. ↑ a b Alexa Ray Corriea: Company of Heroes 2 coming on June 25. In: Polygon. March 6, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  8. ^ A b Eddie Makuch: Company of Heroes 2's Russian distributor suspends sales. In: GameSpot . August 5, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  9. ^ Leo Schmidt: Tips, tactics and units. In: GIGA . July 8, 2013, accessed November 2, 2013 .
  10. ^ A b Maxwell McGee: Surviving the Frozen Heart of Mother Russia. In: GameSpot . May 22, 2012, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Tobias Simon: Relies on the Engine Essence 3.0. In: Gameswelt . May 7, 2012, accessed November 6, 2013 .
  12. ↑ Jeffrey Matulef: Company of Heroes 2's dynamic weather system will freeze your ass off. In: Eurogamer. July 24, 2012, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  13. ↑ Austin Regimbal: Company Of Heroes 2 Will Have New Obstacles, Destructible Environment. (No longer available online.) In: GameBreaker. May 22, 2012, archived from the original on July 29, 2012 ; accessed on November 1, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gamebreaker.tv
  14. ↑ Phil Savage: Case Blue DLC released, adds new scenarios for Theater of War. In: PC Gamer . September 25, 2013, archived from the original on February 19, 2014 ; accessed on November 1, 2013 .
  15. ^ Frontline Stories: The Theater of War | Company of Heroes 2: Sequel to the Highest Rated Strategy Game. In: Companyofheroes.com. Retrieved November 2, 2013 .
  16. ↑ Tobias Münster: Ardennes Assault - Standalone Add-On announced. In: GameStar . August 13, 2014, accessed August 28, 2014 .
  17. ↑ Jochen Redinger: War Tristesse in the Ardennes. In: GameStar . November 17, 2014, accessed January 5, 2015 .
  18. ↑ Marcus2389: First contact: Company of Heroes 2 Single Player Campaign. In: coh2.org. May 15, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  19. ^ Anthony Gallegos: Company of Heroes 2 is Happening. In: IGN Entertainment . May 3, 2012, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  20. ^ Jason Schreier: South Park, Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes 2 All Delayed. In: Kotaku. November 5, 2012, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  21. ↑ Alexander Sliwinski: THQ selling assets, files bankruptcy. In: Joystiq. December 19, 2012, archived from the original on February 4, 2015 ; accessed on January 23, 2013 .
  22. ^ Phil Savage: Company of Heroes 2 closed beta starts next week. In: PC Gamer . March 28, 2013, archived from the original on September 13, 2014 ; accessed on November 1, 2013 .
  23. ^ Company of Heroes 2 open beta. In: companyofheroes.com. June 4, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  24. ↑ a b Michael Graf, Martin Deppe: Accidental, unfair, fateful. In: GameStar . June 21, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  25. ^ A b Matti Sandquist: Best Real-Time Strategy in World War II. In: PC Action . June 25, 2013, archived from the original on November 3, 2013 ; Retrieved November 2, 2013 .
  26. ^ Benjamin Jacobs: Company of Heroes 2 - Test. In: Eurogamer . June 24, 2013, accessed November 2, 2012 .
  27. ↑ a b Nils Matthiesen: The strategy giant stumbles. In: Computer Bild . June 21, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  28. ↑ a b Eike Cramer: Test. In: 4Players . June 28, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  29. ^ Hayden Dingman: Review: Company of Heroes 2 delivers classic RTS gameplay on the Eastern Front. In: PC World. June 25, 2013, accessed November 2, 2013 .
  30. ↑ Why Russians Hate Company of Heroes 2. In: Carambatv.ru. August 1, 2013, accessed November 1, 2013 .
  31. ↑ a b Why gaming's latest take on war is so offensive to Russians. In: polygon. July 25, 2013, accessed November 2, 2013 .
  32. ↑ Пост о (б) суждения Company of Heroes 2. (No longer available online.) In: Sergey Galyonkin. July 1, 2013, archived from the original on July 11, 2013 ; Retrieved July 25, 2013 (Russian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / galyonkin.com
  33. ^ Max Falkenstern: More than 300,000 copies sold. In: Games Aktuell . July 31, 2013, accessed December 14, 2016 .