Company of Heroes

In the broad canvas that represents the growing interactive entertainment industry, it's already possible to differentiate between the 'cool' types of game, and ones that for whatever reason, are dork-o-rama. Not a judgment; merely an observation.

Take Grand Theft Auto. Everyone loves it. It's 'edgy' and 'urban' - don't forget that. GTA made Rockstar so sexy they even got their logo on a bedroom wall in The O.C. Someone would have got a pay rise over that one.

Then there's real time strategy. Yep, unshaven, unwashed, and over there, bickering with role playing over who is more hardcore. Let's be honest here, there's a body of evidence suggesting your token deity either issued you with either "micromanagement/hot key dexterity" or "social comfort/hygiene" at birth.

Before you think that's a gross generalisation, try explaining RTS to the average punter who doesn't play games. Not easy. And then after laboriously explaining it, you get The Stare. You know, the "but why?" stare". Example:

"- Numbers of units and their proficiency determines who wins individual battles. But remember - you also have to keep building structures to move through your tech tree..."

Stare

"So yes, a good RTS will have balanced sides, so each of the units corresponds best to a given playing style..."

Stare

"- the point of the game is to control the game map - usually by securing and defending key points and/or wiping out all the opposition's units..."

Finally, a response.

"Uh, so how is it different to Grand Theft Auto?"

And so it goes. All RTS players secretly share the belief that one day a great game will come, and convert all non RTS players to the One True Way. That keyboards will come standard with 20 extra keys, and that Blizzard will give up that World of Warcraft game and return to pumping out the strat games. "Fat chance," you say, "pass me the SingStar mic".

So what's with the lengthy preamble? Let me break it down like this: Because of RTS - genre and players - having the unique profile they do, Company of Heroes is going to be the best game that most people don't play in 2006.

In case you didn't tune into our E3 2005 coverage, where we made the game our best of show (and then watched dozens of other, lesser outfits jump on the bandwagon), we've been monitoring Company of Heroes' progress - and Relic's for quite some time. The final outcome - a game that is a few easy fixes away from being World War II RTS heaven. So you'll have to forgive us for being slightly smug, in a "told you so" kind of fashion. After all, we're anything but pro RTS players, otherwise we'd be blowing up Korea (in a metaphoric sense).

Yes, Company of Heroes is a RTS. Yes, it's a World War II game - like countless before it. Yes, it rips off the feel of Saving Private Ryan/Band of Brothers, et al. No, that doesn't mean you can ignore it. Hell no.

As you would expect from Relic, the outfit who bought the impeccable Dawn of War series to PC, this game doesn't involve farming or resource management to any great degree. The commodities you juggle: fuel/ammo and manpower. You keep 'em rolling in by capturing points on the map and establishing a connection to your base of operations. Simple, objective oriented, and easy enough for your friend who thinks Mario 64 is next gen gaming to understand.

A dedicated tutorial exists, which is both thorough and likely to be used by perhaps 1/3 of the folks who buy this game. Otherwise you can jump straight into campaign mode, a skirmish (multiplayer game vs the computer) or multiplayer action. Multiplayer is brilliant (with a couple of mentions below), and single player tells a great story for once. Being WWII, it's well trodden territory for game players, but it's still done well, and isn't just Relic dispensing with the formalities so they can get to multiplayer.

No matter what you're playing, the way this game looks is beyond reproach. It's a RTS that features production values that would rival a first person shooter. Zoom in to your units, and there's an unprecedented level of detail. Compare it to Rise of Legends, which at one stage looked like giving CoH a shake in the visual department, and there's no competition. And the game is reasonably playable at a medium level of zoom, at least for those of us who don't intend to go pro any time soon. Turn all the visuals up, and apart from the odd shadow stipple or shoreline shimmy, it's as much a sight for sore eyes as Jessica Alba at your local mud wrestling expo. Effects - lighting, smoke, flares and explosions - are convincing without being overblown.

The presentation of the game is good enough that you can feasibly show this to your non-gamer pals and try and educate them what's going on. The soldiers, tanks, and buildings all look realistic enough for someone to get a good tactical appreciation of what’s going on. The game world is destructible, so you won’t get some smirking git asking why the cottage you just unloaded a tank shell into is still standing. The ever-sexy Havoc physics help as well. One note of not-quite-discord: the cut scenes are decent, but lack the impact of the in-game action. Put it down to the scripting, which isn't going to have Spielberg quaking in his boots any time soon.

But the thing your mates won't notice - and this is a good thing - is the AI of the infantry units. True, it needs the occasional click from you, but these are probably the smartest humans to respond to a click in recent memory. They aren't infallible, but they're no dummies either - they find the "right" paths more often than not, and don't waltz past while the enemy is pouring hot lead into them. In other words, they're smart enough to enable you to worry about other things.

Vehicles on the other hand, are a mixed bag. If your end game involves tanks (and quite often it will), traffic control with these and other units is painful and laborious. You will need to micromanage these units with an element of competency to really shine in CoH.

But while AI is interesting, the real fun comes in when you fire up multiplayer. Relic busted their ass to get this right, and the online system incorporates a thorough ranking system as well as basic statistic tracking. A matching system is also in place, although the thinking behind it isn't exactly clear yet - you can be matched up with players several ranks above you at times. Perhaps its low numbers/time of day/another reason - but be aware it happens. Of course, you will know it's happening when you last a scant 12 minutes before you've got enemy engineers breakdancing all over your ruined HQ.

Even so, experienced players will tell you it's only right to cop rough love when you have your first few games online. And woe betide those who broadcast their newbiedom. That's like an invitation to find your base crawling with enemy forces who've rushed in to blow you off the map. Defending against rush tactics is possible if someone is coming at you solo, but if the enemy comes at you in numbers, your base defence won't likely be enough to stop you from an early exit unless you act very rapidly.

Also on the "hmm" side of the equation, sore losers have figured out if they disconnect from the internet (as opposed to disconnecting in-game) they don't incur a loss the way the game works at present. You choose who is more annoyed by this low move - people who rack up wins rarely, or power players who want to gain an imposing win streak. Hopefully Relic employs the FAP (Fixed in A Patch) tactic.

For those dying to know which units hold the upper hand in CoH, multiplayer at present is all about tanks. They're the big hitters of the game, and the Axis team has the edge here. If you try to take on Axis tank-to-tank, you will likely lose. Hence you look at the Allied's excellent anti tank weaponry, and act accordingly. That said, there's no shortage of games that end up being tank overload. Be sure that balancing post game and patches, and discovery of superior tactics will rectify this situation. Until then, if you're a dumbo who wants to go toe-to-toe against Tiger tanks, you will get smacked like a red headed stepchild. Improvise and adapt.

This is not to say unit balance is poor. On the contrary, Relic has once again delivered a fair effort - as you would expect for a game featuring only two sides. It won't stop a vocal minority whinging, but unless you're gunning for a spot in the world top ten, it's not enough of a factor to hurt you as much as that decision not to upgrade your riflemen, for instance.

Don't be put off by the minor litany of caveats here, that's what reviews are for. When you roll it all together, CoH is a game that soars above the RTS pack. Even ham-fisted RTS amateurs will find the visuals and play compelling enough to get their money's worth, and it goes without saying that if you're a RTS fan, this should be on the list.

Relic deserve kudos for taking a true "love of the game" approach to this title. Whether its touches like the multiple LAN install-ability of this game, through to the fact that you do not need the CD in the drive to play (at least the code I'm playing didn't) - they obviously want gamers to have as little impediment to getting in and playing this game as soon as possible.

Sure, Company Of Heroes will sell a bunch amongst hardcore gamers. Great. Bully (or Canis Canem Edit) for the EBs of this world. But a game of this production quality deserves a wider audience. Maker Relic deserves to reap the profits of their inspired labours. And THQ deserve... well, despite being a mega corporation, whoever at THQ is behind the company's push to the serious end of gaming deserves a gold star for foresight in getting Relic on board - they have been rolled gold, and can rightly claim to be the foremost outfit in RTS development. Who else can compete? Ensemble? They're in care factor mode, and you get the impression from Bruce Shelley that if he never works on another Age of Empires game, it will be too soon. Blizzard? Busy counting that WoW money. Big Huge Games? Not at the moment. They had a good crack with Rise of Legends, but it fell short of this. Anyone else? I don't think so.

On rare occasions, games can be so good that people will buy them just to see if it can drag them into an unfamiliar genre. On even rarer occasions, the game will be good enough to make long lasting fans out of these newcomers rather than just a flash in the pan. Company of Heroes belongs into this elite group. No, it's unlikely to create hardcore gamers out of your pals who think the pinnacle of gaming was reached with Super Mario Kart. But will it convert existing gamers who wouldn't normally touch an RTS with a bargepole? The answer: a resounding yes. If you're grown up enough to play games without affecting a cultural cringe, buy this. An exceedingly strong game of the year candidate.