The award-winning World War II strategy game, Company of Heroes, will receive a huge boost in content, but don't think of Opposing Fronts as an expansion. Similar to Warhammer 40k: Dark Crusade, also developed by Relic, Opposing Fronts acts as a stand alone game that doesn't need the original Company of Heroes to work. Having the original installed allows for the original selection of armies to be used in multiplayer, otherwise players will be limited to the two new ones.
Opposing Fronts feature the British Commonwealth forces and the Panzer Elite, which play more defensively in comparison to the Americans. The British will be more sure-footed in their own territory, but become more cautious when entering neutral territory, sacrificing speed for safety. Furthermore, the British specialize in trench warfare. Pulling out the spades and digging holes might sound a bit funny when talking about a fast paced real-time strategy game, but trench warfare was a crucial component of wartime strategy.
The British build bunkers that keep soldiers safe almost indefinitely. Tanks roll over them, and artillery fire can't touch the entrenched soldiers. Instead of relying on long-range bombardment, players get more personal, using snipers, grenadiers and flamethrowers to clear out these bunkers. Once cleared, an army can then take these safe havens for themselves.
Additional campaigns will be added to compliment the new armies. While the original Company of Heroes focused specifically on the Americans, Opposing Fronts focuses mainly on European armies. Upgrades include more weather and day and night effects. A downpour of rain will slow vehicles down, but may offer infantry some cover, since snipers' visions will be impaired. Furthermore, Relic intends to make more use of persistent missions, which were occasionally used in the original game. Players have the opportunity to seize, control and defend a territory however they choose. They can tear apart the landscape using artillery and raze forests, destroying the enemy's chance for cover. The next mission will carry over all those decisions, leaving some to think that maybe destroying that forest (which would have made handy cover) was not such a good idea.
Scheduled to release sometime in the fall of 2007, Relic still has a lot of time to ponder which features to include. Some ideas involve a cooperative multiplayer campaign, or in the very least, objective-based multiplayer missions. Relic has a reputation for making huge strides in real-time strategy gaming, and Opposing Fronts will help strengthen that image.
Note: This preview is partially based on information from a recent preview in Games for Windows magazine. Features mentioned above are not 100% confirmed and should be treated as speculation until THQ releases more information about the game towards the end of May.
Links
Reader Comments (0)