Company of Heroes 2 was no doubt the most anticipated game of the century. And when it came out, it was the biggest disappointment of the century. Okay maybe that’s some hyperbole. But everyone knew Company of Heroes 2 had some serious problems with it. When it launched you only had two factions to choose from for multiplayer, super awesome Nazi death ball, or Soviets who run into bullets.
The game was also not without controversy. Russians turned on Metacritic and made consistent low ball scores to bring down it’s total rating. This was due to the implicit racism in the game. It was the first Company of Heroes game that wasn’t about heroes, but was instead focused on horrors of war. The game often portrayed the Nazis as the victims and the Soviets as anti-human aggressors… despite them trying to liberate their own country from the Nazis.
To this day Relic has not issued any sort of apology for what is clear racism. For anyone who still disagrees, consider the over exaggeration of Canadian and American forces in the war, and the focus on a very small segment of the Russian army’s effort.
But this is about the Ardennes Assault. Does it make up for the failure that was Company of Heroes 2?
It’s worth noting that there are three other DLCs, of which two add new factions. However the new factions should have been free. Adding in really powerful new factions adds a buy to win element to the game that no one should ever except.
I’m getitng side-tracked again, this god damn review is about the Ardennes Assault!
Okay, Ardennes Assault, also known as THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE. I guess Company of Heroes 2: Battle of the Bulge just wasn’t as nice sounding.
The Battle of the Bulge begins in the winter when the Nazis pull off a stunt no one expected, they attacked in the winter. Winter invasions have a historically poor precedence, however this one having caught the allies by surprise was very successful. It pushed the Allies very far back.
Really the only reason we have this expansion is because Company of Heroes 2 is loaded full of winter terrain and probably could not cost effectively do any other battle. The whole Battle of the Bulge stretches over the period of one month.
So just to put this in perspective, main game takes place over four years, this campaign involves 30 days.
There are a little over 100 battles in World War 2, winter is the only reason we have this one.
Okay, I’m roughly done complaining.
The Ardennes Assault is really good. I still find it questionable that they added a company from the campaign as DLC.
Okay I’m done complaining I swear to God.
The Ardennes Assault begins with the retreat which is the only scripted event. After this you play as three companies behind enemy lines that are trying to push back the Nazis. The campaign goal is to push the Nazis out of France.
You get a campaign over map that may remind of you Total War, Wargame or World in Conflict. However the size and scope is much smaller than any of these games. You only get three companies.
However, these three companies can all level up and gain new abilities. My favorite are the airborne units who when deployed can be given a free gun and an extra squad.
How you level with these RPG elements changes the course of battles.
The most important aspect of this campaign is the actual dynamic elements. It’s something that all developers aim towards but few are able to accomplish. Every single play of the campaign is going to be a unique experience played very differently. Every single level can spawn random objectives and random secondary objectives. One time you load up a map and it’s a tank graveyard in which you use the dead tanks to kill enemies. In another of the same map you might get tanks every 3 minutes while the enemy gets consistent tanks.
If there was ever a problem with this game, it’s a very limited one… it’s too expensive.
At $40 it is easily one of the most expensive expansions ever released. If it added more to your multiplayer experience or some challenges that’d be something, but it doesn’t. It’s only one campaign. But despite being very good, it’s just too expensive for how little you get.
TheGameGuru.Me 