As subject matter goes, it’s easy to argue that World War II is a played-out theme. We’ve been there, covered that ground in so many memorable games — Call of Duty 2, Medal of Honor, Battlefield 1942. Stellar games, all of them, and there are many others besides. However, there’s one game that might’ve flown under your radar — Company of Heroes isn’t just a great WW2 game, it’s one of the most important real-time strategy games to come out since the turn of the century.
Company of Heroes doesn’t hold back — the opening mission calls on you to storm the beaches at Normandy on D-Day, and it just goes on from there. The game follows two military units, Able Company (infantry division) and Fox Company (airborne), as they fight their way through the many operations and engagements that set the Allies up for victory in Europe.
Here’s what sets Company of Heroes apart, though — it made an RTS game feel cinematic. First-person shooters had already learned this trick, although it would probably reach its culmination with Call of Duty 4 the year after Company of Heroes released; but strategy games stuck to their removed point-of-view. Company of Heroes changed that by putting you right in the thick of the action — bullets flew, buildings crumbled, this was World War II like you’d never seen it before. You still had perspective and you could still form and execute a strategy, but Company of Heroes demanded your attention and your urgency.
With its tighter focus on just two companies, this game made the European front come alive like no strategy game had managed before. No longer were you playing some sort of cosmic chess game with your forces — here, you’d be sending squads scurrying into cover as you desperately try to outflank that MG nest that’s got you pinned down. That zoomed-in action and constant drive elevate Company of Heroes to something far beyond the run of the mill.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the graphics. They were amazing in 2006, and they’re not too shabby now. Watching buildings and hedgerows splinter and disintegrate under bullets and mortar fire is still as captivating now as it was a decade ago. Audio design also deserves a shout out, as the threatening rumble of a Tiger will have you on edge before you ever spot the mechanical behemoth.
So, in summary, this is a game that’s ten years old and still absolutely worth your time. Heck, ask me again in another ten years and I’ll probably say the same. Real-time strategy games were stuck in a bit of a rut back then, but this game came along and shook things up properly. Company of Heroes pulled you down from being a godlike eye-in-the-sky and shoved you in the trenches, and that’s why it’s an all-time great.
(Arjun is a gamer, book lover and an all-round renaissance man)
Arjun Sukumaran http://goo.gl/uNBWN3