Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault is a new chapter in the COH series. Continuing the story in World War II, this campaign places you in the heart of the battle, once described by Churchill as “…undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the War”. This pivotal conflict is known to many as ‘The Battle of the Bulge.’
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All units known from “The Western Front Armies” are available to the three US-army companies in game. In operation each unit has unique skills, which are affecting on your game style. The specializations of the companies can be upgraded with Experience Points gained in battle.
In difference to the main game the player is no longer forced to follow a linear story line. He now moves on the strategical map with all three companies from one area of operation to another. It is the players’ choice, which company he wants to command next. The game itself now offers some dynamical events and decision-making.
After each battle the companies gain experience and will advance in their rank. Therefore players will have more experienced troops in the next battle. In case of a big loss of units in combat, the amount of reinforcement-points will decrease. Without those reinforcement-points the player will not be able to gather fresh units. As a result every mistake ingame means a strong punishment. Never before in a game of the Company of Heroes – series avoiding troop losses is so important as it is in Ardennes Assault.
In case of a victorious fight against the German troops, the remaining enemy troops will fall back and reinforce other emplacements. If the player allows the enemy to accumulate enough dispersed units he will face powerful and battle-hardened enemy forces like tanks right at the beginning of a new mission.
This element puts additional pressure on the player, making the game overall more challenging and thrilling. The game offers variety between exciting missions and some AI-battles already known from the multiplayer mode.
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Unfortunately the path finding is a minor but still existing issue. Besides some smaller quirks the game ran stable during our test.
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Nevertheless the camera is still too close at the battle grounds; therefore the overview is quite bad. However, due to amazing effects the maps are looking marvelous. On top of that the snowy forests, burned down villages and explosions are well rendered and are just very nice to look at. Animations and the richness of details are still on a high level. Generally speaking the game creates a fantastic and quite authentic ambiance.
Sound effects, the commands and shout-outs of the soldiers are very well produced.
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Ardennes Assault is a game packed with unforgiving battles and thrilling operations. During most of the missions we were afraid of losing just a single man. The anxiety for troop losses and the resulting consequences on the whole campaign put a lot to the immersive feeling of being a real commander. The constant pressure to figure out the right tactics on the battlefield were exciting.
Unfortunately Relics did not invest too much time eliminating the well-known flaws and issues.
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As already known from a Company of Heroes title the game looks great. In our opinion, Ardennes Assault is a good expansion pack.
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Tested and written by Pascal van der Meer & Marcel Krafczyk
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