Company of Heroes: Opposing Front

Genre Strategy Styles 3D Real-Time Strategy Developer Relic Entertainment Publisher THQ, Inc.

pc game/ When subordinate asked him for a word of advice. Erwin Rommel commonly offered:Never fight a battle you have nothing to gain by winning" Updated for us gamers, the Generalfeldmarschall's adage might run: "Never buy an expansion you have nothing to gain by installing." Company of Heroes was arguably the best game of 2006. Why slap an annex on the Taj Mahal, right? Well, with stand-alone add-on Opposing fronts, developer Relic proves the old plastic surgeons' adage: Even perfection can benefit from the right kind of augmentations. www.allpcgame.net

TOM AND JERRY
The first of these augmentations is OF's two new playable factions: the Commonwealth (i.e.. 8ritish/Canadians) and the semifictional Kampfgruppe Lehr Panzer Elite (SS Panzer Corps/Luftwaffe Paratroopers). Each new faction has a corresponding single-player campaign: the Brits struggle to seize the French town of Caen during Operation Goodwood, while the SS must prevent Operation Market Garden from punching through German defenses in Holland. Both campaigns feature the perfectly paced, subtly varied mission design that Relic is known for...but alas, both— tike those in the original COH~end too quickly.
Of course, RTS games are as much about schooling scrubs as they are about new campaigns—and if you can find a multiplayer RTS you prefer to OF, you must work for Blizzard. Far from unbalancing the online game, the expansion's new factions add unique twists to multiplayer matches while leaving the classic, move-countermove tactical shifts untouched, which isn't to say the differences between the new factions and the original ones are minor. The Tommies, for example, focus primarily on the strength of their officers: Unlike other factions, their units don't level up with combat experience. But attach a veteran Lieutenant or Captain, and British infantry becomes tougher to break than a Lance Armstrong winning streak. Conversely, the Panzer Elite rely on versatility. Their basic infantry units are smaller and weaker than the other factions', but they can equip a wide range of gear, suitable for everything from tank-killing to sniping. Additionally, the SS soldiers deal out some serious whuppage in the form of their vehicles, including the Marder III tank destroyer and the imposing Tiger II tank. Truck up one of those bad boys in an online match, and the Allied players might as well start breaking out the Purple Hearts.


THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
New units, new maps, new campaigns—even this well-done—are all standard stuff. But OF takes expansion beyond merely piling new content on the old foundation. The whole game engine gets a face-lift and now features real-time weather effects and day/night cycles. Additionally, fire and smoke now play a crucial role, alternatively illuminating and obscuring crucial views as you play. The result of all this: COKs year-old Essence Engine is still the most beautiful, realistic RTS powerhouse on the market.
Like most beautiful things, though, OFs improvements come at a price. The expansion is an even bigger system succubus than its parent and the loading times are longer than the barrel of an 88mm flak gun. If you don't have at least 2GB of RAM or a multicore processor, you'll want to detune this particular engine. Plus, the literal price; OF runs you 40 simoleons—about twice as much as most other expansions. Yeah, it's a stand-alone...but if you bought COHa year ago, you'll feel like you just jumped in line with the early adopters of the iPhone. On the other hand. OF bears another characteristic of beautiful things: It's worth every penny.www.allpcgame.net