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Strategy games based on World War II are a dime a dozen, which says something about the purchasing power of what one would think is a relatively niche market. It seems like there are numerous small, independent developers that pop these kinds of games out like China pops out babies. To the passive video game audience, these titles are nothing more than noise with the occasional hidden gem obfuscated by static, as was the case with Panzer General, which was perhaps simplified, but nonetheless a solid strategy game in its own right.

It wasn’t long before these games entered the real-time strategy genre, following in the success of Command & Conquer and the many clones. Some, like Sudden Strike, would briefly flash on the radar before fading away in a sea of antiquity.

Recently, however, THQ’s Company of Heroes was revealed to me, and it occupied a good chunk of my weekend. The game is based on the Havoc engine used by Warhammer 40k, which I didn’t play but nonetheless heard lots of good things about. What sets Company of Heroes apart from other RTS games is that the strategy component is maximized, where players use such things as cover and concealment to better their odds at winning.

For missions where actual building is done, players obtain resources by holding objectives, not by mining or lumbering or farming. This is WW2 after all, and the resources we’re interested in are manpower, munitions, and fuel.

Holding key points on a map gives players one of the aforementioned three resources. The maps themselves are carved into territories (each one usually holding one resource type), and in order to generate the respective resource, the territory must be connected to one’s base of operations directly, or through adjacent territories. In other words, losing a territory can cut one’s supply line off, meaning that one needs to build adequate defenses when expanding one’s territory.

I’ve only played the single player campaign at the moment (where you follow the success of the American’s Able Company), but I can already see how team-based multiplayer would positively wrock. My only real complaint at the moment is the small resolution I’ve been playing the game at, and the fact that the enormous UI doesn’t help free up and screen real-estate.

Nonetheless, Company of Heroes is a solid RTS, and I daresay the best of of the WW2 genre. Heck, I’d say it’s the best RTS I’ve played yet, period. If you’re a WW2 fan, you ought to pick this baby up, especially if the normal crop of RTS games is too “omf zerg” for you, and you crave deeper strategy.

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