by Joseph Luster

Company of Heroes 2 made a decent splash when it arrived in June of last year, placing players on the Eastern Front of World War II. Those who either weren’t too keen on the setting or are simply looking for something new within the same framework should be pretty pumped for Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies, which, as the name implies, is an expansion that takes us back to the setting of the first Company of Heroes game.

This expansion is the first stand-alone multiplayer release for the game, so it will mostly be of interest to folks who have been enjoying taking on other players in challenging online skirmishes. The Western Front Armies throws the U.S. forces and the German Oberkommando West into the mix, bringing their own distinct tactical gameplay options, new infantry, team weapons, vehicles, abilities, and upgrades along with them.
[text_ad]

Multiple Updates

Other updates include a new progression system that introduces more unique content into the game, letting players delve more deeply into its tactical and strategic aspects. Even though The Western Front Armies is a standalone release, new players will also still be able to access 23 existing Company of Heroes 2 maps via auto-match, and look forward to playing against all the other existing factions.

Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies should be out right around the time this issue hits stands, and it will be interesting to see how it affects the overall multiplayer atmosphere of the game. It promises to represent an entry point into the franchise and the online community, and hopefully that will involve diving more deeply into the intricacies of succeeding in multiplayer. There are so many nuances to the game that are only achieved by trial and error in Company of Heroes 2—things as simple as the ideal order in which one should build certain units, for instance—and while that’s not inherently bad, even the slightest series of mistakes can be crippling. Either way there should be plenty of opportunities to jump into action once everyone has their hands on this one.