In 1999 it came to the market Homeworld, one of the real-time strategy video games with the most character in memory. They had two years since Relic Entertainment had opened its doors, and his letter of introduction could not have been more hopeful. Still a couple of years to go Age of Empires 2 and five for another mythical of the genre such as Rome: Total War. But in that period of time the company published works as remarkable as Homeworld 2 o Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of Waruntil in 2006 it opened a franchise with Company of Heroes. Over the decades, the Canadian studio has established itself as a guarantee of quality in the genre and, in recent years, as one of the main players in the revival of RTS. It was they who delivered to us, not so long ago, the fantastic Age of Empires IV. And now one of the sequels most in demand by lovers of the genre is back: Company of Heroes 3a true titan that serves as a sign that the company continues to be a benchmark for RTS.
And it is that Company of Heroes 3 arrives loaded with news, of incentives that outline and adjust a formula that is as solid as it is recognizable, without completely turning the sock inside out. In part, it can be said that if something works, why change it is applicable. But only in part, because this third installment serves as a starting point for new ways of understanding the strategy in real time that, surely, will please the staff.
The first thing that should be noted is the presence of two very different campaigns: the desert campaign, in which we manage the Deutsches Afrikakorps, while they resist the onslaught of the allied troops, and the Italian campaign, in which we will be in command of the British and American armies. Two ways of approaching strategy that are so disparate in terms of setting, as well as in terms of dynamics, mechanics, and playable objectives.
The African campaign is contextualized in 1942, and offers the most traditional aspect of the franchise. As in the two previous titles, we find ourselves before a linear approach whose progress depends solely on the narration that is carried out, while we dedicate ourselves to fulfilling the objectives entrusted by the game. Here, the strong point is both his fixation for combat vehicles, and his setting, one of the least explored in the field of video games. With much larger scenarios than what Company of Heroes has us used to, what Relic proposes is an ideal playing field for the use of vehicles in confrontations released in the openpresenting more grandiose battles and situations marked by the absence of coverage and buildings that allow us to shelter ourselves.
All this helps to promote ideas such as the placement of the armored with respect to the enemies, since now it is of vital importance where the projectiles hit in this type of units. Or to invigorate the urgency of having several open fronts, always having to be aware of obtaining the necessary resources to nurture our troops with more troops, without forgetting which squadrons we should withdraw so as not to lose the skills that have been accumulated thanks to his experience on the battlefield. All this punctuated by sequences in which we will witness the atrocities committed by the axis during the occupation of Benghazi, through the figure of a jewish barber and his familywho must deal with the horror of war.
The other side of the coin, as far as core single player modes are concerned, is the Italian campaign. And here the Canadians have thrown in the rest, because it is where we are going to find more news regarding their approach. To begin with, the pace is very different from that of the African missions, and this is mainly due to the introduction of turns referred to the macromanagement of the game. Let me explain, despite the fact that the campaign begins with a typical mission, once the game is over it displays a large-scale world map that reproduces the Italian peninsula. Our relationship with this map is based on turn-based movements through which we will manage the conquest of Italy. Through a framework story that weaves together the most relevant events that we will have to face, the game displays the concept of dynamic campaign through the elections that we should take during the course of it. Sometimes it will be the colonels (the British and the American) who will suggest different courses of action, and depending on the choice made we will have to face some challenges or others. However, it will be our own way of facing the conquest of enemy territory that will vary the experience of each player.
Thus, Relic successfully mixes real-time strategy with macro management typical of turn-based strategy, building a bridge between both approaches and making what happens on the battlefield affect the general perspective, and vice versa. We will be able to mobilize submarines to weaken enemy maritime posts, decimating their troops before carrying out a land attack in a pincer movement; conquer supply points necessary to maintain our troops, get hold of airfields that allow us to have air forces in the area, and a long list of synergies that enrich the unique development of the campaign that each player will enjoy. But of course, all this could be a bit cumbersome if for each small conquest we had to roll up our sleeves and go down to the battlefield, something that would end up flooding the campaign with inconsequential skirmishes that would affect its rhythm. That’s why at Relic they give us the opportunity to fight matches automatically, reserving our desire to fight for the moments that are really worth it. All a success.
Now, many may arrive here because of the campaigns, but many others will stay because of what their multiplayer modes offer. And there, again, the game more than meets. With its 14 scenarios, and its options for individual and couple matches, the title proposes a kind of domain very similar to what we can find in any shooter online that is precious With three objectives to capture, each team will accumulate points as they keep the location in question under their control, and lose them when the opposite occurs. The first side to reach zero points loses. All this energized by the verticality of its scenarios and for the palpable differences that exist between the different troops available.
With everything, and despite the fact that there are still things to be polished, such as the behavior of the camera in certain scenarios, or the compression of some of the video sequences that set the campaigns, it seems clear that Relic is back in a big way with Company of Heroes 3, delivering a title at the level of the taste in the mouth that its predecessor left, and with enough ambition to once again become a benchmark of the genre in the field of the Second World War. A full-fledged more and better, which he generously exceeds 40 hours of play with only his two single-player campaigns. If you like the genre, you are in luck, but if you are one of those who eagerly awaited the return of Company of Heroes, go say goodbye to your relatives.
