So yeah, like I said in in my intro thread, I'd like to share my thoughts on CoH2, now that I finally have a PC that can run it in any capacity and, full disclosure, I got it during the official giveaway on Steam late last year. Also, this is based on ~2 hours' worth of skirmishes, and unlike with other games, I didn't start with the singleplayer campaign. We are talking of the base game, no DLC whatsoever.
I like to have a more varied RTS "diet", so I already have experience with the likes of the Command & Conquer series, Dawn of War 1, WarCraft III, Age of Empires/Mythology series, Star Trek: Armada 1 and 2, a bit of StarCraft I and II... all the good stuff, so I'm talking from the perspective of someone who played all those, but had limited exposure to CoH.
What I like:
* the setting - finally, a major WWII game that doesn't feature Americans masturbating over D-Day that is wrongly presented as the start of the war somehow. Also, I have a soft spot for snow, since I live in the Med and I see it once every 5-6 years, and for a very short time. I've still yet to fully investigate on why exactly people in the whole CIS wanted this game banned, but I'm happy to play as the Soviets.
* the new mechanics - so not only did they not break the cover mechanic from Dawn of War 1 and Company of Heroes 1, but they also allowed infantry to jump over walls and trees, which does take a special command to do from my limited experience and therefore extra time, but it's so cool to have. Also, whoever made the blizzard mechanic, if you're reading this, you're the MVP. (And my overly cynical self is not that easy to impress ).
* handling of singleplayer content - even while offline, skirmishes are accessible. In this day and age of pointless always-online-ness, that sadly no longer goes without saying, but at least someone thinks with their heads.
* visuals - apart from the game looking outright astonishing from the details perspective, it also goes into such details as disabling non-historical skins, which I find commendable. Most of the interface is also top-notch, though the buildings and defences menus could've been merged.
* the character - more so than I've seen of CoH1, units have a lot of sass in their responses. A little thing, I know, but a little cheese never hurt anyone.
What I hate:
* starting content vs. DLC - why has it become an unwritten rule to strip content that can easily fit in the base game or a singular meaty expansion pack and make ten billion DLCs out of it? The original CoH may have had only two factions at launch, but why did CoH2 also have to? And why are even commanders that come with the DLC... DLC in themselves? And what is skin DLC doing in an RTS?
* loot - same as lootboxes in other games, fuck that shit with a pneumatic drill right up the arse.
* map variety - in older RTSes, you'd get a lot of default maps without having to rely on expansions and fan-made content. Here, you just get a truly pathetic map count, and to add fuel to the fire, the interface also shows the maps for the DLC you didn't buy (just grayed out), so the base game is really thin in this aspect.
* bases - an RTS without bases is not an RTS. As with CoH1, bases seem to be pretty much ignored after the first 2-3 minutes completely except for making an odd unit or two if your micro sucks and you lose troops.
* LAN - Relic, you old sheep! Not only did you gut LAN in the post-GameSpy versions of Dawn of War 1 and split Company of Heroes 1 into two versions, but you also gave the middle finger to the only way one can play multiplayer when the official servers go down! Sure, nobody expects Steamworks to croak in the foreseeable future, but is future-proofing so much to ask?
* tutorial - instead of always the same barely-bare-bones tutorial for people who never played an RTS, I expected something that'd tell me something about mechanics unique to the game, like the commanders and their support powers.
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As a summary feeling, I love Company of Heroes 2, but I also hate it. I believe it has the most polished RTS gameplay in many, many years (alongside StarCraft II), but I'm also disgusted by the way it's monetized. I need help, because I don't know which voice to listen to.
What I wonder is:
- whether there is any number of fellow noobs online who also aren't casual-minded turtlers, but also not toxic nutjobs
- are the DLC factions worth it even on sales
- how many people still care for and play CoH1