Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
January 27,2008 - Editor's Note: This review was written by Noman Ansari.

Many would argue that Relic Entertainment’s Company of Heroes was not only the best game of 2006, but also one of the all time great PC titles. It was built on the mechanics that made Relic’s own Dawn of War unique, with gameplay that had the right blend of pace and strategy, and production values that captured the drama and excitement of the WWII setting. In essence, the game transcended the RTS genre, and resulted in a product that was embraced by the majority of PC gamers worldwide.

With such critical and commercial success, it was only natural to expect a follow-up, and that comes in the form of Opposing Fronts. While it has been marketed as a standalone expansion, it feels more like Company of Heroes 1.5 than just another expansion.

Out of the box, it offers DirectX10 support, and doesn’t require the purchase of the original to play. Opposing Fronts also introduces two new armies, and unlike its predecessor, features campaigns for both. For owners of the first game, the original campaign is unlockable within Opposing Fronts through a simple verification process. This verification also unlocks the two original armies for multiplayer play.
Installation can be a bit of a tricky affair though, especially for owners of the original title. In what seems to be part of an anti piracy measure, Opposing Fronts is not designed to install on a system that already has Company of Heroes. Instead before proceeding, it tries to uninstall the original title. Unfortunately, its attempts to remove Company of Heroes do result in installation crashes, and it is advisable that gamers manually uninstall the original campaign themselves, before proceeding with the expansion.

Unlike Company of Heroes, Opposing Fronts does not allow multiple installations for LAN parties. It also comes with a DVD check, and an online verification process, something that was appreciably absent from Company of Heroes.

After the highly polished original affair, it may surprise some to note that Opposing Fronts is prone to numerous crashes and performance issues straight out of the box. In fact, its first patch is deemed critical and it thankfully tackles most of the game stopping bugs for the game to be played smoothly.

The opening campaign in Opposing Fronts sees a return to Market Garden, and provides the reigns to a new German army; the fictional Panzer Elite. The game very quickly tackles the fiery subject of playing a Nazi army by humanizing its leads. This is accomplished by focusing on the story of two brothers in the Panzer Elite army, who express their passion for fighting for their comrades rather than any specific ideology. Opposing Fronts also introduces some humor, with units sporadically chiming in with amusing comments. For example, upon first contact with opposing engineers, the Panzer Grenadiers express envy at not having flame throwers as standard issue for the Panzer Elite.

Relic Entertainment designed this new German faction to be an extremely versatile and fast paced side. Due to this versatility the Panzer Elite require some micromanagement, and are likely to be appreciated by gamers who prefer a more hands-on style. Gamers are also likely to appreciate the fact that a large number of units can be customized in their equipment as well as experience points. There are three exp points to choose from, and these can be distributed between defense and attack bonuses. In terms of equipment customization, basic units like the Panzer Grenadiers can be upgraded with either medium ranged submachine guns, long range rifles, or anti tank weapons.

Another feature of the Panzer Elite is that all their infantry units can perform repairs. In terms of balancing, this turns out to be a useful counter to the overall weaker armor that the Panzer Grenadier vehicles have. The only Panzer Elite unit with really powerful armor is the uber powerful Tiger Tank. Since all infantry can repair, the Tiger Tank can be nearly impossible to challenge, especially when accompanied by a large infantry. It also can be extremely intimidating to the opposition AI, which often surrenders at the sight of a Tiger Tank.

Games, News, Reviews, Media and More