I've always been an old-school RTSer, the kind that prefers Starcraft or Red Alert 2 over these newfangled inventions. Of late I have been exploring the more modern releases, among them Company of Heroes and its expansions. I heard about the game but never looked into it, but bought it on sale, and I have to say I am more than pleased with the product.

Company focuses on the ever-popular European theater of Dubya Dubya Two, with Operation Overlord as the backdrop. You, as a near-omnipotent entity floating in the sky, command squads of troops in an arrangement that is a blend of realtime strategy and realtime tactical. Limited base-building allows support and training of troops in the field, while battles are fought hard and gritty, often forcing the player to resort to taking towns house by house. This is one of those games that is made by the details.

The Essence Engine was what built this game, and Essence is what makes it great. The quality of graphics in this game frankly made me feel a bit old--the pre-mission cinematics are done in-game and feature graphical details on par with that of Medal of Honor Allied Assault, however these look much better from afar, where you can gain perspective on the combat. Smoke effects are visible from every explosion, buildings and walls can be blown away in chunks as they are hit, and vehicles break in two or explode into hulks that realistically block roads and create cover for troops. It's a level of interactivity not seen before in an RTS/RTT.

What's more is the Havoc physics. Early on, I wasn't a fan of putting Havoc in RTS games--I thought it was unneccesary, and it was. But in Company it has come of age. Positioning affects gameplay more than ever before. When the player orders troops to take a building, they actually take function positions; if enemies approach, there are no generic bullets flying out from the building, people inside fire from fixed positions that are determined by where they are. This is most apparent when a sniper sets up camp in a belltower, where his height directly affects his line of sight and therefore who he can pick off. Likewise, if a section of building is struck by say a tank shell and blown off, the men inside (that survive) must take up new position to avoid being exposed. It's really something to see this happen in realtime, and how it affects the flow of battle.

Keeping things going is a fast and fluid interface that is based on many RTSs of old. Units are produced as squads of between three and six men, depending on what you make. The exception this rule is the sniper, of which only one operates solo, and vehicle units. What really shakes things up is the ability to customize individual units throughout gameplay. Paratroop squads can be upgraded to carry bazookas, allowing them to combat armor, and all vehicles have an enhancement, such as a .50 caliber machine gun or larger shells, to enhance their effectiveness further. Using this ability you can create units to specifically combat certain types of defenses, or make a combined-arms attack on a large base.

I honestly don't think I can really comment on the plot, seeing as it's...well, history. However, the guys at Relic did a smashing job mixing things up well enough. Some missions are the usual "build a base and flatten theirs" affair, while others are more into the realm of "tactical," such as one that involves moving around and into a German base with a limited amount of reserves and no base available to recoup losses. A couple others are simple but hairy "hold this town for X minutes", which of course must be done amidst constant assault from all sides. The changes of pace keep the game from getting stale and even serve to hold the difficulty level stable but challenging.

Company of Heroes is very possibly the first really original RTS to come along in a good while. With the addition of new mechanics and physics, combat is more real and flows more unpredictably than ever before. It's harrowing and satisfying and challenging all at once...and I haven't even played online yet.