The anti-tank hedgehogs on the left aren’t there for just decoration… and also there’s a minefield positioned between them. This latest game is trying to strike a happy medium between the real campaign we had in Company of Heroes 1 and the improved dynamic campaign of Ardennes Assault. This ranges from regular base-building battles with special maps and cool objectives (like stealing a German AA gun to stop periodic strafing), to the crowd favorite “no base, just a handful of troops hope you do well.” But if you run into an opposing company on the field, you might just duke it out in a skirmish battle (with some fun objectives). Now, if a company is attacking a special town occupied by enemy forces, you might even play out a bespoke scenario. Really, there’s a surprising amount of depth and mechanics at work on the strategic map.

Company abilities are more variable and powerful, like artillery companies being able to engage enemies at range, or special forces companies disrupting enemy supplies behind the lines. For example, medical detachments can heal other units (and provide ambulance call-ins in RTS), while engineers can remove obstacles (an important task as the pre-alpha campaign demonstrates). However, detachments can fight on the strategic map, user their own abilities, and add a bit of support when they’re in range. The game features the cast hull M4A1 Sherman II tank for the Brits and I’m all for it. They are supported by detachments with no experience levels or unlocks.

They are the of the show, accruing experience, unlocking units, having their own special abilities and be able to initiate real-time strategy (RTS) battles. As such, you’ll just be pushing around companies on the command map. While the Battle for Monte Cassino and the attacks on the Winter Line in general involved 240,000 Allied soldiers, this is Company of Heroes 3 and not Division of Heroes. This game is set in the Mediterranean Theater, which is a quick way of saying “North Africa and Italy.” But the pre-alpha only includes part of the dynamic Allied campaign that focuses on the push from Naples to Monte Cassino. So, how will Company of Heroes 3 fare? We preview the pre-alpha. The sequel also came with plenty of DLC that culminated in Ardennes Assault (liked by all but me). Company of Heroes 2 promised the untold story of the Eastern Front, and then regurgitated all of the Nazis myths instead. The original entry in the series improved on the 40,000: Dawn of formula in all ways but one: some questionable DLC.

Company of heroes tanks