Company of Heroes: The Best WW2 RTS Turns 10 Years Old

Has ten years gone this quickly? I feel very old in saying that Company of Heroes turned ten this year and, quite frankly, if you haven’t bought it yet, stop what you’re doing, get onto Steam and buy a copy. Company of Heroes (COH) is the finest WW2 RTS game I’ve ever played and I know you’ll agree with me.

The graphics might now leave a lot to be desired, but what really matters is the gameplay. COH relies on your ability to manage the battlefield and your resources. When thinking about games that were released around 2006 and especially RTS games around that period, none came close to the terrain deformation and world destruction that many Battlefield fans will be familiar with.

There aren’t many games that make you panic as you watch your units march into battle against inferior odds. COH makes you think about what you’re throwing against the enemy and can appreciate the importance of artillery, mortar and tank support when taking on your adversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoc39RldwPM

It’s not just the malleable terrain and destructible environment that makes COH such a great game but it’s also the sound that accompanies the chaos, the gunshots the explosions and the excellent symphonic score. The voice acting is something else that makes COH such an enjoyable game – when you zoom into one of your units you can hear the soldiers talking to each other in hushed tones.

Ten years on, COH gives you one of the best RTS WW2 experiences. You are placed at the sharp end of the Allied/Axis war machine and thrust into the elegant chaos of industrial warfare.

If you do anything this weekend, make sure you pick up a copy of COH for only £2.49 on Steam. Why? Because unlike other RTS games, COH has aged beautifully. The game is grounded in realism, utilising large dynamic battlefields, relevant to the time period and it ensure a pulse racing experience from the beginning of the campaign to the very end of the game.