Higher-level strategy is part of the game, but often the best outcome you can gun for is to guide the battlefront toward ground that favors your army. Thanks to the emphasis on cover, flanking, and special unit abilities, the size and composition of two opposing forces matter less than the skill with which they’re positioned and commanded. This is exactly the micromanagement-heavy World War II RTS its older brother is, with the unapologetic elevation of small-scale tactics over macro-level strategic decisions. With few exceptions, it looks the same, plays the same, and sounds the same. You could be forgiven for thinking Company of Heroes 2 is an expansion rather than a sequel. As nice as the new engine technology behind the realistic line-of-sight mechanic is, the terrible campaign and unconscionable multiplayer grind make this a step back from the excellent original.

Coming from Relic Entertainment as the follow-up to one of the landmark real-time strategy games in the genre’s history, though, it fails to meet expectations. If it had been made by an upstart studio trying to make a name for itself, we’d be praising its ambition and presentation.

Company of heroes 2 game cover