Title Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts Date 10.12.2007 Genre WWII RTS Platform PC Developer Relic Entertainment Publisher THQ

Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts is the expansion for the first game, although it is more like a stand-alone product. This game features two new sides, the Panzer Elite and the British, with a lot of new units and upgrades to make a truly remarkable playing experience.

Gameplay
The gameplay is fast and smooth. Controls are easy to learn, and if you already have the first Company of Heroes, then you'll find that the controls are basically the same. Two new sides, plus the original Wermacht and American sides (If you have the original game) makes a fun and challenging multiplayer experience, along with a great Skirmish mode. The Single-Player campaigns, one for the Panzer Elite and one for the British, are fun to play through, and sometimes are really challenging, especially when you are up against, say the Panzer Elite's exceptional armored tanks.

Graphics
The graphics, I must say, are some of the best in the WW2 RTS genre. Soldier models, tanks, buildings, and all the explosions and firefights are all realistic and good-looking. The Havok physics engine that was used for this game makes the environment completely destructible, making "no two games ever the same." A somewhat big let-down for me, personally was that the graphics are still the same as the first Company of Heroes, albeit a little changes such as new explosions, fire, and weather effects such as rain. There is a new day-to-night feature as well.

Sound
THQ has done an excellent job with the sounds. All are realistic and truly excellent. When soldiers talk and you are near them, you hear them as if you were standing right next to them. When you move farther away, they will talk as if using a radio. Tanks firing shells, machineguns blasting away, and basically everything else sound great! Heck, even bridges exploding or a V1 rocket about to land on its target sound good.

Multiplayer
The multiplayer experience was not as good as the single-player or skirmish one. There are a few balance issues, such as the British Royal Artillery being able to shell your units from long distances. Another bad thing that really upsets me is that a single player who has a slower Internet Connection can cause the rest of the players to lag really bad and make the game almost unplayable. The multiplayer really shines, though, when everybody is "lag-free," and that's when you'll find that this game is fun, yet challenging, especially when online battles can sometimes take up more than 2 hours to resolve.

Replayability
You'll find yourself replaying this game in its single-player campaigns just to get all the medals that are found in each mission. And like I stated above, no two battles are the same in this game with its destructible environments. Multiplayer will also give you hours of play-time to gain ranks and just have a lot of fun. Also, with Company of Heroes play-back ability, those who have the original Company of Heroes can play as the Wermacht and American sides in Skirmishes and play against them in Multiplayer online due to a recent patch.

Overall
Those of you who just love WW2 and RTS games alike should definitely buy this game. Those of you who are new to the genre of WW2, RTS, or both together, should try the demo that is coming out soon, and I think you'll just love this game.

Game Score

A-

Reviewed By: Contributed