8 people found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
Recommended
7.5 hrs last two weeks / 173.4 hrs on record (14.9 hrs at review time)
Posted: 26 Feb, 2023 @ 1:40am

First of all - I like the game.
Is it perfect? Nope. Could it use more time for polishing? Yes. Is it worth to play. Absolutly. 

CoH 3 is by far the perfect base to work with.

Technical aspects:
With the new engine, CoH 3 had to be reworked from scratch. The new engine needs fewer resources compared to CoH 2, and the new engine allows for new destruction dynamics, weathering effects, and water behavior. The game runs smoothly. I have found no bugsplat so far (including technical tests before release). The game is loading fast, and MP game input is fast. No connection issues so far. Pathfinding is working well, even better than CoH1 and/or 2. The new towing mechanism is nice for MP games (and here the DAK faction that can utilse the 8,8cm Flak gun with it!).

Graphics:
People complain about "cartoonish" or "mobile phone-like" graphics. That is a point you can ignore. The graphics are fine. Its no photorealism. People tend to forget that CoH is no "realism sim". There are colors, color effects, and object elements that were designed for easy readability and not "photo realism". The colors of the battlefield seem to fit. The Italian maps have a Mediterranean feeling, and at the desert map, you get an idea why someone could not like sand. The idea or complaint of "cartoonish" graphics seems to be a trend for many games because people are familiar with shooter graphics nowadays and they have forgotten that RTS graphics were always "different". But the argumentation here is already known from Age IV, where people had the same complaints. For me, the graphics are working. They are fine. Sure. Relic could tune lightning and color mapping, but it is not as horrible as people try to argue for.

Sounds/Music:
That is a negative point I can see. Sound hierarchy and sound quality could need improvements. Some weapons have impressive sounds but no in-game effect. Other weapons sound like toy guns. Some gun sounds are loud and/or seem nearby (but were triggered on the other side of the map). So the gun sound design needs tuning. That's for sure, and that is a big priority for Relic now. For the unit's voices: I'm not sure why people are surprised. Relic said early in development that unit speech will be in English only. The ammount of dialog lines is too much to add a multi language version for release. German has used "Denglish" (the crude German-English dialect mix) since CoH 1, but now it's a big complaint? It seems to be that people who call themselves "CoH veterans" have forgotten what they played before... But okay. I would welcome german only for german units but that has two aspects: First, I speak German, so I get all the information the units are yelling at me. Second: Units are giving u information by battlechats. So the fact that the Germans are talking English at the moment is another element of "readability." Players can hear and understand when their units are in trouble. So perhaps we can get more language versions in the future, but the release unit audio is sufficient to get all the information needed for a match.

Singleplayer:
THE biggest disappointment so far. Why? The AI. The African campaign and the Italian campaign have nice missions. They have cool maps and cool features that could be used in the future. Unfornantly, the best story mission design, like a nice convoy operation, resource raid, or big tank engagement, is useless when the AI can't get you into trouble. The AI is inactive and cannot launch any "attack" or inflict any sort of damage on the player. Without the AI, the campaign is a big miss.
The second problem is a problem created by Relic's attempt to add some sort of "educational storytelling." The DAK campaign is the big issue here. I can understand why they add the background story here. They tried to get into the myth of the "honorable African War" and deconstruct it, BUT at the end, the story is just a boring addition that can be skipped. In CoH 1, you told the story of your men and your soldiers. The narrator could be one of the men you were sending into battle. That is missing for CoH3. Sure. We get a story about the horrors of war for the Libyan people and their suffering, but it has no impact on the game. The big element Relic could have used for story telling were ignored (The Rommel "desert fox" myths, Italians that saved the DAK against all the cliches and memes (aka "Italians were a bad meme army") or the horrors of the desert war (illness, nature - DAK soldiers were drowned by desert rain! and the importance of water, fuel and logistics)).

ALL in ALL the SP is suffering the must right now. With the bad AI, you can rush through the missions. There is no danger on any mission. Furthermore, the story telling is off, unfocused, and doesn't fit the "war" Relic is showing in CoH 3. Here, Relic had missed a lot of opportunities. And these opportunities could have been used for other "problems".

Multiplayer:
The domain where CoH 3 can shine The MP is fun and entertaining. Here u dont have the horrible AI issues. Players can fight players playing around with all the toys of the game. Sure. At the moment, the balance isn't perfect. Boys AT rifle blobs or any allied infantry blob are annoying, but the core elements are in place, and with polish, the MP can shine. Battle are already fast with heavy clashes. I had a number of heavy battles that were fun to play.
I don't have problems with the UI. The UI is sufficient for me. Better compared to CoH2. Tactical maps could need some love. The tactical preview map at the loading phase could need a huge overhaul, but the MP game itself is the game mode where CoH 3 can shine. It's fun and entertaining. From my point of view, it's the best MP experience in the CoH franchise so far. I hope Relic will add new maps soon to add some variation to the map pool. The new battlegroup system is nice and fun to play with. So I hope we get some new BGs in the months ahead.
From my point of view, the MP is where CoH players will have the most fun and get the best CoH experience. So don't be shy and hop into the PvP battles! And a small tip: Allies are OP at the moment ;)

My result so far?
COH 3 is a nice game that I have fun with. It's not perfect, but it's in far better shape compared to the CoH 1 or CoH 2 releases. A lot of the bad reviews here are "false memory traps", "nostalgia trips," and the typical whining of an (unfortunatly) classic toxic CoH community that will never change.
The graphics are fine, UI is working, core structure is fine and working. Relic will need to work on sounds, improve visual quality by adjusting lightning and fliters, work on the "missing" campaign AI, and add new (map) content asap.
The game is fine. When you want a fun mp RTS and when you can spend the money, you are welcome to join a fun and entertaining game. When u are sceptical Its worth to keep the game at the wishlist and look for future updates or game sales. 

For me, CoH 3 is a great addition to the CoH franchise, and with the experience of CoH1 and CoH2, CoH3 will get better and better with any new patch or update.

So.  Stop the nostaligia review bombing, get your hands on the MP and have fun with a great game.
For me, it was worth buying.
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