Sneaking through the tight streets of Potenza my Ghurkas run into an enemy squad. Both sets of men hurriedly dash to cover whilst their allies push up to support them. Swiftly a Stuart joins the fray and 2 enemy armoured cars swiftly match them. Men start dropping and the Ghurkas make a break for base to resupply. Hammering tactical pause I consider my situation. I'm pretty handily outnumbered and despite the Stuart the sheer weight of fire coming from the 2 armoured cars and the 4 squads of infantry will dislodge me before long. However just coming into range now is my force multiplier, 2 mortars! Setting them up I begin firing, slowly the high explosive shells push back the Germans and they begin withdrawing. Whilst they've been engaged however the freshly reinforced Ghurkas and an infantry section with a Boys anti tank rifle have set up behind them. As they pull back they walk right into the teeth of my fire and are obliterated. I can't help it I'm grinning from ear to ear.

This game is full of these moments, little vignettes of brilliance where the cautious positioning of your forces profits you mightily and generates a small war stories. Whether its' the engineers who with their flame thrower has cleared building after building only to be crushed in a counter attack by superior German armour. Or a sweeping attack where your tanks punch a hole in the enemy line and your infantry fan out to smash the now disorganised enemy. This is all tied together in an over-world map that links you games together thanks to upgradeable companies. The game is truly compelling

Is it perfect? No of course it isn't. They have tried something new and they have missed a few tricks, these are however easily resolvable. It is perhaps a bit too easy on standard and even on the tougher setting the AI is a little easy to cheese. I have been attacked outside of scripted encounters on the over-world maybe twice in my own territory. This obviously needs some work but that's definitely doable. The sound is a bit tinny, it's like the mix is off, you hear the report of a big gun and pan over expecting to hear an explosive boom as it fires only to be met with pfft instead which is a bit pants. The UI is a bit dull and the main menu is boring, which seems a bit weird as complaints go but tis a bit flat. Oh and the pop cap is far too low for really epic scraps. It wants to be at least 150 for bigger games.

All that being said, the game is fabulous. It's a new direction and whilst it's fallen a little short it has done some things that can be really well built upon. Is it worth buying? Yes. Will it be improved upon? Undoubtedly. Is it a fun if slightly flawed bold new step? Yes, yes it is. I really really cannot recommend it enough. If you enjoy COH you'll love it

Sneaking through the tight streets of Potenza my Ghurkas run into an enemy squad. Both sets of men hurriedly dash to cover whilst their allies push up to support them. Swiftly a Stuart joins the fray and 2 enemy armoured cars swiftly match them. Men start dropping and the Ghurkas make a break for base to resupply. Hammering tactical pause I consider my situation. I'm pretty handily outnumbered and despite the Stuart the sheer weight of fire coming from the 2 armoured cars and the 4 squads of infantry will dislodge me before long. However just coming into range now is my force multiplier, 2 mortars! Setting them up I begin firing, slowly the high explosive shells push back the Germans and they begin withdrawing. Whilst they've been engaged however the freshly reinforced Ghurkas and an infantry section with a Boys anti tank rifle have set up behind them. As they pull back they walk right into the teeth of my fire and are obliterated. I can't help it I'm grinning from ear to ear. This game is full of these moments, little vignettes of brilliance where the cautious positioning of your forces profits you mightily and generates a small war stories. Whether its' the engineers who with their flame thrower has cleared building after building only to be crushed in a counter attack by superior German armour. Or a sweeping attack where your tanks punch a hole in the enemy line and your infantry fan out to smash the now disorganised enemy. This is all tied together in an over-world map that links you games together thanks to upgradeable companies. The game is truly compelling Is it perfect? No of course it isn't. They have tried something new and they have missed a few tricks, these are however easily resolvable. It is perhaps a bit too easy on standard and even on the tougher setting the AI is a little easy to cheese. I have been attacked outside of scripted encounters on the over-world maybe twice in my own territory. This obviously needs some work but that's definitely doable. The sound is a bit tinny, it's like the mix is off, you hear the report of a big gun and pan over expecting to hear an explosive boom as it fires only to be met with pfft instead which is a bit pants. The UI is a bit dull and the main menu is boring, which seems a bit weird as complaints go but tis a bit flat. Oh and the pop cap is far too low for really epic scraps. It wants to be at least 150 for bigger games. All that being said, the game is fabulous. It's a new direction and whilst it's fallen a little short it has done some things that can be really well built upon. Is it worth buying? Yes. Will it be improved upon? Undoubtedly. Is it a fun if slightly flawed bold new step? Yes, yes it is. I really really cannot recommend it enough. If you enjoy COH you'll love it