Company of Heroes 2 Game Information :
Company of Heroes 2 is an upcoming real-time strategy game being developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sega for the Microsoft Windows platform. It is the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2006 game Company of Heroes.
As with the original Company of Heroes, the game will be set in World War II but will focus on the Eastern Front. Company of Heroes 2 will run on Relic Entertainment's proprietary Essence 3.0 game engine, which THQ claims will allow the developer to bring "new technological advancements" to the game. In January 2013, Sega acquired Relic Entertainment and along with it the Company of Heroes intellectual property from THQ. The game is scheduled to be released on June 25, 2013 in North America and Europe.
The game's story will focus on the Eastern Front campaign as narrated through flashbacks by Lev Abramovich Isakovich, a Soviet Army lieutenant locked up at a gulag in Siberia in 1952. An Army officer interrogates him about his experiences during the war
Company of Heroes 2 Gameplay:
The game will feature the Soviet Red Army as a new faction and will take the player on various stages of the Eastern Front campaign, from Operation Barbarossa to the Battle of Berlin. The game is built on Relic's proprietary Essence 3.0 engine, which showcases new improvements compared to Relic's previous games. One such improvements is the new line-of-sight technology, TrueSight, which aims to better emulate troop visibility in real combat. In contrast with traditional unit visibility, TrueSight more accurately represents a unit's visibility range based on environmental conditions and type of unit. Essence 3.0 will also incorporate an innovative weather-simulating technology known as ColdTech and destructible environments.
Weather conditions will be a major factor in gameplay, with movement and action penalties applied on players' units. Since many battles in the Eastern Front occurred in winter weather, troops can die of frostbite if caught in the outside during blizzards. Bonfires protect soldiers from the cold at the expense of enemy detection. Players moving through deep snow will move at a reduced speed. Certain maps will have frozen bodies of water, allowing for more movement options. However, players face the danger of being attacked from the other side; as a result, the ice can buckle under the weight of the units in movement.
Company of Heroes 2 will take advantage of DirectX 11 but will also support DirectX 9. The game will also utilize Valve's Steamworks technology with matchmaking and achievements. In regards to strategy mechanics, the game is set to retain the traditional Company of Heroes formula. The game will also offer the player a chance to complete side missions such as protecting civilians caught in the crossfire.
