Why Company Of Heroes Is The Best RTS Of All Time

May 2, 2007

Tags: Relic

I’m obsessed with Company of Heroes, it’s official. All my other games have taken a back-seat as I spend all of my gaming time playing online. So why is it so good? What makes it stand out, and why should you start playing it?! Below are my list of reasons why this is by far the best RTS of all time.

From Bad to Good

I downloaded the demo when it came out, not expecting much as I’ve played most WWII RTS’s that have come out in the past few years (a lot). I played through the demo and was quite unimpressed. I also tried the multiplayer beta and I started to see what all the fuss was about. As I have a friend at THQ (thanks Damian) I decided to get it for cheap and give it a go. I started playing multiplayer and fell in love with the game. I was really bad though, so I decided to give single player a go to see if it was any good. I usually steer clear of SP in RTS’s completely, however after the first 3 missions I was hooked with SP as well. For some reason, the two worst missions out of all the Single player game were the two they put in the demo. I played through the entire campaign and both had a lot of fun, and learnt quite a few tactics to use online.

Unique ideas

Rather than give a regular review, I’d like to just talk about a few of the key features that makes CoH stand out for me. There are two unique concepts that CoH has that I’ve never seen in an RTS before, and I’ve played a lot of them.

1. Retreating
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I only just found out about this, 50 MP games into playing. I’ve always said that RTS games should have a good retreat in them making ‘running away’ a viable option in the battle. In every other game, retreating only works if you have a faster unit than the enemy, and even then, it’s barely worth using. CoH actually has a ‘retreat’ button which makes your men stop whatever they are doing, and run at great speed back to their base. You can’t control them until they are back there nor where they go so they can sometimes cross in front of enemy fire, however most of the time it works. This is pure genius. It opens up so many great strategies and means that one simple mistake isn’t completely punished by losing your entire group of men and giving the enemy precious XP for the kills.

2. Snipers
I’ve been thinking about snipers since they appeared in C&C and wondered how they could be implemented properly. CoH has the best implementation I’ve seen. Take the regular hide until they shoot, add in some detected at close range or by a recon unit and you have a fairly standard sniper dynamic. This is done in a lot of games and works well. Where the guys at Relic have excelled is adding an extra element to the hidden status. The first few times the sniper fires it becomes visible for a brief instant, not long enough for an MG nest to re-man the gun to return fire. However after quite a few shots, the length of time he becomes visible increases, until after quite a few shots he is visible continuously. Just like in real life, the sniper gives away his position more actually the more he fires. It also means that a sniper can’t simply decimate enemy squads without moving around or having some kind of support.

It’s all about the tactics

Once you’ve played a few weeks of CoH, nearly every other RTS feels like it has no strategy (I’m talking about you Tiberium Wars). In CoH you can use every part of the terrain to your advantage from dead cows to walls to buildings. Unlike in nearly every other RTS where hopping into a building is a sure way of winning, in CoH it comes with its own disadvantages. The key here is that there is no perfect strategy that will always win the day. You may figure out an awesome setup (like putting MG’s at all the choke-points around a map) but there’s always a counter to the strategy. I’ve played 50+ games online now and I’m still continually learning tactics and counter-tactics each time I play.

A simple example of this is the movement of your troops around a map. When you start playing you figure out fairly quickly that different objects on the map supply your troops with different amounts of cover. The green, yellow and red shields denote Heavy Covert, Light Cover and Exposed respectively. Easy to pick up, instant strategy added at little cost. In fact, you don’t even need to worry about this if you don’t care. Players can just move their men around and they’ll automatically move to cover if left exposed. Once you move on though, you realise that each type of cover requires your men to position themselves differently. If you make them all huddle around a burnt out wreck they will have great cover, however they’ll also be tightly bunched. This means that throwing a grenade their way will inflict major casualties, negating the advantage of the cover. If you’re quick though, you can start out in good cover, draw the enemy out and then retreat to a more spacious but less protected area as the enemy draws close to throw their grenade. This kind of simplicity with layers of complexity is what RTS games should be all about.

Conclusion

So my recommendation if you haven’t played CoH is to go to EBGames or equivalent and buy it. Try it out for a week and try and get as far into the Single player game (and a little multiplayer) as you can and decide if you like it. If not, take it back, free of charge, but I’m fairly sure once you start playing you’ll see how truly original and deep the game is.

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Game Development, Games, General, Personal by Doolwind

Sneechy

Nah, it’s not that good…
http://www.doolwind.com Doolwind

Sneechy-

Thanks for the enlightening comment. I’d like to respect your opinion but unfortunately your love of “The Outfit” (another Relic game) leads me to believe you shouldn’t be trusted.

Once we hit beta I’ll finally give you a game and show you just how good it is, until then finish our game!
Mr Thompson

So are you officially divorced yet?
http://www.doolwind.com Doolwind

Mr Thompson-

Haha, thankfully Kellie understand my computer game obsession . Although I have just returned from 14 hour day at work.
sniperjolly

I for one love the game… unfortenatly it crashed my comp and I wont be playing it for a while sigh…
Emanuele

Hi, have you checked Supreme Commander before saying the COH is the best of all? I think it is a huge contendant.
http://www.doolwind.com Doolwind

Emanuele-
Yes I’ve played quite a bit of Supreme Commander, I even own it. I was really looking forward to SP however I was let down a lot by the AI and generally the “more of everything is good” style of game.

Supreme Commander is a great game in its own right, but it certainly isn’t anywhere near the best RTS of all time, and I enjoyed playing Total Annihilation a lot more when it came out.
Emanuele

Seems strange to me.

COH uses the principle of visual recognition, Supcom has radar, visual and sonar. Not to mention stealth/cloak and radar jamming.

COH is all about land warfare with occasional offmap support. Supcom has air, land, sea and, occasionally, small scale teleportation.

COH has the cover system, Supcom has weapon modes like direct ballistic fire, beams, missiles and artillery to match the terrain.

It is such “small sized” compared to Supcom i wouldn’t even consider it a strategy game; a master-made tactical one maybe, with a stunning graphic too… but if we are talking about strategy the “King” is Supreme Commander. Games like Dawn of War or COH could be Princes maybe, but the King is the King
http://www.doolwind.com Doolwind

Emanuele-

I like your points, a lot of them fit into my thoughts that “Less is More” as discussed here (http://www.doolwind.com/blog/?p=74).

I agree that COH is small, I’d go as far as saying it’s “Tight”. It’s kinda like the WOW of MMO’s in my view. By this I mean that it doesn’t really break any major barriers, it just does everything really well and seems to bring everything together in the perfect blend of RTS excitement.

I’m happy to concede that not everyone likes COH, let alone thinks it’s the best RTS of all time, but for me, Command and Conquer (original) has been at the top of the list long enough, and it was good to finally have a game I was more excited to play.

Ironically, I’ve played the beta of COH’s expansion and was extremely unimpressed. I’m waiting for my friend to give me a copy (he works at THQ, therefore it’s cheap ) so I’ll probably put up some thoughts. It has gone a way to showing me just how good the original COH is though as anything slightly less polished seems awful to me.
COH FAN SINCE SEP 06

Yea no, i agree company of heroes is absolutely amazing especially with OF now in stores, i shall be bying of soon, but I absolutely adore the Normandy 44 mod for company of heroes vanilla version, you guys should check it out , ok thanks bye
bluemanrocks

StarCraft/BroodWar is the greatest RTS games of all time. I can sort of see where you are coming from with CoH, and maybe Total Annihilation, but neither really come close. BroodWar has absolutely PERFECT balance, along with a great storyline and the graphics (for the time, and the cinematics to this day as well as making the units come to life) are unbelievable. It is a game based very much on tactics and one that gamers of all types can and do enjoy.
http://www.doolwind.com Doolwind

bluemanrocks-

I’ll agree that starcraft is a great game, and is quite well balanced however my major complaint is the lack of emergent gameplay. There are a set number of strategies and counter-strategies that most people tend to use over and over. It also makes it hard that once you know these strategies its almost impossible for a novice to have a fun game.
PATR

Doolwind, I totally agree with your comment. I used to to frequently play COH on ladder, and no two matches ever felt the same!

Starcraft is a great game, classic even. Its what really got me into RTS! But as mentioned, the game does feel somewhat limited to strategies that work. It then becomes a matter of pulling off their strat as fast as possible.

Cheers, from Australia.
http://www.doolwind.com Doolwind

PATR-

I’m glad you also have a lot of fun with COH. Have you played much of the expansion? I’m trying to make my way through it now and so far have not enjoyed it as much as the original. I’m interested to see how Starcraft 2 turns out as from what I’m seeing it will be much the same as the original (which is exactly what all the fans want).
Jawehawk-DK

sure the game is good but there are a lot of flaws. like the british arty i way to good. you can just build 2. 25 pounders and fire at the enemy base the entire time. you dont even have to pay for it. another thing is that the king tiger and jagdpanther is nealy impossible to destroy.
General_Me

I absolutely love Coh and it is definitely the best RTS of all time, I would like to see your two 25pounders strat deal with my Panzer elite army.

But then thats the point for every build order there is a counter people have tried everything from pio spam to rifle spam to E4S strat early m8′s medic bunker infantry armies etc, everytime a new strat is thought up a new counter appears the options are endless.
http://blog2beton.wordpress.com Nico

CoH is awesome.

I like the fact that it’s small. I don’t have to build dozens of building to get going. I’m not a big time player so I enjoy this. The strategy is awesome. the soldiers are flesh and blood on the battlefield and you can feel their emotions and live their fight. They are professional, they get scared, they worry, they report their situation.

Also, it’s a WW2 game and puts you in the role of a captain on the battlefield, not a general like Supreme Commander. The difference is essential. It means you don’t decide where you are going to build your next airfield. Your only concern is to call for artillery and air support whenever you need it.

Within RTS’ their are different concepts. Both are great in their own right.
Chris

I totally agree with this statement.

As a player that dove into pc games due to the likes of Starcraft and Command and Conquer I have to totally agree that this might be the best rts of all time. When one thinks about it in an unbiased standpoint it’s a very great game. No offense but I’m kind of disappointed that you failed to mention the fact that the damage system is genius. I mean a system where a sniper can snipe a tank’s mg is just :O! One of the major factors that has convinced me onto this game though has been what you just said; the fact that the strats are diff every time in an online and sp even in the sp environments.

While it is good to give credit where credit is due. The fact of that matter is that starcraft is an old game that jump started the genre. It may have been revolutionary in 98, but things in today’s gaming world are totally different. In my honest opinion it really depends what standpoint one is looking at here. If we are talking about the best rts of all time because of it’s revolutionary style, fun factor, and graphics then by all means COH takes it. If the comparo was on what was the most revolutionary RTS of all time; then SC would take it just because of the plain fact that it has had a bigger impact.

(On the Supreme Commander side of things)
I believe that game to be to repetitive. Sure it is fun for a while but afterwords you can use the same strat you just have to change the tech up a bit. In all respects though, it is a very good game of solid caliber. If you were to ask me I’d say sure I’ll give it a nod for being a 10/10 game. Is it the best though? In my opinion: No there’s nothing I haven’t seen there to make me say it is an all around king.
Chris

Excuse my poor spelling and etc but it’s 12 in morn and I’m procrastinating on h.w.
Banch

I know this post has been dead for a few months, but I wanted to drop my two cents in here:

Starcraft is not just about tried and true strategies, it’s about fast, visceral gameplay. If you play SC correctly, you are constantly looking at what your oponent is doing in real time and trying to adjust your tactics accordingly. I’ve watched some epic matches where you see a guy using a pretty standard strat, and then realizing his opponent is set to counter it. The amazingly fast-paced, almost ballet like scramble to make adjustments is what makes SC great.

The great thing about SC is that it’s not just about strategy, it’s about execution.
Arska

I love this game!

Its full of strategy (ofc its RTS) but more like others. Its not like how fast do you press “Build unit” button. Because there is time when the most troops dont win. Like heck a lot riflemen running into machinegun fire no matter how many there is they wont survive for too long.

I have only played a little with my friends, loved it and now im buing it!!
http://www.neceros.com neCeros

I like Company of Heroes. However, I don’t think it’s the best game.

I like playing RTS where I’m in control of my bases. I like building base defenses and “Turtling” in. I Can’t really do that in CoH. I feel frustrated and rushed to have to find the command points and can’t ever seem to defend them properly.

I’d much rather build bases and defenses then I would men.
GeN

you should probably try to play “World in Conflict” then we’ll see if you still think CoH is the best
GraveeKing

Due to my terrible luck i have a vista and it won’t play it well enough for any quality which is a shame because i love in depth stratergy – I mean i’m obsessed! when i was playing games before ingame tacitcs had any effect i tried to think tactically – i used to hide units behind my building on older rts’s like age of empires 2 ect when to be honest the enemy archers can simply shoot through my castle and kill me! The more depth there is in a rts the more i know i’m gonna love it!!

If i ever get my computer to work it with my vista and useless graphics card so everyone wish me luck! btw loved the review
http://www.doolwind.com Doolwind

GraveeKing-

I’m sorry to hear you are having troubles. My copy has worked on Vista without any issues.

I found exactly the same problem when playing older games with less tactical detail. It’s always good to wish that making the right tactical decision will have an impact on the game, but often it does not.

Warrior Kings is a great game for this kind of detail if you prefer a medieval/fantasy setting for your strategy games.
http://www.doolwind.com Doolwind

neCeros-
You should check out the expansions to Company of Heroes. They may have more of what you are looking for.
http://www.doolwind.com/blog/?p=99 » Is Your Game Underwhelming?

[...] of War (one) is a great game. It spawned the Company of Heroes series and solidified Relic’s position as one of the best RTS developers in the world. It [...]
Fauztin

Man, Company truly is the best STR game out there !
Even when you think you got an awesome almost 100% wstrategie you still can be suprised and lose like a noob =p

I hope everyone that reads this will play online!
The whole meaning comes out online I think;

CoH is a really deep str and with the newest patch.. perfectly balanced =]

ENJOY !
MEN OF WAR

GO FOR MEN OF WAR by 505 GAMES…………..that even beats CoH my frds……ive played Rush for Berlin, CoH as well, commandos………….but Men of War leads the pack
http://www.arnelmation.150m.com Intimidator

I like COH a lot and play late nights and early mornings hehe but I’ll have to check this MEN OF WAR out maybe this will keep me turn away from COH
Ralf

I am favoring CoH. To me, it is the best RTS of all time. You just don’t find that kind of gameplay and strategy in any other RTS game. Red Alert 2 for example. All you need is a Kirov zeppelin and a few tanks supporting it, and you basicaly win. And that is the strategy to win with the russians, ALL THE TIME.

In CoH, if a German player attacks an American base with a King Tiger (best tank in game), and the American Shermans won’t even stand a chance. You can deploy rangers and they can take the Tiger from behind. Also, if you build a 88mm artillery and no tank can get through it, the American player can just artillery strike it.

There is always a new strategy, and counter strategy. This is just my two cents in this post. I hope you guys who didn’t play CoH yet give it a chance. Very fun game. Trust me, you won’t get bored very soon.
Charles

I’ve been playing this game on and off since 2007, it has never left my harddrive, and I agree its the Best RTS of all time (to date).
And I dont even play online that much, cause I prefer Skirmish with AI(that way I can appreciate the action, explosions and graphics more).

Overall its a great RTS game, accesible to everyone (unlike say the ‘Total War’ games which may be overwhelming).
Skay

Well I use to play that game for about 2 years now and I love it. You cant explain anything about the game in these few sentences over there. The game is huge and it has so many different ways to play! Give it a try!
http://bestrts.net Best RTS

Wow thanks for such a great review! I have been playing warzone 2100 for the last week and was looking at trying out Company of Heroes next. I particularly like the sound of the retreat feature and I think I will be checking it out very soon : )
karremans

I love COH, have been playing it since it came out. I play some other games occasionally but I return to it every time.

Indeed, it feels tight but has endless options. Company level play grants more bonding with your troops and tactics as opposed to strategy (supcom). I agree the game is not as well balanced as starcraft. PE faction is by far weaker imho, although I know skilled PE players will disagree. And the kangaroos just give a silly advantage to the already slightly overpowered brit blob.

Some strengths that were not mentioned:
-shaping the battlefield with mines, barbed wire, bunkers etc is not found in many games. usually just ‘tower defences’
-early units keep value (through upgrades or ability to shape the battlefield)
-resources are evenly spread out across the map, this means you can’t sit tight at your base, building up an army with the resources close to it. No, you have to get out there and fight from the first minute.
-the manpower resource doesn’t increase much with capping more territory. This means you will always be able to keep a sizable army on the field, even if you lack the extra abilities and strengths that ammo and fuel resources will grant you.
Great

I agree.
http://www.doolwind.com/blog/company-of-heroes-online-shutdown-facts-verdict-and-solution/ Company of Heroes Online Shutdown: Facts, Verdict and Solution – Doolwind's Game Coding Blog

[...] people know I think Company of Heroes is the greatest RTS of all time. Today I found out that Company of Heroes Online (CoHO), the free to play spin-off from the CoH [...]
Aamir

COH -> Greatest RTS of all time INDEED. Supreme Commander/Red Alert and all that crap, build a base, mass units, charge is just too customary. COH is revolutionary. Easily one of my BEST games of all time.
ManOfSparta

I could not anything that beat Compnay of Heroes yet its awsome game i play it whenever i have time
ManOfSparta

I could not anything that beat Compnay of Heroes yet its awsome game i play it whenever i have time
Creeper4ever

i havnt played this game and will have to give it a try it does sound good but i dont think i could compare it to TA as TA was released in 1997 (windows 95) and can still play on windows 7 and TA beats all other rts games hands down the only ones that come close to it was starcraft and brood wars but not sc2 that was just rubish. so to sum up what ive said i will play this game and see what its like i hope it is as good if not better than TA as i have not seen a good rts in a very long time

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Why Company Of Heroes Is The Best RTS Of All Time

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