Company of Heroes 2

[Josh]

Obligatory linky: http://www.companyofheroes.com/

Looking intriguing. It's the Eastern Front, which along with Africa was sorely missed in the original with its D-Day and afterward campaigns.

(Seriously, Opposing Fronts should've been an Afrika Corps/8th Army expansion, you ask me.)

I didn't much care for DoW 2, which I thought took a turn for too character/micro specific, but this one sounds interesting.

Innovations they've revealed so far:

New fog of war system. No more arbitrary circle of vision- if you're approaching a wall and can't see behind it, you don't know that there's a whole battalion squirreled away behind it roasting marshmallows. LOS will be constantly affected by terrain and environmental factors, which really could bring ambushes into the game instead of confining them to a few units with infiltration mechanics.

Weather. The reviews are calling it the third player on the field, as the troops will freeze to death if they're kept out far enough from heat sources- tanks, buildings, or fires set up by the combat engineers (that also highlight their positions.) Add to that the effect of weather on LOS, and weather/terrain effects. For example, heavy snow bogs troops down, while ice can make them slide and bork your movement orders, including the heavy units. Finally, ice over rivers may or may not support infantry, or if it supports infantry it may or may not support light vehicles or heavier armor. Ice will crack and wear as it's used, and in cold enough conditions may refreeze for future usability.

Oh, and as a nice little touch they actually got authentic audio for every weapon fired in the game, including the variations between single shots and burst fire. I also expect the unit communications will be as amusing as the last one, though they'll have to go pretty far to top such classics as "Paratroopers! Help us help you!" or "Jesus Conrad, tie your fuckin' shoelaces."

[Josh]

Okay, I just saw the most awesome mod unit ever.

[youtube][/youtube]

Yes, that is a guy riding a donkey with twin panzerschrecks, mine-laying capability and indirect fire rockets strapped to the back.

We're just lucky the Wermacht didn't field more of these fearsome secret weapons or we'd have been totally screwed.