Eyes on Company of Heroes: General Winter

World War II is a point in history that the gaming industry seems to never get tired of. Fortunately for Relic Entertainment and THQ, this means a sequel to their critically acclaimed "Company of Heroes" PC game that graced shelves in 2006. Argued to be the RTS strategy that changed the way the game was played, the forthcoming second game, "Company of Heroes 2," seems to be striving to nab that title yet again with some surprising new features.

Focusing on the eastern front of of the European Theater, namely Russia and the outlying areas of the Iron Curtain that Germany blitzkreiged to oblivion, the game introduces a whole new element to tactical decisions.

A flaming winter wonderland of warfare. Say that three times fast.

"Company of Heroes" utilized a cover system, real-time building destruction that was randomized every time, squad combat mechanics, resource gathering based off of strategic points and realistic weapons of warfare. Its success was easily witnessed as many called it one of the best RTS games of all time. It definitely built on several conventions that had been used over the years and capitalized off of their popularity.

I have a saying: don't reinvent the wheel, put rubber on it. "Company of Heroes" did just that. Taking some of the work that Relic did on the "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War" series concerning squad based tactics and strategic point capturing, they then utilized buildings, artillery and anything else they could get their hands on.

Now, "Company of Heroes 2" is pushing the envelope with "General Winter." No, there is no in-game character named General Winter, though a frosty old man that commands his forces while sounding like Ed Asner would be amazing, but that's just silly.

General Winter refers to the weather conditions actually playing a major role in the game itself. In a GameSpy interview, principle designer Quinn Duffy said that General Winter is almost like having a third, neutral player. The eastern front was bitterly cold, especially the winter of '41 and '42, with temperatures reaching minus 40 degrees Celsius. In those kinds of conditions, exposed flesh can freeze in just a couple of minutes - literally a couple of minutes - and you had tens of thousands of soldiers dying of exposure to the cold.

Even with the fire and the snow, the Russians still held out.

Player squads will actually have a temperature gauge above them, and if the squad's heat is too low they will freeze to death. Their heat can be raised by standing near campfires, or going into cover or transports. This adds another element of strategy when attacking the enemy. Going after sources of warmth for their troops will be instrumental to victory. Tanks rolling over iced over lakes and rivers will have to be wary as the surface beneath them can be targeted to send them to a chilly bath below.

"Company of Heroes 2" is throwing a whole new depth of strategy at the player now. Not only does the environment mean that unit management needs to be taken seriously and that units cannot be left someplace without them freezing to death, but it also can change the way that players fight. Instead of trying to overpower the enemy, it's now possible to outlast them. a kind of war of attrition over war of arms.

It seems that players will be battling the harsh elements of the eastern theater along with the Nazis when "Company of Heroes 2" hits shelves. Due to the innovative new gameplay that will be in it, the Vault will definitely be looking into it.