The Relic team take CoH to the next level with DoW squad based combat and morale system - simply the best RTS for PC!!!
Single player mode is simply fantastic as the allies, of course there is little scope to be the Axis (since they lost the war) so there is no single player for them, I think it even beyond Relic to imagine (or want to) what the aftermath of WWII would have been with an Axis victory! The single player has plenty of mileage in it, each map is challenging, but it is mainly the way the units react unto each other in combat especially that makes single player what it is. Simple squad tactics, flinging grenades into a building to clear out a garrison of using a sniper to remove the gunners from a heavy weapons platform, such as a PAK cannon or mortar, really bring the game alive, each unit has the ability (with varying degrees of success) to counter every other until there is, well within reason! This adds much depth to the game and has a tendency to make you think like a military commander, at least at field level, to accomplish your goals.
For example, if you have a squad of US rangers and you come up against a Panther (German heavy panzer), there is the ability to equip the squad with Bazookas to give them an anti tank role. With the help of a flanking support squad with Bazookas, cheap infantry can actually stand a high chance of success against some of the Axis heavily armoured tanks. Similarly, if you require infantry suppression, the squad can be equipped with light machine guns to keep the enemies heads down!
The game play is extremely impressive, with many of the tactics one could expect to see in WWII being employed, pinning, fire suppression, terror tactics and even armour facing angle all have a role to play in making the game play fast and exciting and it some case painfully accurate to real life!
Units that made an imprint on the battlefields of Europe are all in this game, as are the weapons, armour and support. VolksGrenadiers, Rangers, Paratroopers, Shermans and even Tigers! There is the omission of the Waffen SS panzer and “regular” infantry but this is not sad thing for obvious reasons. Even doctrination is fully captured, from the Allies ability to have an armour focused leader with the power to command the Rocket artillery Sherman variant to the Axis terror doctrine with the ability to call upon Panzer aces and the hideously powerful V1 flying bomb! You will also be pleased to know there is also a Blitzkrieg doctrine for those who like a quick decisive victory!
The graphics do compliment this game extremely well, the battlefields, whether they are bombed out cityscapes, charred ruins or verdant fields all have a unique feel to them, just like you are there. The cover is drawn well which makes getting your men into cover, which it is a really good idea to, really easy, and the units react with their cover to give it an all the more convincing feel.
The sound is breath-taking! Explosions, screams, bullet fire, tanks shells and sly and off the cuff remarks from your troops combined with a nail biting music score help you sink into the game and help you to become the battlefield commander. In 5.1 surround the sound can be given nothing less than 10 in this game. Of all my favourite phrases is when you select an Axis Grenadier squad and they say “Come on, what you think this is, Kinderparty?”!!!
Admittedly I do like the historical relevance to each unit, which is why this game is so thoroughly enjoyable for me.
Multiplayer however is a thing of beauty and is tremendous fun. There is a high degree of micro management, especially the Axis, as all the troops are of a more highly trained standard than their Allied counterparts, there are usually less troopers per squad and they have some nice abilities. The game is supremely balanced, there is no way to mass one kind of unit, there is always an effective counter to a mass of an unit with a few of their natural enemies. A good example is a massed infantry strike can easily be countered by a few weapons teams equipped with heavy machine guns, or a tank offensive can be easily brought to its knees with Bazookas or PAK cannons. I disagree with the game spot comment of only two factions, because technically there was only two factions in WWII. I’m well aware Relic chose the title of Axis as a euphemism for German, but the Axis did include Austria, Hungry, Italy and Japan to name a few, and it would have been nice to able to have a chosen that sides particular specialities, the same for the allies. But that would have to take into account different theatres of war.
All in all this game does not disappoint, it’s a remarkable piece of RTS history and history itself, I cannot hesitate to recommend this game, it is an instant classic and Relic really do rival Blizzard for the top spot in RTS!