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Company of Heroes (PC)

Developer: Relic
Publisher: THQ
Release Date: 2006

No, the PC isn't dead, contrary to what the console naysayers were spouting at E3. Keep in mind that all those fabulous PS3 and Xbox 360 games will run on consoles that use what are essentially PC graphics chips, and we'll have faster and better ones by the time those consoles launch, if not sooner. And also keep in mind that even though E3 was a "console show" this year, the PC had some of the best games there. For example, Battlefield 2 and F.E.A.R. are the shooters to beat in that category; Microsoft showed off two gorgeous real-time strategy games in Age of Empires III and Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends; and Will Wright's mind-blowing Spore was the talk of E3.

But our PC game of the show has to go to the jaw-dropping Company of Heroes, a World War II real-time strategy game that will redefine the RTS genre. Company of Heroes has such a wealth of cool features going for it, including an amazing graphical engine that's tied into a full-tiered physics engine, which results in completely destructible environments for you to play with. See a German machine gun next in the window of a building? Toss in explosives and blow the entire thing to bits. And you can blow up things countless ways, as the placement and force of the explosion will affect its structural integrity. Next up is the smart behavior of your men. They won't just march in a straight line to where you send them. They'll adopt the appropriate posture, which means they'll march down a road, but if they come under fire they'll scatter and look for cover. Just like real people. Give them an order and they'll follow it, taking advantage of whatever cover is available to them. If a friendly tank busts through a barricade, they'll use the tank as cover. Or if an artillery burst leaves a crater, they'll jump in for added protection. You won't be commanding mindless automatons anymore.

Official Trailer

Don't miss the full E3 2005 trailer for Company of Heroes.

Watch It »

In some ways, Company of Heroes comes off as the ultimate World War II real-time strategy game. Features that were only fantasy a couple of years ago, such as fully destructible environments and realistic physics, have been combined with an amazing graphics engine to create a startling experience that captures the sheer chaos and imagery of war. And despite the flood of World War II games in recent years, Company of Heroes looks like it could seriously shake up the genre.

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