Company of Heroes Preview

Share |

Digg This |

Glink It

E3 Preview 2005

When THQ’s president proclaimed, at a recent Pre-E3 event held in San Francisco, that “we truly think we are striving toward the best at E3” he was referring to a series of titles that are on track for release in 2006, but that clearly demonstrate “the metamorphosis of THQ.”

One of those titles was Company of Heroes, a real-time strategy title with impressive graphical effects and constant evolving action.

Not much was available to look at, just one scenario, and the developers on hand would not discuss the single-player elements at the Pre-E3 event, but the game did look terrific with fully destructible environments, rag-doll physics and great textures and lighting elements.

Some of the features of the title will include:

Essence Engine - Relic’s next generation cutting-edge engine provides graphics quality and a physics driven world that is unprecedented in an RTS.
Environmental Strategy - Real-time physics and a completely destructible environment guarantee no two battles ever play out in the same way. Destroy anything and re-shape the battlefield in your image! Use buildings and terrain to your advantage, or deny them to the enemy.
Living Soldiers - Advanced squad AI brings your soldiers to life as they interact with their changing environment, take cover, and execute advanced squad tactics to eliminate all enemy opposition.
2-8 players MP competition via Lan or Internet - Go online with friends and join in the ultimate battle of Axis versus Allies.

The game is being developed by the same team responsible (Relic) for Homeworld, Impossible Creatures and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.

The story follows the exploits of Able company as they fight their way across Europe, and is being billed as the “next generation RTS.”

The look of the game is quite dynamic, but hands-on was not allowed, and the game will not release for at least seven months, so things could change in the player interface and control scheme by then. But as it stands now, this is definitely a game to watch for.