Company of Heroes 2
Company of Heroes 2 is a provocative game, especially for residents of the CIS countries. On Russian -speaking sites, any discussion of this strategy ends the same: people begin to bite among themselves and incite ethnic conflicts. Sounds of excessive or, on the contrary, the complete absence of patriotism, blind love for Stalin and the Soviet Union, fascism. Even those who, in principle, are far from political issues, do not do without dirt. Does not do without the facts taken from the ceiling, designed to reinforce the pointed point of view. About the subject of the dispute – the Company of Heroes itself – they forget very quickly.
Here is one of the most harmless comments left under the article by Evgeny Baranov, the author of "Gambling.RU ”(punctuation and spelling are slightly changed):“ Make contribution to the development of Nazism – buy a game! Particular thanks to the site and the author without a family, without a genus, without a tribe, which put up eight points with two extremely positive Achivka. One reader-INTERMENSH was less. Stay to stay!»As you can see, writing a review of Company of Heroes 2 is a compromising in itself. We ignore the game – “they have no opinion”, we will praise – they will accuse of ignorance and indulgence of lies, we will begin to scold – they will reproach with bias.
Therefore, we will immediately make a reservation. Yes, people of various nationalities write or once wrote to the magazine, but our own thoughts or the affected feelings did not affect the assessment of the gameplay and script of the game. We criticize flaws that will remain deficiencies regardless of your political beliefs or the country of birth. We do not idealize the USSR and admit that the commanders of the Red Army sometimes really committed terrible crimes. We are aware that some orders of Stalin were aimed primarily at protecting the state, and only then – people. In memory, stories about camps, executions, repressions are still fresh in memory. This is part of the history of our country, we all remember, and you should not blame the editorial office of tightness.
But still, what a spaciousness opens to create a military drama! It was possible to show the deprivations of the Soviet people, the personal tragedies of the soldiers, to demonstrate the harsh realities of the regime. Documented precedents – darkness. Diaries, declassified protocols even more – do I don't want! But the Relic Entertainment did not seem enough, and instead of raising archives and hiring normal consultants, they simply rewritten the story as they wanted to.
Why did it be necessary to overpower everything, turn into a collection of scarlet, bored, and most importantly – bordering stamps bordering on delirium? What does Vasily Grossman have to do with it, to whose books Canadians all the time referred and about whom they safely forgot about the bankruptcy of ThQ? Why Canadians repeated about their trips to St. Petersburg and that "they saw how German tanks got out of the ice of the Neva"? An advertising move, supposedly emphasizing the historical reliability of the game, no more. The truth is that as such in the Company of Heroes 2 – not a penny.
Agitmashin
But Relic Entertainment was eaten by a dog at strategies – in particular, military. They started with Homeworld , space RTS about the inhabitants of the planet Kharak who went in search of their real house. By the way, this was the first completely three -dimensional strategy in history. Canadians' affairs quickly went uphill, and soon they saw the light Impossible Creatures , And then – Homeworld 2.
But Relic brought wide fame released in 2004 Dawn of War , based on the universe Warhammer 40 000. The first part of the series turned out to be extremely spectacular and kinematographic. Canadians perfectly conveyed the spirit of the bloody, ruthless battle between the emperor’s troops and the orcs chained in the armor. The camera close to the ground gave what was happening a personal shade, personified each fighter. Of the computer boobs, to which there was no one in strategies, units turned into important members of the detachment.
The atmosphere was also the absence of the need to mess with the detection of the base for a long time. The main goal was to capture strategic points. By this, Canadians emphasized: headquarters to the headquarters, and most importantly – the fight. Even the inherent Warhammer 40k grotesque was not embarrassed: Servobron and huge sizes did not cause laughter, but only enhanced the epic of the battles. The plot did not disappoint, which was interesting not only to geeks, a nazuke who knew the history of his beloved universe, but also a simple mortal. Many single campaign was remembered precisely thanks to an extraordinary scenario and well -set rollers.
[[Bullet]] The game literally begins with stamps. Soldiers are sent to battle without weapons.
Dawn of War identified the key elements of subsequent Relic games: capture of resources, accent on battles, simplified development of the base, abundance of story scenes and – the program of the program – multiplayer. The Canadians began to develop a series in additions along this path.
Over time, the space marines and the green-skinned orcs of the studio were tired, and she decided to switch to something more serious. Even before the exit Company of Heroes dubbed “Dawn of War about the Second World War”, which, in general, was not far from the truth. Mechanics have changed only a little bit. You still conquered control points with the help of a handful of daredevils (you had to manage not with individual fighters, but in whole detachments) and a few armored vehicles. The “moral binding” to the units became even stronger: over time, the soldiers grew in levels, along with which their combat characteristics increased. Many rolled to the previous preservation only to save valuable personnel.
[[Bullet]] Relic always attentive to details. Here, for example, a nurse is flying a fighter. It is a pity that the care of Canadians does not apply to verification of historical facts.
The game had another interesting feature – the system of shelters that absent in Dawn of War. The fighters tried not to lean out again and chose the most convenient positions for attack: hid in the trenches, buried behind the remains of enemy equipment, and used natural obstacles. In a word, behaved like normal, living people. The duty, of course, is right, but I don’t want to die. Relic approached the development of details with amazing attention. The infantrymen who fell under the shelling rushed to the ground and, if the bombing did not stop for a long time, they remained there, ignoring the orders of the authorities.
Cinematography increased to an unprecedented level for level strategies (recall, 2006). About once every ten to fifteen minutes we were shown spectacular videos in which American soldiers showed real miracles of courage.
Here are Nazi machine guns in rows in rows of brave warriors on Omaha Beach: bullets pierce helmets, spray blood fountains, and live to the sushi from half-twentie fights. The picture, frankly, is terrible.
[[Bullet]] Company of Heroes 2 gives a chance to play your version.
Or now: the heroes are moving into a small detachment deep into the gripped by the Germans Sherbur. Not a soul on the streets. Grave silence, violated only by crackling of burning cars. Scenery as from a film-catastrophe. And here – Bach! One of the infantrymen collapsed with a shot head. Bach! The second, barely having time to warn the others, fell after him. Fear, panic – sniper on the roof! How he was blown up, why did not notice? Ordinary scene, and in the context of the game – hurts.
Yes, quite everyday sketches for the war. Yes, cheers-patriotism. Yes, bravado. But the Canadians skillfully connected KAT scenes with gameplay tasks, and therefore everything worked. Let the plot as a whole was naive, it was still a story about people who were ready to go to the impossible for the sake of saving their homeland. The original Company of Heroes clung to the atmosphere of the brotherhood, whose members are connected by a single goal – to break through, recapture, give freedom.
Leo in a cage
At first, the Company of Heroes 2 looked like a perfect strategy about the Great Patriotic War. It would seem that it may go wrong? The authors are the same, the time frame – a little wider. Yes, and Relic, in addition, they filled their hand on the addons. From the first trailer, goosebumps naturally crawled on the skin. Canadians did not spare pathos words and reinforced them with front -line photographs: “their victim”, “their courage”, “their story” … they know how to! In the January preview, we, inspired, wrote: “This is not a cranberries and not a kitsch-this is a real game about the horrors of the winter war, and we are only embarrassed by the fact that the first at least any truthful battle for the Soviet Union in RTS was displayed by Canadian, not domestic Developers ".
[[Bullet]] Sometimes, honestly, you forget who you play – the USSR or the Nazis.
To paraphrase the popular Internet meme, we have never been so mistaken. The label of the “Strategies with the Human Face” stacked on the move had to be torn off in a hurry. The drama here is certainly there, but not human at all. Company of Heroes 2 is not a story about a feat, this is a farce, an entertaining bike about bastards, scoundrels and underpants. And where here, one wonders, heroes?
The presentation of the plot resembles Call of Duty: Black Ops And Medal of Honor: Warfighter. Lev Isakovich languishes in a military labor camp, where he is interrogated by the colonel of the NKVD Churkin-his former commander. Our hero is a field journalist who passed the war from and to (this is where the reference to the biography of Vasily Grossman ends). He saw such horrors at the front that some diary notes were pulled on, we quoted, “ten deadly sentences”. What is there to say, Lev Abramovich is a victim of the regime, captivated for an attempt to confront the communist machine. During the interrogation, the hero tells of different episodes of his life and recalls crimes committed by soldiers of the Red Army.
The effect of the butterfly
About a bad habit that breaks fate
The Company of Heroes 2 has a rather rare opportunity for modern games to preserve at any time. And this amazingly awakens the obsessive perfectionism in you. Having made the error, even an insignificant one, there is a temptation to boot from the last successful saves and do everything properly. Company of Heroes 2 is not a very difficult game, but due to the fact that units gain experience, to part with visited fighters oh how you do not want. Therefore, the same thought comes to mind over and over again: since I can avoid a mistake, then why not do this?
Due to the permanent Save/Load, the game session comes out somewhat crumpled. It would seem that the answer on the surface is not to reboot so often, not to abuse an excessively useful function. But to say is much easier than doing. Once having tried it, it’s hard to abandon this peculiar panacea. The logic is simple and unshakable: if the developers have added such an opportunity, then it was implied that they would use it. Tactical advantage, whatever one may say. So it turns out – a vicious circle.
Here the birds do not sing, the trees do not grow
The game begins with the defense of Stalingrad, where we see Lieutenant Isakovich and beginners, who are sent to the front almost with bare hands. The soldiers move through the trenches and the smoking ruins – everything that remains after the city tapped by the shells.
We must pay tribute – in the dynamics Company of Heroes 2 looks great. Even in comparison with the previous part, the game greatly added to naturalism, mainly due to excellent special effects. The simulation of military operations has become even more reliable, and the battles are even more spectacular. Machine guns shit, explosions are heard, next to the servants fall under the shelling, the cries of the advancing are heard – a real war.
[[Bullet]] And here are the suicides who climbed under machine gun fire.
In such a pitch hell, you have to constantly solve and analyze something, and at first it does not seem the easiest task. Fritz does not spare either you or cartridges. Close, do not take a shelter in time – you will have to spend valuable resources on the call of reinforcement. Sometimes you don’t know where to rush right away, especially when enemies come from several sides at once. And the sounds of torn shells do not contribute to the balanced return of orders.
By the way, physics is almost the strongest side of Company of Heroes 2. Tanks, for example, in a second are carried by impromptu shelters, leaving scorched funnels in their place. If desired, the entire level can be disassembled by pebbles. One of the most effective techniques is to lure the enemy on the ice, and then stern it from heavy artillery. The ice will crack, split, and the enemies will go to the bottom with the technique.
The enemy at the gate
The mask of "human drama" falls with Company of Heroes 2 in the very first mission. Despite the warnings, the Russians regularly climb under the machine -gun shelling, not even trying to leave the line of fire, although the right ten meters is literally, there is a safe passage. “Continue, comrades, they will not put everyone!"
Canadians draw Russians with thoughtless warriors who can only obey and fulfill orders, albeit suicidal. Personal zombies of Comrade Stalin. Glory to the Red Army, cheers! According to Relic, the USSR won the war not thanks to tactical tricks, but simply overwhelming the enemy with cannon fodder, taking in number. The developers talk about this open text: “The Germans cannot resist Soviet valor and numerical superiority!»Quote is inaccurate, but the essence is the same.
[Bullet]] Blizzard makes the soldier move slower.
If the heroes of the original Company of Heroes wanted to empathize, there is no talk about it and. The characters seem to compete, which of them is a big bastard. A striking example – Churkin. It was he who was responsible for the removal of supplies from the surroundings of Moscow. The plan was this: Soviet soldiers must restrain the enemy until the trucks with food are abandoned by the dangerous territory. In the final of the Mission Churkin, making sure that all the cars crossed the river, an picturesquely explodes the bridge, and it blows up with Soviet fighters who stepped on it. Fighters who ensured the success of the operation, his colleagues. What is the logic? Isn't it better when on your side it fights a dozen more soldiers? Objective reasons to blow up the crossing with them simply did not. The enemy still would not have time to do anything, so why it was impossible to wait a couple of seconds?
By the way, it is in this mission that you will have to burn residential buildings with their inhabitants. Yes, Fritz can also be lured into these rooms, but at least one hut with civilians will have to be incinerated, watching the innocent people scream from pain embraced by flame.
Sell homeland – we will not stand at the price
Even more negative emotions causes an episode with the salvation of Isakovich, buried under concrete fragments. Several ordinary people return to their commander and deliver back to the camp on their shoulders. It would seem that the soldier should be awarded-they saved a valuable frame, after all. But instead, Major Polivanov kills one of them on the spot, and the rest with his mercy is sentenced to public execution. And all this is a punishment for disobeying the order and leaving the post. Where this is visible? Stalin was primarily a pragmatist, he understood that the Red Army needed talented leaders. He, having stepped over pride, rescued Rokossovsky from prison, and then even appointed him the commander of the First Belorussian Front (a little later, Zhukov entered this position). So why would Churkina and Polivanova scatter officers like that?
[[Bullet]] Continuing the arthobics did not become less terrible.
Relic generally love when Russians shoot in Russians. There were not no monothers and machine -gun bursts in their. Stuck, Soviet soldiers preferred not to flee the attack, but to turn around and die at the hands of comrades. Heroes, say? It is not surprising that the Soviet banner here is hoisted with the Reichstag for some photo. They do not know about the honor, duty and protection of their homeland in the Red Army. However, in the final, Colonel Churkin nevertheless decides on a valiant act (which one, not to say), but he looks so ridiculous and illogical that it remains only to shrug.
Canadians are trying to compensate for the abundance of heartless scum excessively correct Isakovich, but this is more likely to repel. He is a white crow. The character, which, in theory, should cause sympathy, annoys its naivety and inconsistency in actions. Isakovich every now and then is surprised at the most ordinary things. “Ours” killed the defenseless Nazi, who, perhaps, had just laid a dozen Soviet soldiers? How can it be! This is against honor! I would like to take it by the scruff and shake it. What the hell, honor: only a thirst for avenge for the dead comrades, stress, constant tension. Everything happens at the front. However, Isakovich terribly flows his eyes and funny, like a fish, opens his mouth.
[[Bullet]] is in the Soviet Army and women.
Another example. Lev Abramovich, as a field journalist, tries to convey to people the whole truth about the war, but the command refuses to send his articles due to the fact that the Red Army appears in them in an unsightly light. Say, it was understood that the materials written by Isakovich would inspire, not terrify people. A quarrel begins, and the journalist in a flash pushes the senior in rank. The sentence sounds immediately – a penal battalion. And again, on the face of the protagonist, the same ridiculous expression arises: bulging eyes, open mouth. How?! To the penal battalion, for the attack on the immediate boss?! Chaos!
Winter is coming
If you move away from the plot, Company of Heroes 2 is an interesting, smart strategy, one of the best in the genre. Only one thing is embarrassing – a large high -quality leap in comparison with the first part never happened. The continuation is more likely to draw a large -scale addon than a full -fledged sequel. The rules are all the same: control units, capture control points and suck the resources that go to gasoline and ammunition. Fighters can now be treated, and damaged equipment can be repaired.
[[Bullet]] Game with enviable frequency gives out very cinematographic personnel.
Of the more interesting innovations – ColdTech technology and True Sight System. Coldtech is responsible for simulating weather conditions. This is expressed in the fact that the fighters (both yours and enemy) can die from the cold. In order not to freeze, you will have to hide in buildings or warm up by the fire, otherwise General Moroz and will get them to him.
In turn, True Sight does not allow players to cunning. Your field of view is limited to the field of view of the chosen detachment. That is, just move the mouse and find out what the enemy does there and from which side it comes, you can’t. You will see the enemy at the same moment as your subordinates.
War Never Changes
At times Company of Heroes 2 causes nostalgia attacks. Despite all the improvements, inside it is still the same Dawn of War, with extremely linear missions and stiff binding to scripts. No matter how much you reboot, the enemy always comes from the same parties – an unacceptable oversight for a military strategy.
Screeching is especially striking during the second mission. Your task is to restrain the forces of the Germans and not allow them to the station. At some point, you will need to minimize two roads at once. The Wehrmacht armored vehicles are not one or two, and therefore it is necessary to make several Kaboom Slots Casino sapper sorties. So, the technique always goes along one trajectory and appears from the same directions. You can only remember the pattern and install explosives on the road along which the column will move.
[[Bullet]] Soldiers stopped to fry marshmallows on sticks.
The missions of the "theater of military operations" (there are ten of them in all of them, the plot – fourteen) is much more interesting. There are no decree scripts there, so the battles are much more fierce and more likely. They really tried to Relic: computer opponents do not give a descent and honestly work out their bread. But still, the fully company of Heroes 2 reveals itself only in network matches. Online battles resemble chess. The more original, the more unexpected your move, the higher the chances of catching an opponent by surprise. But the most important thing is that in the RTS multiplayer with an awkward cranberry, instead of the plot, it is transformed into a luxurious strategy with strong mechanics.
Company of Heroes 2 is a collection of the most hackneyed cliches about evil Russians, which is missing only bears and uunites-nesting grounds. It is even more sad that Canadians give their creation as a historically reliable game and snap on any criticism, they say, they better know.
It's a shame not even for the older generation that will buy the game (in Russia, strategies about the Second World War are very fond of 40-50). His representatives know how everything actually happened. It's a shame for the youth ready to accept the clean coin shown in the game. It’s good if children have the mind to realize that all this is nothing more than Hollywood popcorn, but if not? No ratings (and on the cover of Company of Heroes 2 proudly flashes the label 18+) will not help here.
Let's not pretend – age -related restrictions in Russia do not work, if only because the games still do not relate too seriously. If the child wants, he will receive the game, and it doesn’t matter how – by stole from torrents or bought at Steam. After all, we have: alcohol and cigarettes are one thing, and a computer strategy is completely different. Well, what harm can a harmless game cause? We doubt that at least someone will ask a passport from a teenager who grabbed a disc with Company of Heroes from a shelf.
It is clear that parents and school should be engaged in education, but games have long become an important part of the leisure of adolescents, which means they influence them, partially form the vision and perception of the outside world. Agree, it sounds slightly tight, but if we praise Assassin’s Creed for encyclopedic certificates shown when historical relics are detected, why cannot we reproach Relic with too free transference of school textbooks? The Cold War is over, au!
However, it would be foolish not to mention the opposite effect. Perhaps Company of Heroes 2 will arouse interest in the history of the native country from the younger audience. On forums, where they quickly banish the mat and insults, hot discussions are underway; Users almost compete in looking for actual and logical blunders, read archival materials, learn something new. Who knew that the game would cause much more resonance than the famous mission at the airport from Call of Duty?
Relic still has a chance to improve. Given the studio policy, at least two or three additions await us, in which Canadians, let's hope, will reduce the degree of delirium and show the other side of the medal. Perhaps not of his own free will, but at the direction of the publisher, concerned about the reaction of the community, but these are already details.
Reigracy:
Cool plot:
Originality:
Easy to master:
Gameplay:
8
Graphics:
8
Sound and music:
8
Interface and management:
7
Waited?
Wondering cranberries from Canadian developers, the place of which is on the same shelf with "tired sun 2". However, I would like to forgive the idiotic plot and terrible historical blunders for the sake of multiplayer battles.
Mania rating: 7.0
"Fine"
Totalitarianism of Canadian roslice
Scandals, intrigues, investigations
The scandal around the Company of Heroes 2 and the Bloodhound Gang Bloodhound Gang Basist. Events divided the Internet community into at least two camps-those who advocate freedom of speech, and those to whom this freedom has risen across the throat. It is characteristic that in both cases the participants in the incidents showed disrespect for Russia and its cultural heritage. True, some issued this in a strategic game, while others jumped up on stage and rubbed them with a national flag. Both sides immediately found an excuse. Say, Relic introduced their own vision of history, and Bloodhound Gang missed the flag through, sorry, the ass just because it ended up on the stage is a concert tradition, and that's it all here.
Needless to say, neither those nor the other have a relationship to Russia, and therefore their actions have raised many questions. Another thing is also notable – sales of Company of Heroes 2 were suspended, and the Bloodhound Gang performance at the Kubana festival was canceled. Such punitive measures are immensely surprised by the members of the rock band. They even flew to Moscow, but soon left the territory of the Russian Federation, apparently unable to withstand the onslaught of the Kuban Cossacks. United Russia proposed to start the case on the grief-musicians, and at the same time became interested in the approaching other participants in the festival. And then it rushed: prohibitions, laws, petitions.
Rumors crawled over the network, they say, well, everything, the deputies got to the video game. Well, if the Investigative Committee is going to judge the Americans for the act committed by them in another country, then the games will definitely be banned to the hell. All the more reasons are full: what if any of the officials will come across a disc of Mass Effect or Dragon Age? Russian YouTube was afraid to update the hat in honor of LGBT support, and here BioWare With the ability to arrange your "humpbacked mountain". This is where the gay propaganda! But it carried. Deputies still do not care about video games.
In fact, there is just nothing reprehensible in the Company of Heroes 2. Our children were forcibly kicked out to the premiere of “Tired by the Sun 2” – a film where the Germans literally, sorry, fought for Russians. And Mikhalkov for a similar “gift to veterans” allocated money from the state budget. Speak that Relic in their new game send Russians on machine guns and draw them at all bastards? Well, damn it with him. Only the reaction of the Canadians themselves is incomprehensible. What they expected, releasing the game with such a subtext in the CIS? Freedom by freedom, but in a foreign monastery with its charter, as you know, do not climb. And why did they catch up in 1C so late? They hoped that they would carry it?
Also [Badcomedian] pushed oil into the fire with his video (you can read his column in the neighborhood), actually launched a full -scale campaign against Relic. The video hooked many – both patriots, adherents of the USSR, and ordinary players, and even just passing by. The collection of signatures began (there were two lists, one scored 23,000, and the other – 18,000 votes), users rushed to the official forum and Metacritic. As a result – a bunch of threats towards the developer and catastrophically low average rating. When passing the number in print, the user rating of the game was only 1.5 points out of 100.
Canadians such behavior greatly offended. The answers of the representatives of the studio became more and more tougher, until, finally, the community managers fell into direct insults. Relic complained about the blindness of the Russian community, stubbornly kept repeating that their game was “historically reliable” and that they were sent to the threats of gratitude letters, all the same Russians are sent with threats.
It got to the point that all topics about the sore began to be deleted without clarifying the circumstances, and the users who raised them – to ban over the flame. And this, recall, people were engaged in people hired specifically for communication with the game community.
Sega I was horrified by the shaft of negative responses. The Japanese publisher promised to take the matter and did not lie: at first, Russian and Ukrainian users were forbidden to leave comments on Facebook (here you have vaunted freedom of speech), and then they cleaned the topics in Steam. For messages about the fenced official page, they instantly issued a ban, as well as for any questions about the image of Russians in the game. Clarify the situation that relic, that Sega still refuses.
As a result, almost all of. During the first days, the Company of Heroes 2 dispersed an incredible 380 thousand with a circulation of 380 thousand, the scandal only fueled the interest of both the Western and domestic public. The advocates of the ban also achieved their own: the game was promptly removed from the shelves. In turn, for the Russian publisher, the abandonment of Company of Heroes 2 has become a competent image stroke that strengthened its reputation.
Only those who were against all kinds of prohibitions remained outside. But this can hardly be called a major failure. Let it be better “1C-SoftKlab” seize games from the sale at their own discretion than at the direction of.
