Poll: Feelings on the Company of Heroes 2 beta

[karma9308]

So I've been playing the COH 2 Beta recently and have really been loving it. The Russians have really been a breath of fresh air compared to the original which had Germans, different Germans, British, and Americans. The cold weather and blizzard mechanics have been really interesting to play in. I was worried it was going to be nothing more than a gimmick, but it does change the flow of battle when a blizzard kicks in.

My only real complaints are that the Germans still seem overpowered. That the German infantry is better than the Russians? Ok. That their armored cars still seem to kill everything in their path? Fine. But Stugs should not be able to nearly destroy a SU-85, and a T-34/85 before going down.

I really wanted to know how everyone else was feeling about the beta though. I know I've seen some people really upset that COH2 is too similar to COH. So how do you guys feel about the beta? Do you like the new mechanics? Do you prefer fighting AIs or people and what would you say your favorite small thing is? For example, mine is that when calling in a sniper or T-34, you get a random chance to get a female sniper or female tank crew member. I just thought that was a cool little thing they did.

I don't know what happened to the poll, but the top two options are
"It's amazing!"
"It's good"

 

[Elfgore]

I played two games against an AI and quit about 15 minutes in. Game played just like the first with a few new units, mechanics, and shiny new graphics. Not worth the 60 bucks for me but I may pick it up once it lowers the price.

I feel if they make a 3rd they need to leave the German front of World War 2 to the Japanese front. I think adding the Japanese would force massive changes to gameplay, such as melee units and maybe even navel combat. Could even have a couple maps that are multiple islands and is a game of domination.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well beta is beta, which is why I usually don't play them, by the time they release the game usually everything turns out different.

And I'm only really in for the campaign so this isn't the info I need before buying.

 

[NightmareExpress]

60 bucks?
I don't know. It doesn't feel that much different.
Or at least, not different enough to warrant a price above forty five in my eyes at most.

The snow/fire system makes for some pretty intense skirmishes for infantry survival, the iced-over lakes offer some epic trolling possibilities when the inevitable Tank rush gets too cocky...those would be my favorite "small" parts. But because it was such a focus during development, it's not really that small of a part. The environment being a neutral third party is a nice change from the general stagnant nature of the original Company of Heroes (fields/rubble/repeat with the occasional choke point bridge) and it really keeps you on your toes. Less "camping", but at the same time...more camping because everyone just congregates at fire.

Anyway, le Germans...just seem too powerful.
Historically accurate, maybe, but I imagine that this is supposed to be a balanced title.
Going into the beta thinking that, I feel as though Relic BETRAYED me.
Beeetrayaaaal! Beeetrayaaaal!

 

[Isshiresshi]

I like it. It's quite cool and fresh. It feels like you're truly commanding an assault and fighting off an enemy, without the feeling of "base building" while it's still there... It's awesome.

Only played as the Russians one time and the Germans many times. They seem sort of... balanced, however, the StuG is a powerfull beast against everything and they seem a bit... overpowered.

Also the weather... it's great! However, I can't really get the feeling of how much trouble the "normal" cold weather is in general, but the blizzards.... my God that is awesome!

 

[EquestrianGeneral]

Having played an uncountable number of matches of the original Company of Heroes with my friend, I'm quite enjoying the beta. I've only played a handful of rounds, though I've seen both through to the end (making for about two hours of gameplay).

*Pros: -The new weather system is quite cool and adds a refreshing new element to the game. The blizzards especially brought to me a complete stand-still as the Russians the first time that one of them happened. Additionally, the interactive environments (frozen lakes, deep snow, etc.) are awesome and adds even more strategy to the game.

-The Russian faction as a whole is new and different from what we had in the original CoH. My friend and I had dabbled in the CoH Eastern Front mod (when we got the damn thing to work), so I thought that I knew what to expect going in. I was pleasantly surprised, though. The Russians as a whole are quite competent with some sick upgrades (PPsH, anyone?).

-It's still the same awesome gameplay from the first game. I'm confused by everyone's complaints of, "Its just teh first 1 again, wtf?" because... Why fix what isn't broken? I never buy games for $60 anyway, so I won't feel too bad about picking it up later.

*Cons: -Artillery and mortars seem a bit too powerful. Like, one mortar team can survive against 10 soldiers long enough to kill all of them... I don't remember it being such a problem back in the first game.

-"Lol, German'z OP:" Yes, I still feel that the German faction is unbalanced. If you give them fuel at all, their armor will steamroll you after about 10-15 minutes.

-The AI also appears to be a tad wonky; they'll buy a ton of mortar teams, light vehicles, and upgraded infantry, rush all of your points and base, then disappear if you kill their attack force. After I fought of a (admittedly difficult) wave of the Germans, they vanished from the face of the map. I took all three control points with minimal effort and no danger besides the snow and cold.

Overall, I feel that the beta shows promise for the game, and it appears to be everything that I expected and hoped for; a substantial upgrade to the excellent original game.

 

[The Madman]

I've been enjoying it, definitely. It's pretty much what I'd hoped a Company of Heroes 2 would be: New units, more interactive environments, lots of purdy explosions, and so on.

Admitedly after the original games it's a bit wonky not having as many factions to play as/against, but the new commander idea is pretty neat and I suppose they've got to save something for the inevitable expansions.

 

[Bravo Company]

-It's still the same awesome gameplay from the first game. I'm confused by everyone's complaints of, "Its just teh first 1 again, wtf?" because... Why fix what isn't broken? I never buy games for $60 anyway, so I won't feel too bad about picking it up later.

I agree with you here, I thoroughly enjoyed the first game and really hope they don't change the play style of the second one. I'm never understood why people are trying to shy away from the base building RTS in favour of the hero system (if thats what you want to call it)

Also, Haven't played the beta yet so I don't have an opinion on it.

 

[Spoonius]

Performance is the main issue for me so far, I was running the stress test at around 25 FPS and now I average 10.5. Not sure what happened there.

Liking the gameplay so far though, can't wait to get modding.

 

[purf]

sadly, "meh". I'm cool with them having made just "another one" instead of reinventing wheels, but how much it is exactly the same (plus weather)...? Rather boring. Also, in the settings it chose for my computer, it looks kinda worse than the CoH from 6-7 years ago.