Preview: Company of Heroes 2 (PC)

A long time coming, Company of Heroes 2 looks to outdo its preprocessor in all respects and claim the throne (again) of real-time tactical strategy games. Careful advancement, and planning are required for success. Looping a swathe of units and throwing them at the enemy will merely kill them all. The original game and it's expansions showcased a much more deliberate and chance-driven strategy game, where the tides could be turned if players were smart enough (and maybe a little lucky) rather than simply having more armour than their opponent.

Luck, strategy, and tactics look to make a return with Company of Heroes 2, which is set on the Eastern Front during World War II. New factions are introduced, one of which is a complete game changer.

So powerful it has been known to wipe out entire armies, the weather will be an ever-present force in the game. Never mind destructible buildings, players will have to continually contend with the weather and the brutal conditions of the Eastern Front. If bullets weren't enough of a distraction, soldiers will quickly freeze to death if left exposed to the elements for too long; and machinery will no doubt suffer weather-related effects.

It wouldn't be the Eastern Front without snow and with developer Relic's ColdTech there will be plenty of snow. Not only will deep snow slow down units, it will also leave an easy trail for the enemy to follow (and vice versa).

Also implemented is a revamped line of sight system, which Relic has dubbed TrueSight and hopes will better reflect actual troop visibility. Aligned with the ColdTech drumming up weather -- random or not -- TrueSight could also be a game-changer.

While it's not expected to ship until "early 2013" -- my bet is that that date is a guess more than anything -- when it does finally arrive, it should be on the "To Play" list of every strategy game fan out there.

- Aaron Simmer