Introduction

Before we get to the game, let's just speak of my undying fandom for the boys at Relic.

This personal love for them has gone a long way back, I tell you. Back when I was still a wee lad of 13 years, I was running a 450MHz Pentium 3 with THIRY TWO megabytes of RAM. My God, that was really powerful back then, and of course, my rig totally pwned my buddies.

But for a year bordering on the new millennium, 1999 was a seriously boring year full of crappy games. If I recall correctly, it was the same year they announced the infamous "It's done when it's done" Duke Nukem Forever. Gawd, the memories such times bring.

But besides the awful games and half-assed promises the gaming community had to swallow, there was one veritable gem among all that crap - a revolution, a great story and an incredible experience rolled in one package. It was so good it actually made 1999 look like a good year for gaming after all.

The game that totally blew my mind was none other than Homeworld by Relic. I swear it was so good, I'd would even become gay for Alex Garden. Excellent art direction, story telling, gameplay, strategy, graphics and an awesome soundtrack to boot with an end credit song by Yes called "The Ladder".

Fast forward 2004, and Relic released the ass-kicking Warhammer 40K : Dawn of War. As most Warhammer 40K games since the scary-ass "Space Hulk" really sucked, I didn't expect much from that title, even with Relic at the helm.

But it turned out great, mixing and matching fast-paced combat with an aggressive formula. Relic managed to bring out what Warhammer 40K was all about - Killing the Alien, Purging the Mutant and Cleansing the Unclean! Break out the Codex : Imperium Guard! Battle Adrian and his vile Necrons!

Now, let's just take a look at what we have here and now. Well, reputation for making good games is one thing, churning them out is another. The past doesn't always define the future. Look at EA. They used to make great games. Now, they suck harder than giant leech the size of an elephant.

Well, I now have in front of me, Relic's latest effort for review - the much-awaited Company of Heroes. Question is, will it live up to all the hype and eager anticipation? Well, I'll give you the answer, so just keep reading!

What Is COH All About?

Generally, this game's premise is the invasion of Normandy and the repercussions of Operation Overlord, where the Allies planned and executed the greatest amphibious invasion in the history of mankind, breaking through Hitler's Atlantic Wall.

In the immortal words of Rowan Atkins as Black Adder the 4th, "the German Empire consists of a small sausage factory in Tanganyika". Therefore, I'm quite sure we'll be in for some awesome kraut-bashing madness!

You will command Able and Charlie Companies as they fight tooth and nail past the beaches of Gold, Juno, Omaha and Sword in an attempt to push the Third Reich's forces all the way back to Germany and end the occupation of Europe.

It's your typical strategy game, just played in a way that nobody ever thought of applying to RTS games. To an extent, the formula was borrowed from Relic's Dawn of War, where sectors are captured to earn more contributions to the resource pool, which you can draw from to help further your war effort.