Customer Reviews

Company of Heroes: Game Of The Year Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Company of Heroes Game of the Year is a great game. However, I didn't realize that the first game would be trying to get it to recognize the DVD. After installation I kept getting a disk validation error. If I happened to be online when I started the game, it would try to log on and update and said I needed a 115MB patch. This is not the correct patch! I contacted THQ and got back an Email about turning off anti-virus software and any virtual drives. My anti-virus was off and I don't use virtual drives, so that didn't help, however they were nice and trying to be helpful. Finally, after endless searching and investigating, I found out how to solve the issue on my own. If you happen to end up with the same issue, I think I can save you a lot of grief with the following:
Locate and install the patch en_2101_2102_patch.exe manually (This must be done first. If you just try to install the second patch it will give you an unrecognized version error and exit.)
Locate and install the second patch EN_2102_2103_patch.exe manually.
After this I was finally able to get the game to recognize the disk and run. After that it was smooth sailing. Good luck.

I hardly ever write reviews but I just needed to do it this time. CoH is the best game I own to day hands down. I was more into FPS games (Battlefield, Half Life2, Team Fortress 2,etc). CoH changed the way I look at games now. I can't stop playing. The graphics, physics and strategy are awesome. For $20? You just have to get it.

E

Game is fun. But the product has some issues.

1) Both CD-keys in the game didn't work.
2) Took a whole night to install patches.
3) Haven't figured out how to play without disconnecting my internet.

That is the expectation from a 3 year old game. I've heard it is better to get the Tales of Valor version for 10 bucks more to avoid the above problems.

I haven't actually played the game because it just won't run. I have a new computer and my specs are great but because of the security I can't get it to run. I put in the CD. It downloads and then nothing. I put in the CD again and it takes me to a screen where I MUST register. It then reads that to play online, you need a patch. I don't want to play online so I hit cancel. Nothing happens and it is back to my desktop. I try the process again and this time hit okay. It downloads and installs this patch and then nothing. It is back to my desktop. I try the process again and am told I need another patch. Same thing happens. 5 downloads and 3 hours later another patch needs to be downloaded, I give up. I just can't do this again. I remember the good old days when one would pay their hard-earned cash, get the game, put in the CD and be playing the game within 10 minutes. Now, you buy a game and get nothing but frustration. They say that PC games as a genre are dying. No mystery why. Just imagine buying a book and not being able to read it or buying a CD and not being able to listen to it because they are so concerned that you will lend the book/CD to someone else that they make it impossible to use. There should be a class-action suit against game makers that do this.

I love games, and I enjoy playing just about every genre out there. If pressed however, I'd have to say that the various sorts of strategy games are the sort I like best. You see, my brain is my favourite play thing, and if I can match my brian with something else I love (in this case, games)then I've got something which is going to give me a lot of fun!

I enjoy both real time strategy (RTS) games as well as turn-based strategy games, but for different reasons. A good turn-based game (chess is an excellent example)is a power-lifting event were, if one is matched with a good opponent, every last ounce of brain-power is used in an attempt to defeat the opposing player. RTS, on the other hand, is a fast-paced dash in which fast-twitch quick, accurate thinking wins the day. If you take the time to think deeply, the game will be over well before you you finish developing a plan. That does NOT mean that an RTS is all action. Far from it. You must be able to quickly develop an overall strategy for the game, then be nimble enough to be able to make successful changes on the fly as your opponent moves to counter you. It also means knowing all of your units, what each of them can do, knowing all of your opponent's units, what they are capable of doing, and how you can use your units in concert with the terrain against him/her in order ultimately to attain a victory.

Company of Heroes follows these elements of RTS games, and adds a few twists in order to make things a bit more interesting. You start the game playing either as the "US Army" or as the "German Wehrmacht". The players obviously know that about each other, but in a way they don't know exactly what opponent they'll be facing. That's because each side has three "doctrines" to choose from, and precisely what weapons, tools, and abilities the other side has as a result of choosing one doctrine or another won't be immediately obvious. Further, even once you've seen something which lets you know what doctrine your opponent has chosen, you still won't know which of the various options available to choose from within each doctrine your opponent has chosen. You will need to do your best to be prepared for most contingencies, and then as the battle unfolds, you'll need to adapt quickly to whatever your opponent presents if you are to be successful in your quest for victory.

Unlike many RTS games, you can't clear the fog of war simply by going through an area. You can see the map (presumably because you have recon photos and maps of it), but you can't see any of your opponent's forces or any terrain damage which your own forces can't see from the ground taking into account visibility limiting factors such as terrain, weather, and time of day. The fact that you don't always know where your enemy is, how many of what are there, or if a hedgerow which previously conceiled the movements of your troops still exists just adds to the uncertainty which makes it necessary to be prepared and to be able to make quick adjustments when your opponent makes a hash of your well-layed plans.

The game installed easily and quickly on my not-so-new computer. I always check for patches and install them all before playing a game, and that may have saved me some of the problems others have reported. I even have CD burning software (Nero) on my computer (It came with it installed, and in the interest of full disclosure just in case it makes a difference, it has never been used), and I did not encounter the problems other people report regarding installing on a computer with CD burning software on it.

The graphics are great, and the hardware requirements aren't too steep. I run the game on a five year old computer with a Pentium(r) processor running at 1GHz and a single nVidia 6600 graphics card, and I'm able to run the game with all the video options maxed without any noticable drop in frame rates. Let me say that there may well be a significant drop off in frame rate, but if I can't tell without actually seeing the numbers, then for my purposes it's not noticable. Though a drop from 200fps to 100fps is a whopping 50% drop, no human eye can detect it since most people can't see a change above 30fps, and even the quickest eyes ever tested can't detect a change above 38fps.

I am also running Windows XP, and have not tried the game on any earlier version, or on Vista, so I cannot authoritively address how well it installs or runs on any OS other than XP. If your computer isn't older than the XP operating system, then it should be able to run this game without difficulty. I cannot over-emphasize how important it is to install all the patches before you play, and in fact, that really goes for any software you install on your computer. It's a process that doesn't take long, is easy to do, often adds content, and may save you a big headache in the long run.

I give this game five stars. I haven't had a problem with it from the moment I started installing it to the present, and it has held my interest and remains a favourite after more than two years and countless matches. It has the potential to end up being on the list of rare games which I never quit playing (such as Heroes of Might and Magic II and III) and continue to enjoy no matter how much time has passed or how out-dated the graphics have become. And last, but not least, anything that gets used that much and remains that reliable and enjoyable over a long period of time is the pure definition of excellent value for money, even if it hasn't hit the bargan bin yet. If you have even the least curiosity about RTS, give this one a go and see if you don't agree.

Unless you are a serious noob the game is simple to get up and running with great frame rates. Although having a great GPU helps, the performance is really found through having a fast Core 2 Duo with high clock speeds. I have my E6850 set to 3.6GHz and there is a serious performance increase!

As far as the game goes...well this is my absolute favorite RTS ever! It is awesome! The user interface is very good for commanding units. Being able to zoom in on the action is great. And talk about great voice acting... it actually made me care about all of my units. All of the soldiers have great things to say on the battlefield. Also the weapons and pure chaos send the experience right through the roof for me. Explosions everywhere. I highly recommend this game to all PC Gamers!

$20 is an absolute steal for such a great game! Plus Relic keeps pouring so much love into the game with all the new content and really patches.

Yes, I read the reviws and I was stupid enough to buy this version of the game and the serial number with the game was invalid. I returned the game foe a different one and the same thing, invalid key entered. There's the number on the back of the book and on this swank piece of paper that same with it. It would have been nice to try the game out, but since I can't install it all I have is this fancy box.

Company of Heroes is simply one of the best real time strategy games that I have ever played. Company of Heroes does not completely obey the traditional real time strategy formula which is building a base, gathering resources, building forces and then fight. This game thrusts you into the action and it forces you to stay there. Simply put, if you stay in your base you lose the game. Resource gathering is done by capturing points on the map. There are three points/resources, strategic points, munitions points, and fuel points. Strategic points often connect munitions and fuel points. In order to obtain resources, the areas need to be connected to your HQ. This leads to strategies such as cutting off enemy territory to deny them resources. This game heavily encourages aggressive game play.

Single-player wise, the original game has a long campaign. The campaign is entirely from the perspective of the Americans during D-Day and the days after. If one rushes it, the experience will only last around 15 hours. The campaign is very well produced. The cut scenes are of excellent quality and up to par with what Relic has done in the past. The main experience is in the multiplayer.

Sadly as I am writing this review, the game is somewhat broken. Panzer Elite is underpowered and many of its units are too weak. The British is broken. The Wehrmacht, and American match up is nearly balanced. Relic has not been supporting Company of Heroes as much as some other companies support their released products.

Overall the game is worth highly worth it at its price. The single player is worth a look into, and multiplayer is a blast, only one needs to wait until Relic fixes the massive balance issues in the game.

I am use to the straight foward shooter action of games such as "Call of Duty". When I first started this game I thought this is not what I wanted, but the longer I played it the more I liked it. You have to think of more than just your sorry butt. You have the lives of a whole company in your hands, their actions, and responses. Which can get pretty complex at times. It is not a shoot and scoot action game. I have come to like this game alot. Just ask my wife.

Great game, specially to play with your friends over the net. I'm sure it will pleasure MS Age of Empires fans.