The personalities of the Officers change over time as well. This means that the overall effectiveness of a company is lowered if too many troops are lost in an individual battle. Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault has a progression system in which each company gains experience through veteran points, which are accrued over time. The story plays out from the perspective of the three Officers in command of these companies. Relic clearly wants players to get replay value from Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault, and this type of single-player campaign structure definitely delivers that. Feeling the impact of the actions I undertook in one region emerge on another front with another company was compelling, and kept me on my toes. In practice, this has the effect of making a mission on a different front more difficult, or may result in the introduction of tailored obstacles depending on decisions made in a previous operation. This is where Ardennes Assault provides an interesting diversion from the average real-time strategy campaign – when regrouping, scattered enemy forces defeated in one particular battle by one of the player’s companies directly impact the campaign of a different company by moving into their region. As each mission is completed, German forces regroup elsewhere on this map by moving into neighbouring territories. Split into a multitude of regions, the player must manoeuvre the three companies at their disposal across the map by selecting particular battles. The campaign of Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault takes place across a large map of Belgium.

The player controls three American companies and is provided the opportunity to change the events of that historic encounter via a mixture of main campaign events and dynamic scenarios that are both hectic and fast-paced. Set in 1944, Relic’s new expansion pack for Company of Heroes 2 follows the so-called ‘Battle of the Bulge’ that took place in the forested Ardennes region of Belgium.

Company of heroes controls