STACK #122 Dec 2015

GAMES

FEATURE

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Operation WatchontheRhine Relic Entertainment launch a new single-player expansion pack for Company of Heroes 2 . We spoke with game director Quinn Fuffy.

At your disposal are three upgradable companies: Mechanised, Support and Airborne. “Each of the companies was designed to add unique flavour to the US Forces,” explains Duffy. “Support has a lot of artillery-based abilities to allow players to smash any opposition they find on the map. Airborne are about precision infantry engagements – dropping in paratroopers to seize enemy objectives, supporting them with airstrikes or airdropped munitions and weapons, and the Mechanised company is built on the idea of infantry/vehicle combined arms tactics – using infantry or mechanised cavalry riflemen to flank and expose enemy positions which can then be attacked with tanks. “The unique thing with the ability customisation is that players can spend requisition points they earn through victories or events on the metamap to tailor their companies as they see fit. They can invest in airstrikes for Airborne – for example, to provide some of the kind of hard-hitting firepower that they can get from the Support company.” With 18 scenarios that include 11 missions and seven engagements based on actual events that unfolded during The Battle of the Bulge, Duffy says Relic wanted to deliver the “concept of replayability and bring the gameplay style and intensity of multiplayer into a solo experience”. “We had looked at our user data and saw a couple of key things; our multiplayer community was deeply engaged with the game, and we found our campaign community was more likely to play the game once, and then move on. So it was decided to split the content very early into the Western Front Armies (all MP) and Ardennes Assault (campaign) to deliver unique content to each of our major communities.” So, can we play as the Germans? “Not this time. We wanted to deliver an experience from the US perspective. There are a lot of our players that

“I t was the largest battle on the Western Front featuring the US Forces almost exclusively. We love the drama of the event – those early days of shock and retreat, but featuring key stands by small ad-hoc groups of soldiers that literally change the dynamic of the German plans.” That was the primary reason that Relic Entertainment decided to set its single-player CoH2: Ardennes Assault during the Battle of the Bulge, according to game director Quinn Duffy. In December 1944, Hitler launched a surprise offensive into Belgium that caught the Americans completely by surprise. His plan was to divide the American, British and French forces, retake the port of Antwerp, and force the Allies to sign a favourable treaty. He could then focus his attention on halting the Soviet advance from the east. But the Americans had other ideas. However, don’t expect a faithful recreation of

The metamap that Duffy refers to allows the player controlling the US forces to decide exactly where to stand and fight during the campaign. Subsequently, the story is driven entirely by the user. “For the first time in a Company of Heroes campaign, players get to choose which company they use for any given mission,” says Duffy. “We realised as we were developing the campaign that a linear narrative wouldn’t work across our metamap, as there are just far too many variables, so we developed ‘commanders’ for each of the companies in the game. These characters have a story arc that the players can uncover through their play – they learn more about the commanders, what makes them tick, and how they change as the player’s campaign unfolds. “Each commander has more than 80 possible response outcomes to every mission the player chooses – if the player fails a late mission and loses a lot of soldiers, the commander’s response

the battle. Some of the historical facts form part of the game, but most of Ardennes Assault will be decided by you. “We wanted to make sure the beginning and ending of the battle were true to history, and those bookend the middle of the campaign where player choice is the critical component of the metamap,” says Duffy. And that’s the mantra for Ardennes Assault : Player choice.

is tailored to those outcomes. It’s a great way to give a well-written and beautifully narrated recap on the battle the player just fought. In linear campaigns the story is generally delivered regardless of

how effective the player was during the previous battle, and we wanted to try something dramatically different for Ardennes Assault .”

• Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault is out now

ask for a German campaign and we’ve said that if there’s enough interest, we’ll look at something.”

DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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