Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
| Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Relic Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Designer(s) | Josh Mosqueira |
| Series | Company of Heroes |
| Engine | Essence Engine |
| Platform(s) | Windows XP, Windows Vista |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts (abbr. CoH:OF or simply Opposing Fronts) is the stand alone expansion pack to Company of Heroes, a RTS game for the PC announced on 5 April, 2007. Opposing Fronts was developed by Canadian-based RTS developer Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. The game was released on the 24 September 2007 in the US and on the 28 September in Europe.
Gameplay Features
Dynamic Environmental Effects System
The expansion implements a Dynamic Weather Effects system, which consists primarily of real time weather effects and day-to-night time transitions. In addition to these enhancements, certain birds sing at various times of the day and during specific weather patterns. Although Relic had initially indicated otherwise, the Dynamic Weather Effects system has no tactical impact on the battlefield.[1]
New Single-Player Campaigns
Opposing Fronts introduces two new single player campaigns. They are campaigns from the British perspective and the German perspective respectively. The British campaign is based on the Liberation of Caen. It features nine missions focusing on the attack by British and Canadian forces from Sword, Gold & Juno beaches to the city of Caen. The German Panzer Elite's campaign is based on the driving back of Allied forces during Operation Market Garden. It features eight playable missions following a Panzer Elite Kampfgruppe in occupied Netherlands that is bracing itself against the largest airborne invasion in history (Operation Market Garden).
CoH with CoH:OF compatibility
Company of Heroes players are able to play against Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts users. As such, those who own both games can pit either the Americans or the British against the Wehrmacht or the Panzer Elite, choosing to play as any of these. Those who purchase Opposing Fronts without owning the original Company of Heroes, can only command the British and Panzer Elite armies.
Factions
The British are the new Allied army in the game, and they are more defensive than the Americans. Their main emphasis is on safety, so a greater number of defences can be built, such as trenches and anti-tank emplacements. These emplacements have an associated population and manpower cost to prevent the map being overrun with defences. Their standard unit, the Infantry Section, have stances that alters their speed and reactions. The British mainly rely on officers, such as the Captain, Lieutenant and the Cromwell Command Tank, to improve effectiveness. British bases can also be redeployed, but at the cost of freezing resource income. Veterancy for the British is also unique, where only the officers can become veterans. As they gain rank, they gain new abilities and benefits for their surrounding soldiers. Infantry units can become more mobile if mounted in the Bren Gun Carrier , whilst engineers get support from the fast moving Stuart tank early in the game.
The command trees for the British are based on famous regiments. These are:
- Royal Canadian Artillery: this heavy-artillery based regiment allows the player to use creeping barrage, counter-battery fire, overwatch, and allows the player to deploy Mobile Artillery Platforms and supercharge artillery shots. There is also an error with the use of mobile artillery M7 Priest instead of using the Canadian made self proppelled artillery Sexton suited for British and Canadian troops.
- Royal Commandos: players who choose this regiment can deploy commandos, who are adept at harassing enemy infantry, and the light Tetrarch tank via a Hamilcar Glider. As long as the glider remains on the field, it is capable of producing specific units (depending on which glider was called in), as well as in certain cases reinforcing nearby units. Other abilities include having the ability to trace enemy troop movements, intercept Axis messages, and plant decoy flares. This regiment is based on the Parachute Regiment, which saw action during the Normandy campaign and Operation Market Garden. The unit in the British campaign is based from the 6th Airborne Division.
- Royal Engineers: this regiment gives players access to three variations of the Churchill Tank (MkIV, AVRE and Crocodile), improves entrenchments and the mobile H.Q, and allows tanks to entrench themselves.
The Panzer Elite draws its inspiration from the mish-mash of German units that opposed Operation Market Garden, including the 2nd SS Panzer Corps and Luftwaffe paratroopers. The single player campaign for this faction focuses on this battle. The German Panzer Elite division named Kampfgruppe Lehr is based on Panzer Lehr Division and the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen,although in the campaign its more based on the latter. Kampfgruppe (German military term) refers to an ad-hoc combined arms formation, usually employing a combination of tanks, infantry, anti-tank weapons and artillery components. Such a formation is generally organised for a particular task or operation explaining why Kampfgruppe Lehr is thus named in the game and the resulting army's focus on vehicles units supplemented by infantry and artillery.
The Panzer Elite mainly focuses on speed and vehicles. They cannot build static defenses; but instead they use halftracks to hold territory and increase resource income. Unlike other players' halftracks, Panzergrenadiers (the standard Panzer Elite infantry) can fire heavy weapons, such as Panzerschrecks, StG44 automatic rifles, and mortars, from inside the vehicle. However, since the Panzer Elite halftrack doesn't have a closed top, the infantry inside are vulnerable to enemy fire. Panzergrenadiers are also unique for being able to upgrade to use Gewehr 43 semi-automatic rifles, StG 44 assualt rifles, or Panzershreck anti-tank weapons. Since there are no form of engineers in the Panzer Elite, infantry squads are capable of repairing vehicles.
Another unique feature to the Panzer Elite is the fact that they can recover destroyed axis vehicles and tanks using the Bergetiger, provided the wreck of the vehicle had not been completely destroyed. A recovered vehicle that belonged to an ally will be returned to under their control, not the recovering player.
The three doctrines for the Panzer Elite are:
- Scorched earth: Allows the player to construct environmental defenses (ie, blocking a road, or sector artillery). Players can also completely disable or booby trap strategic points and use the Hummel Mobile Artillery Platform. Players can also booby trap buildings.
- Luftwaffe: Allows the player to deploy Wirbelwind flakpanzers, Henschel Hs 129 and Fallschirmjäger. Luftwaffe Ground Forces can also be used to make Flakvierlings and FlaK 88s, and areas can blanketed with Butterfly Bombs.
- Tank Hunters: Allows the player to deploy the Jagdpanther and Hetzer tank destroyers, as well as improve infantry's ability to detect and combat enemy tanks. Panzergrenadiers also gain access to Tellermines and squads are issued a double number of Panzerschrecks.
British 2nd Army Campaign: Liberation of Caen
D-Day +1
The campaign starts off as 3rd Battalion, aka, Boudica's Boys, as they advance along a road towards the town of Authie. However, they are ambushed by the German II SS Panzer Korps. The Battalion commanders, Major Blackmore and Captain Cutting, order the Battalion to pull back. After taking out the attacking force, the Battalion bombards the town, taking it after dealing with the remaining German forces.
British forces are remobilizing to take Caen, after the failed D-Day attack. 3rd Battalion and the Royal Scottish Engineers Regiment are tasked with taking the bridges over the Odon and taking Hill 112. Under the cover of a creeping barrage, they take the hill, and the Royal Scots stay behind to fortify.
The airfield at Carpiquet was the next objective of 3rd Battalion. Under the veil of night, a Royal Commandos regiment lands outside the airfield while Royal Canadian Rifles assault with light tanks and infantry, as it is bombarded by the Royal Scots Engineers. The commandos destroy German H.Q s in the area, and move to secure the German defenses surrounding the airfield. However, it is discovered that the airfield is still operational. The next morning, the Germans launch an attack on the Canadians, but fail. The Canadians push to the airfield, and secure it after clearing the hangers. As Cutting radios the Royal Scots, he and Major Blackmore find that Hill 112 is under attack.
German forces attempt to take Hill 112 from the Royal Scots. At night, they attack with heavy Panzers and Stormtroopers, trying to overwhelm the Regiment. With armour support from 3rd Battalion, the Scots retain control of the hill.
3rd Battalion, along with C-Coy company, enter the city after it had been carpet bombed the night before. Instead of destroying the German forces, it has only caused them to dig in deeper. Boudica's Boys push inwards and secure part of Caen, believing that the Germans will have retreated.
However, a recon force shows that the Germans are still in the city, and have placed mines, snipers and machine guns everywhere. The Battalion, along with the Royal Scots, move in and take the Caen cathedral, as well as three other points.
That night, the Battalion digs in, and defends against a German counter-attack by heavy Panzers and elite infantry.
It should be noted that like the previous mission if a certain squad die a soldier will yell that Corporal Degnan is dead, Degnan being an unseen character that various lieutenants seem to mention (esp. in Mission 2)
With Caen in Allied hands, 3rd Battalion mobilise south of Caen. They arrive at Bourgebus with B-Coy Company, and after destroying Flak 88s looking over their line of advance, they destroy the remnants of the II SS Panzer Korps. 3rd Battalion, having done the British Army a great favour, are allowed to rest as 2nd Battalion continues the advance.
The campaign ends with the caption that after the war, Major Blackmore retired, and died in 1983.
- The opening cinematic for this level parallels a scene from the WW2 film Saving Private Ryan, where you can see an infantry squad walking through the countryside with a thunderstorm occurring in the background.*
Panzer Elite Campaign: Operation Market Garden
Wolfheze
Kampfgruppe Lehr, are training in Wolfheze, only to be interrupted as Allied paratroopers descend from the skies. The Kampfgruppe use whatever men and forces they have to repel the invasion. After the attack, the Kampfgruppe commanders Major General Voss, and German brothers Aldrich and Wolfgang Berger, find plans for the entire operation in a British glider.
Oosterbeek
As part of the 'Market' phase, the British 1st Airborne Division attempts to capture bridges across the Rhine in Oosterbeek and Arnhem. Kampfgruppe Lehr is tasked with intercepting the British Paratroopers before they reach Arnhem, by destroying the bridge at Oosterbeek and defending against an Allied attack.
Hell's Highway
Critical to Operation Market Garden, the British 30th Corps advance along Highway 69, known as 'Hell's Highway', to relieve the paratroopers. Kampfgruppe Lehr is mobilized near Valkenswaard, and their objective is to occupy the town and delay 30th Corps.
Cleaning up
After successfully thwarting the British 30th Corps at Valkenswaard and at Best, Kampfgruppe Lehr needs to remove all enemy forces inside the Netherlands. First, they move to secure Arnhem and recapture the bridge, the last bridge that the Allies need in order to start pouring into Germany. After that is successfully completed, the Kampfgruppe recaptures Valkenswaard from the British 30th Corps, and finally remove the last paratroopers from Oosterbeek in the final mission of the campaign. Of the two brothers, Aldrich dies in the battle, determined by how the mission is played. Aldrich is placed with a random infantry squad and if that squad dies, a soldier will tell the player that Aldrich has been killed. The epilogue reveals that Wolfgang lives on in the repaired Berger family estate until his death in 1989 and is buried in the family graveyard.
Interplayability
Opposing Fronts is not a classical expansion in that it does not actually require the original game. As a stand-alone game, it allows access to the original game's assets in multiplayer mode. This allows players of the original game to play with those who have Opposing Fronts, even if the both parties do not have the expansion. However, Opposing Fronts players also have the option to play with only those who own the expansion. This stand-alone setup is similar to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, another Relic title.
Opposing Fronts requires an online account and internet connection in order to play multiplayer games. At this time this expansion pack also needs multiple patches of large file sizes before you play. This makes the game difficult for people who either have slow internet connection or no internet connection at all.
References
- Gamespot Staff "Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts Q&A - Breaking Down the New Factions and Features", Gamespot AU, May 24 2007. Accessed October 09 2007