SEGA has announced that the popular World War II Strategy RTS Company of Heroes is coming to the Nintendo Switch. Feral Interactive is handling the port which will be officially named Company of Heroes Collection. Unfortunately, the collection does not include Company of Heroes 2 or Company of Heroes 3, but instead will feature the original CoH and both of its expansions; Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor. While no specific release d??ate was provided, the release did confirm a release for this Autumn.

The collection is in development by Feral Interactive?, a studio w?ell known for its ability to port titles to other platforms. The reveal trailer shows off what the UI will look like—a very important part of a console RTS:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxDYuR0dav8

A World War II RTS Classic

The original Company of Heroes was released back in 2006 on PC ??and quickly became a staple RTS. The original redefined RTS with a completely destructible environment. While using buildings and terrain to their advantage, players could turn the tides of war making each battle unique.

With the inclusion of the two expansions, the Company of Heroes Collection will feature epic campaigns through the eyes of both Allied and Axis forces. Players can relive historic moments from World War II over 41 missions including D-Day and the Battl??e of Normandy.

Unfortunately, the collection will be single-player only at lau??nch, with the multiplayer functionality planned ??for a post-release update.

CoH is a lot of fun, and pretty much a must-play for RTS fans. However, launching without multiplayer feels like a weird move. I personally prefer to play RTS titles on PC over console, but the added on-the-go potential of the Switch is a nice touch. Also, it looks like they are trying to make ?a custom intuitive control scheme for Switch which can essentially make a break an RTS on the console.

Company of Heroes Collection will be released on Nintendo Switch in Autumn.

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Strategy series to return to PC this fall

As the old saying goes "If you want war, prepare to war with the war," and warfaring games should certainly start preparing, as publisher Sega and developer Relic Entertainment have announced that the new sequel Company of Heroes 3 will be s?ounding the order to battle on PC on November 17, 2022.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeiqt_E0KjU

This third mainline entry in the Company of Heroes series will offer up four playable factions and two sing?le-player experiences, set against the backdrop of World War battles waged in Italy and North Africa. The Italian Dynamic Campaign will feature dynamic, choice-based, open-ended gameplay, while the North African Operation �spotlit in the new trailer above �will feature a more traditional, narratively driven experience, featuring new mechanics and a wide variety of additional units.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQLmf4HSoKQ

If you fancy diving into the action before the fall, then head on over to the official Company of Heroes website and register for the "CoH-Development" community feedback program. Once signed up, then you will be afforded access to an Alpha build of Company of Heroes 3, complete with a mission from the new North African campaign. Be sure to move fast, as the new North Afric??an trial will only be made available until July 19. Further communi?ty projects are planned between now and launch day.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeiqt_E0KjU

Company of Heroes 3 will launch November 17 on PC (via Steam).

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Sign up now for some strategic skirmish action

If you fancy pitting your militaristic mind against some of your fellow video game fans, then Relic might have just the ticket for your Tuesday evening �the developer is opening its doors on a public "pre-alpha" trial build of its upcoming WWII strategy title Company of Heroes 3, allowing fans to take a look at the action many months ahead of the sequel's lau??nch.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0nWPG_cFqY

Kicking off today and running for one week only, the Company of Heroes 3 pre-alpha will offer up four maps and a selection of modes, including Skirmish, co-op vs. A.I., and Competitive PvP. You don't even have to have pre-ordered the new game, simply register an account right here, download the game client on Steam, and once the servers go live, (about ?the same time as this article is published), you can enjoy seven whole days of tactical combat and effective military planning... or just find your platoon face-down in the mud. Pick your moves carefully. It's all in the planning.

It should be noted that there is still a helluva way to go before Company of Heroes 3 finally unleashes its tactical warfare on the world. Relic is currently offering a release window of late 2022, meaning that this ??multiplayer test is an early look at the game in the truest sen??se of the phrase. No doubt the developer will be running further tests as 2022 progresses, fine-tuning the sequel's engine, balance, and stability ahead of the anticipated sequel's eventual launch.

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$12.99

Company of Heroes 2 is a quasi-old game at t??his point, but Sega isn't done with it quite yet. On September 3, it will be getting a "British Forces pack,"? which will be sold for $12.99. It includes 15 new units, six commanders, and eight multiplayer maps.

The setting? Historic battlefield locations throughout?? Europe near the end of World War II. Evidently a "major" upgrade is coming at this time as well, which will re-balance the game as well as provide some graphical enhancements.

When it drops, it will be available as a standalone package. I'm tempted, as I never really got into Company of Heroes 2 proper. Starter later today (10AM PST) you can pre-order it on Steam for a 10% discount, or a 20% discount if you own "any" Company of Heroes game.

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Featuring the likes of Alpha Protocol, Typing of the Dead, and Binary Domain

Over the next seven days you'll be able to save on a wide array of Sega-published PC games in a Humble Weekly Sale. A nice mix of new and old titles, th??e deal is broken down into three tiers.

You can name your price for a bundle containing Alpha Protocol, Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, Company of Heroes, and Rome: Total War. The next step up, reachable by paying at least $6, adds The Typing of the Dead: Overkill, Renegade Ops, Medieval II: Total War, and 10 Sega Genesis titles, including Vectorman, Comix Zone, and Shinobi III.

Lastly, at $15, you'll receive everything above and Total War: Shogun 2. The games speak for themselves here, so I'll just say that I highly recommend go?ing for at least the secon??d tier.

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More of the good stuff

Victory at Stalingrad is paid DLC that's a part of the larger Turning Point update, which also includes new free multiplayer maps, the World Builder tools, four free commanders, and four premium commanders. The free stuff is great, so even if you don't want to buy more DLC for Company of Heroes 2, you will still find something new if you jump ba??ck int?o the game.

I really enjoyed the base game ??q??uite a bit, and it has added a lot of content since its release. It's also been patched up, balanced, and polished even further. Finally, the new content is here, and I can't wait to fail miserably at all of it.

Company of Heroes 2: Victory at Stalingrad (PC)
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Publisher: SEGA Entertainment
Release Date: November 12, 2013
MSRP: $9.99

Th?e first bit of the DLC, the Tatsinskaya Raid, is a solo challenge set in the winter with a focus on tank combat. You'll take control of a Russian tank corp, and you can't build any new units. Tanks can heal themselves, but you'll need resources which are earned by destroying planes on an airfield. It's a tough little map, requiring yo??u to play it smart if you want to get through. I constantly retreated and repaired my tanks while trying to lure the enemy out of their stronger groups behind cover.

Bridge Defense is the other solo challenge in the DLC, and the name sums it up ac?curately. You have a small gang of partisan fighters that you'll use to defend a bridge against seven waves of German at?tackers. You start out without any good weapons, but your soldiers can forage around and find some heavy firepower.

Tatsinskaya Raid and Bridge Defense are good missions, and their focus on small corps brings out what I love best in Company of Heroes 2: micromanaging a few units to take on a larger enemy force. While the huge battles are epic for sure, the smaller ones like these are so much more enjoyable to me. This is mainly due to the fact that I tend to get attached to the units, and thus move slower and more methodic??ally. Victory is? always sweeter, and defeats are bitter.

There are also three AI battles: Winter Storm, Stalingrad Resistance, and Stalingrad Encirclement. These are all pretty standard fare for the game, and play out just like any other battle, but with new maps. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with these battles, I didn't really see any?thing special in them.

The co-op scenario, Kalach Pincer, is interesting. It's almost a standard match against an AI opponent, but the capture points keep moving around the map. The AI is very po?werful, and has troops spawn off the map so there is no way you can crush them completely. You and your friend will be holding out on a point, and then the objective will change forcing you to quickly run across the battlefield before the enemy gets there. It's hectic, and I had a lot of fun with it.

It will take you about three to six hours to play through all of the content once, and it will probably take you a few tries to complete some of the challenges. Each battle also has quite a bit of replay value -- you could easily add another 20 to 30 hours of life to Company of Heroes 2 with this DLC. No matter how you slice it, that's?? worth the price tag.

I like Victory at Stalingrad, but it isn't essential for every player. The new multiplayer maps are already available for fre?e, so this is meant more for the players who want to really get as much as they can out of the game. If you are a hardcore player, then you should definitely get this, but if you just casually play multiplayer or co-op with friends on occasion then you'll be fine skipping it.

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Custom maps are the best maps

Company of Heroes 2 will be getting a free content update, that will include the awaited World Builder that will ?let players create their own multiplayer maps. The update will ??also add two new multiplayer maps and four new commanders, two for each faction.

New maps from the developers are always great, but I am really looking forward to seeing what the community comes up with once they get their hands on the World Builder. Modders can make some crazy stuff,?? and I can't wait to see what shenanigans they can c?reate with these new tools.

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Wring 'em out

THQ is totally bankrupt, but Sega is still suing them for $941,710.93, to be exact. That is money from Steam pre-orders of Company of Heroes 2. 

If you're curious, these Delaware court documents lay it all out. Almost 21,000 pre-orders for this RTS game were purchased via Steam. After Valve took their cut, there was about $1 million left over. Now Sega, as owners of developer Relic Entertainment, are filing ??a claim to get their money.

As you know, THQ has nothing. Sega is trying to at ??least get o??n the list of people owed money.

Sega sues bankrupt THQ [Eurogamer]

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Winter is here

Company of Heroes 2 comes off strong with its new campaign, and it packs an impressive amount of extra features. Standing on its own, it is an impressive real-time strategy game, but there are people who want to know what makes this better than the beloved original Company of Heroes. The simple answer to that quest??ion is that ?it's more of what they love.

The sequel brings a new campaign, new multiplayer maps a??nd units, new co-op modes, more explosions, more units on the field, and deathly winter combat, all presented with the gameplay that ??made the first such a hit. It stays true to its roots while bringing in enough new, compelling content to make it worthwhile.

Company of Heroes 2 (PC)
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Publisher: SEGA
Released: June 25, 2013
MSRP: $59.99
Rig: AMD Athlon 7850 2.80 GHz, with 4GB of RAM, GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU

The sequel to one of the best strategy titles out there, Company of Heroes 2 lives up to its predecessor. The game focuse??s on the Eastern front of World War II, and during the campaign the player takes on the role of the Russians. It's a slow-paced RTS, with a big emphasis placed on unit placeme??nt and having troops stay behind cover if they want to survive.

Each unit is a squad of troops, rather than just an individual. The strength of the squa??d is based on how many soldiers are alive. This system lets their be hundreds of soldiers in the game, but the player only has to focus on a dozen squads or so. Squads can be refilled with new men at headquarters, or conscript troops can be assigned to? fill in missing ranks. At a given time a player will control anywhere from five to twenty squads, which doesn't seem like it would be that hard to do, but it can be hectic to keep everyone moving and alive.

The utterly fantastic campaign is among the best I have played in a strategy game. Missions are varied enough that different tactics have to be used to win each one. There are some defense missions that are so hectic I had to constantly readjust my troops to face new attacks coming from all sides. One mission takes place ?in the snow, and you have to prevent your troops from freezing to death by moving close to fires, or keeping them inside.

Another one of my favor?ites involved hunting down and destroying a Tiger tank, which I ultimately accomplished by luring it into a series of mines I placed as a trap. There are 14 missions in the campaign, and each one takes between 20-60 minutes to complete depending on the difficulty and how terrible you are at playing.

All of the new mechanics fit well with the Eastern Front setting. Lots of soldiers will die, and CoH2 does a brilliant job of making it expensive to lose troops. Conscript troops can be c??heaply deployed quickly, but these soldiers are ill-equipped to survive for long. They are best used to replenish the ranks of more valuable units, and then sent off to the front lines. As units are built they will often shout out, "Need a suicide squad?" Taking over an enemy territory will certainly require you to sacrifice a lot of men, and sometimes you'll have to do? it knowing you won't be able to replace them easily.

I was always faced with some form of a choice with each unit. "Do I have them run in and face certain death, or do I hold back and wait for a better opportunity?" Better opportunities don't always come, and sometimes the only way to win the battle is to lose?? a fight. Wounding a tank is ultimately more valuable than a squad of infantry. The cold weather adds to this dilemma of having to choose to lose expensive units, since having them out too long can cause them to freeze to death. Even if they survive a fight, they can and often will die in the cold soon after. All of these calculated decisions are heavy to deal wit?h, and the game's atmosphere and mechanics make sending every squad to the front lines a hard choice.

Alongside the campaign, there is the "Theater of War" mode which includes a series of co-op and single-player missions and scenarios. This mode is meant to provide more battles along the Eastern front that don't tie in directly to the campaign. While right now a?ll of the battles focus on the year 1941, Relic has ?stated that it plans on adding more content later.

The scenarios are tightly-focused missions revolving around one aspect of the war that year, and they are some of my favorite missions in the game. Company of Heroes 2 shines the brightest for me when I have three squads and keeping them alive is insanely hard. The co-op missions are large-scale battles that pit players against a c??omputer opponent; the rest are simply single-player missions that use the multiplayer maps an??d have a computer opponent.

There is a competitive multiplayer, of course. It's what gave the first game such a long life, and it's just as solid in the sequel. It plays out the same as in the first game, either with players fighting over control points or simply trying to demolish each other. This time around there are all new maps and units, which is enough to make me want to play the same style of game. If you are a classic fan of the series and you're only interested in the multi-player, it's hard to say if you'll find enough here invest in this if you already played the first. It's more of change than the Call of Duty series has every year, an?d people still play that like crazy.

No matter what your style of play is, there's a ridiculous amount of achievement, unlocks, and progression to keep you in the game. There are 366 Steam achiev?ements, which is just absurd, but if you play often it's nice to know there will always be something you haven't done yet. Your in-game profile, which is tied directly to Steam, will gain levels and as you level up you'll be able to customize your ??army with different units, abilities, and even custom skins.

Company of Heroes 2 brings the classic gameplay of the original game?? into the modern era. It has all of the familiar mechanics while embracing new technology to make everything look and respond better. The physics are very realistic, and just about everything can be destroyed. One mission had me defending a point from oncoming Germans, and I kept getting flanked by them crossing a bridge. On my third attempt I had the crazy idea, "What if I blew up the bridge?" and I sent over a team of engineers to rig it?? with explosives. The first round of Nazis was met with a surprise, and the bridge was no longer a problem.

All of the cover can be destroyed if the other guy has a big enough gun. Hiding behind a fence might be great for stopping bullets, but tank is going to destroy the wall and everyone behind it. Standing on ice is a really bad idea, since if enough weight is applied, it will break. As things get destroyed, soldiers can take cover in holes in the ground or behind rubble, broken tanks, and even corpses. After a long match the middle ground will often be demolished, filled with the effects of war. This evolving battlefield makes Company of Heroes 2 stand out from other strategy games, and I h??ave a feeling it will make any other game without this level of physics fee??l fake.

Company of Heroes 2 is an excellent real-time strategy game. The campaign is challenging, varied, and true to the setting of the war. The atmosphe?re is intense and filled with bass-rumbling sounds, and an orchestral score that provides the perfect background. It's visually impressive, yet manages to run at a smooth frame rate. All of the matchmakin?g and multiplayer systems are tied into Steam, so you don't have to log in twice to play the game; everything runs flawlessly.

I was worried that the campaign would be weak and everything would be focused on the multiplayer, but I was happy to be proven wrong. The campaign tur??ned out to be my favorite part, and with the added content from the Theater of War mode, there is a lot of game even if you don't want to engage other players. The amount of con??tent is generous, going way beyond the normal six-hour single-player campaign and multiplayer formula that most games use today.

I could ramble off dozens of words of praise, but the simplest way to summarize my experience is to say that I stayed up playing until 4:00am without realizing how late it was, either because I was yelling at the Germans for killing my troops or high-fiving the air when I took out a tank. It's one of those games that can suck you in for hours and keep you constantly engaged. Company of Heroes 2 is shining example of what an RTS game should be: a? mix of classic mechanics with new features and technology.

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Plus Ride to Hell, Deadpool, Dark, and more

This week sees the return of Relic's superb World War 2 strategy series, Company of Heroes, with the bloody confl?i??ct in the Eastern Front being presented in a brand new engine. Though it adds little more than extreme weather and a new, explosive campaign to the tried and tested formula, it's really rather splendid.

On top of this, the Biker action game, Ride to Hell: Retribution finally drops, after a bit of a delay; the merc with the mouth, Deadpool, gets his very own game; Dark leaps out of the shadows with a smattering of stealth and vampire action; and that really rather awful looking Spartacus Legends game is a thing.

Anything tempting you this week?

Xbox 360: Ride to Hell: Retribution, Deadpool, Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep

PS3: Ride to Hell: Retribution, Deadpool, Hotline Miami, Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, Best of PlayStation Network, Vol. 1

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Quality, not quantity

Sega's bringing five announced titles to E3 2013 and the big one is undoubtedly Sonic Lost World. It's especially weird for me to say that having played few if any modern Sonic titles outside of the wonderful All-Stars Racing Transformed, which probably shouldn't even count. ??But Tony is into?? it, so that's a good enough sign for me.

E3 will also be a chance to hear more about the revamped Castle of Illusion that'll -- fingers crossed! -- live up to expectations. For strategy players, Sega intends to show off more from the long-awaited Total War: Rome II and Company of Heroes 2.

And then there's The Cave, which had me confused until I noticed that this is the upcoming mobile version of the Ron Gilbert/Double Fine adventur??e title. Nice little lineu??p!

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This red star shines pretty bright with all of its goodies

Good news for fans of the Company of Heroes 2 ?series as now you have a great reason to pick up the physical copy in June. Along with a snazzy steelbook, you also get a Czar's wealth of extra content.

Right off the bat, players will receive 24 vehicle skins to customize their forces, as well as a special collector's edition faceplate. Players will also receive the Commander Pass, which will give them access to five new multiplayer commanders, along with the Theatre of War missions pack t??hat will feature two new commanders for each faction. Both of these content packs will become available after the game's release.?? 

The cherry on top of this sundae of real-time warfare is the inclusion of the original Company of Heroes, along with the Tales of Valor and Opposing Fronts expansion packs. Not a bad little bundle, and as mentioned before, you also get a fantastic Russian commander staring you down and scrutinizing your every ?tactical move.

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You'll need your CD-Key to make the switch

Company of Heroes' current online servers will shut down May 7 in favor of replacement Steamworks servers, Relic Entertainment announced on the game's official forums. 

Relic offered instructions on?? how to transfer your game to the new Steamworks version, whi??ch ultimately requires you to need your copy's CD-Key in order to register it on the client. If you don't have that key, Relic said they will be releasing a tool later in April that will "allow you to retrieve that from your account."

The Steam version of Company of Heroes is available now, and until May 7 you will?? have the option of playing either that ve??rsion or the original Quazal-hosted game.

How to swit?ch ??to the new Steamworks Company of Heroes [Official Forums via PC Gamer]

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Second beta phase will be more inclusive

It's nice to hear that Relic Entertainment is still plugging away at development on Company of Heroes 2. Leading up to the full June 25 release, the studio will soon hit the obligatory "closed beta" milestone. Open first on April 2 to those who pre-ordered CoH 2, the beta will eventually encompass "a wider audience" of play??ers.

This'll be accessible on Steam and includes six playable maps; 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 competitive multiplayer; and the option to play with an AI teammate should you not want to go it alone. I speak from experience when I say maybe at first, that's not such a bad idea. Additionally, the beta allows the first 40 levels of game progression to be unlocked and customizable loadouts.

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From wrestlers to panda-suit-wearing sociopaths

When assessing a publisher's impact on the industry, we tend to focus on the highs rather than consistency. THQ was anything but consistent, putting out Nintendo DS shovelware, rushed licensed games, and taking part in one of the absolute worst games of all time with Mohawk & Headphone Jack. And yet, THQ occupies a warm place in our hearts. Those t?hree letters represent some of the best times we had with games of the past decade, ??bringing unknown studios like Volition and Relic into the limelight.

Once we scraped off all the Bratz games and pet s??ims, we had a hard time determining THQ's top ten bes??t.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I loves me strategy games. I love StarCraft, Rise of Nations, Sins of a Solar Empire, Civilization -- you name it. Company of Heroes was probably the first one that got me really into WWII ?from a strategy perspective. It is also one of the first games that took advantage of advanced graphics -- namely, destructible environments -- that have a huge effect on gameplay. As tank shells create craters, for example, your infant??ry can use the modified terrain as cover. Subtle details like that keep gameplay fun and dynamic and also provide a refreshing twist on the classic RTS. - Daniel Starkey

[Take a look back at our previou??s Company of Heroes coverage.]

Licensed games, as a general rule, tend to be rather uninspired affairs. Relic Entertainment's acclaimed Warhammer 40,000 titles fly in the face of that trend. Space Marine and the Dawn of War series are genuinely entertaining titles that pay homage to Games Workshop's license rather than abuse it. Relic has delivered quality experiences time and again, developing games capable of standing on their own merits while still providing ample amounts? of fan service for the already initiated. As someone who has spent more than a fair share of hours painting miniatures and rolling dice, it's clear Relic has a great deal of reverence for the source material. Captain Titus' battle with Ork and Ch??aos forces on Forge World Graia brought that universe to life for me. I wish Relic the best and hope that their new overlords at Sega allow them to keep making these games for a long, long time. - Kyle MacGregor

[Take a look back at our Warhammer 40,000: Space M??arine?? review.]

While the game was initially buggy, a heroic modding community has managed to make S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl into something worth celebrating; despite its dreary setting and almost constant peril, the Zone was a place that oozed life. It is a brave game both mechanically and tonally, considering no FPS has come close to what S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl attempts is slightly sad; the singular highpoint of the whole Call of Duty?? franchise is when the series visits Pripyat?? in the irradiated zone. - Alasdair Duncan

[?Take a look back at our S.T.A.L.K.E.R. coverage.]

It feels wrong to love Saints Row 2, but it feels even worse not to. The presentation lacks polish, the writing is tasteless, the focus is aimless ... but it's so fun!  Where Saints Row made a marked improvement on the GTA series' controls, Saints Row 2 makes a remarkable improvement on almost every other level. GTAIV offered flawless presentation but boring combat; Saints Row 2 is just the opposite. It's the sandbox game I've always wanted, where nothing matters but the player having fun. Want to surf on a car for no reason?  Hell ya!  Want to ride golf carts through a mall while doing a drive-by?  YES! Even the music is awesome in this game. GTA is great but nothing compares to firing infinite rockets at cop cars while driving to Hum's "Stars". If only I could merge Saints Row 2's gameplay with GTA4's presentation and story, I'd have the greatest game ever. For now, I'll take Saints Row 2 over GTAIV.  After all, I can watch The Wire if? I want inner city drama.  - Allistair Pinsof

[Take a look back at the only Saints Row 2 video that matters on the inter?net.]

Lock's Quest is one of the most unique games released on the Nintendo DS. It spices up tower defense with direct character control and RPG elements.  Long before Iron Brigade and Starhawk, Lock's Quest had players building walls and constructing turrets to later fight among them. The ability to directly control Lock on the battlefield may seem trivial at first, but it adds an entirely different prioritization element to tower defense, where Lock's location, health, and special abilities all factor into the decision making process.  As a tower defense game, it really shines in that it's not unforgiving in its difficulty, but the later levels really feel like they push you to your limits. While it's satisfying to have a great base built that easily repels the hordes of robots, it doesn't get much better than feeling all is lost only to scrape by with a well timed electrical explosion that takes out the last of the advancing enemies. Lock's Quest is pure fun, whether yo??u are a?? fan of tower defense or not. - Darren Nakamura

[Take a look back at our Lock's Quest review.]

50 Cent: Bulletproof was an awful waste of time. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, on the other hand, stands as the greatest guilty pleasure for any person who was brave enough to try it back in 2009. 50 Cent and G-Unit are playing a venue somewhere in the Middle East where his payment is in the form of a diamond skull, because why the hell not? As luck would have it, that s??kull is stolen and 50 Cent goes on a bullet hose rampage, destroying the country and yelling "you fucked up!" at everyone until he? finds it. Because no one takes Fiddy's skull. No one. - Brett Zeidler

[Take a look back at our 50 Cent: ??Blood on the Sand review.]

Red Faction: Guerrilla is initially interesting for its building destruction mechanics. It's quite a hoot to blow up a building's support beams and watch it tumble?? down into pieces on top of anyone around it. I might die in the process, but it hardly matters since I'll just get a new guy and have at it again.

That's when it hit me: these thoughts and ideas have a lot, perhaps too much, in common with those of terrorists. After all, the goal is to drive these uninvited invaders off of the planet, since they're only there for economic reasons. Guerrilla explores terrorism in ??an almost uncomfor?table way, by executing it perfectly. Throwing away a life in an explosive raid is okay to do within the game, though it does make me a bit uncomfortable. And I love that. - Patrick Hancock

[Take a look back at our Red Faction: Gu??errilla review?.]

Very few games have warmed my heart like Costume Quest. There's just something about it. Although many people were quick to point out it was a very basic RPG experience, for a downloadable title it was perfect. Subtle changes to RPG tropes, like candy as currency and trick-or-treating as quests, helped showcase that the game wasn't merely a homage, but a labor of love. Combat has elements reminiscent of Super Mario RPG and? exploring the whimsical world never felt like a chore. Double Fine did a great job recapturing the spirit of every child's favorite eve?ning, and THQ did the right thing by publishing it. - Chris Carter

[Take a look back at our Costume Quest review.]

Until the arrival of Darksiders 2, drawing comparisons to Zelda was used interchangeably as a slight and compliment. Whether shamelessly cribbing from God of War, Portal, and Panzer Dragoon made the game stronger or not was also a point of contention. Never before had a game attempted such blatant copying of contemporary, popular games. Though some resisted Darksiders -- and still do -- for me, it showed that there is no shame in copying others when quality and holistic design come before tribute. The variety of level design comes from copying other titles, but Vigil Games is what made all the disparate parts come together in a game that continues to surprise until its end. When stripped away from its idols, you get Darksiders 2, the equivalent of a dried-out sponge. - Allistair Pinsof

[Take a look back at our Darksiders review.]

Some people may say that its predecessor, Saints Row 2, was a funnier and better game. These people are afraid of change. The Third is the full realization of what the serie??s had been working towards. It is utterly ridiculous and doesn't pretend to be anything but. By doing this, the actions of the player outside of cutscenes fall in line with the character's actions within them, unlike a certain other company's open world games.

Th??e //deckers.die mission in particular is what ??skyrockets this game above any other. In a single mission you become a toilet, a sex doll, use the Mega Buster, participate in a text adventure, and fight a boss that simulates lag. I truly hope that when future generations talk about the best levels in video games, deckers.die is sitting alongside the classics. - Patrick Hancock

[Take a look back at our Saints Row: The Th?ird Dildo Baseball Bat review.]

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Fight well, comrades

Dynamic weather hazards, TrueSight, and now a progressive leveling system are the three pillars Relic is building Company of Heroes 2 on.

While we've talked at length about these first two elements, the leveling system is what caught my eye the most on this third go around, taking more than a few cues from the Call of Duty series.

Company of Heroes 2 (PC)
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Publisher: THQ
Release: TBA 2013

One thing Hamza and Jordan didn't get to see was a build of the game running on DirectX 11. In our past previews, Company of Heroes 2 looked nice in?? DX9, but DX11 just adds all those little wrinkles to make the game pop.

The persistent snow tracks have added depth, dimpling, and take a more natural shape. The snow itself looks more like individual pieces forming a larger whole rather than a static white sheet. You can see particles burning and moving in the smoke, and river water flows and reacts dynamically to infantry, vehicles, and the wind. While the official specs have yet to be released, Relic has said that the Essence 3.0 engine is being optimized to be less tasking than the first CoH.

If you're familiar with our coverage of the single-player combat, you should have a good idea of what's on offer here. TrueSight is the name of the game in CoH 2. As it is, the real-time strategy standard is to block off?? enemy units' visibility ??until your own come into close proximity. TrueSight is essentially a more real-world interpretation of this, a feature that limits your own visibility to what your units would be able to see.

When taken with the game's cover system, things start to g??et interesting. While your infantry might triumphantly waltz in to capture an enemy fuel plant, you can easily be caught of guard by a nearby mortar team hidden in shrubbery. Despite being slower-paced than some other RTS games, this approach to visibility does a great job of keeping you on your toes.

One of the more touted additions to Company of Heroes 2 is the weather's effect on gameplay, and the same holds true in multiplayer. Like TrueSight, the weather hazards go a long way to forcing you to stay adaptable. Some units are slowed down by heavy snow, visibility is reduced, and infantry will even freeze to death if you don't take care to get them to a campfire every so often. The weather proves itself to be more than a gimmick, punishing players (like me) who initially refuse to respect the hazards. Not much longer after the snow storm kicked in, my infantry fell to the brutal cold, leavin???g the enemy anti-tank units unchallenged to decimate my armor.

Outside of battle, the upgrade system offers a great deal of flexibility, taking a good amount of inspiration from the Call of Duty franchise. The most significant part of your loadout is perhaps your commanders. With seven to choose from on each faction (??possibly more via post-lau??ch support), you can select up to three per loadout.

Commanders offer their own unique buffs, structures, and units. You won't have the resources to call them in until midway through the match though, and even then, on??ce you pick a commander to go with, you're stuck with him for the duration. For this reason patience is advised as you want to get a feel for which commander is going to help you the most. Wait too long though, and you can expect to get a swift kick from?? your enemy's commander units. I usually stuck with my offensive commander, allowing me to call in specialized mortar units to round out my tank-heavy army.

You can also deck out your loadout with intel bulletins, which essentially act as perks. Based on real WWII-era documents given to soldiers that detailed how to deal with certain types of opposing forces, intel bulletin??s offer minor, passive buffs to your army. These include damage boosters, faster access to ?your commander, etc. You can only select three per loadout, however -- I found that you have to get a read on your opponents play style to make the most of them. Since my opponent favored heavy armor, I slapped on a 10 percent tank damage boost to buff my anti-tank infantry. I still got my ass kicked, but I like to think the bulletin helped me go down swinging.

All this is unlocked via a traditional progressive upgrade system. You play matches, earn experience points, and gain more customization options as you rank up. You can even earn XP in single-player, but on a curve similar to what we saw in Halo: Reach. So don't expect to rank up quickly b??y playing the same exact mission over and over.

The system even comes with a prestige mode, called Battle Honors, that allows you to reset back to level one in exchange for better emblems. Achieving battle honors does net you more than j??ust emblems, such as intel bulletins that can only be unlocked after a certain battle honor ranked has been reached.

While all strategy titles are, by definition, a thinking man's game, Company of Heroes 2's slower pace does a great job of tasking the 'ol noggin, while the TrueSight system and weather hazards preserve a great deal of the reflexes and split-second decision making of faster RTS titles. It still remains to be seen how well all the new additions work in multiplayer with other teammates (all my matches were 1v1 skirmishes), so be on the ?lookout for the early 2013 beta. Until then, stand firm and ready -- the Motherland calls, comrades.

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I'll never get tired of seeing tanks slip into the frigid depths

This first entry in a series of developer diaries for Company of Heroes 2 covers most of the major talking points new to the real-time strategy ga??me, from its brutal weather conditions which drastically affect troops, the ability to vault over cover, and Relic's TrueSight system.

So, nothing we haven't a??lready heard before, but at the same time, it's nice to hear anything about the game at all -- to know that, yeah, it's still on the way. With an "early 2013" release date, the studio has some ground to cover with this video series. I'm eager to see what the te??am has been working on lately.

The post Company of Heroes 2 developer diary prepa??res for war appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't shoot the messenger

In reporting its second-quarter fiscal 2013 results, THQ announced the delay of South Park: The Stick of Truth. Originally sch?eduled for March 5, 2013, th??e Obsidian Entertainment-developed role-playing game is now looking to release "early fiscal 2014" -- in other words, at the earliest, in April 2013.

Unfortunately, there's more where that came from. Company of Heroes 2 and Metro: Last Light are no??w expected to ship in March. "Our fourth quarter releases are the first titles that I have had the ability to materially impact," stated THQ president Jason Rubin, "and experience told me that the games needed additional development time to be market-ready."

Disappointing news to come home to, no doubt about it. Hopefully that extra development time c??an be used effectively. O??bviously we want every game to be good -- who wouldn't? -- but I do have high hopes for these three titles in particular.

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