Company of Heroes 2 Announced

PC Gamer Magazine got the scoop on a new Company of Heroes game in development. Relic Entertainment is making a new entry, still setting in World War II but you’ll be playing as Russians in the Eastern Front. More after the break.

Via Side Mission:

While some in the west might see that as a downgrade from the first game (in terms of coolness or familiarity of setting) when the player assumed control of two U.S. Companies involved with the invasion of Normandy and the liberation of France, the majority of the most brutal fighting in WWII actually took place in Russia.

The Battle of Stalingrad was especially vicious, and many would argue it was the turning point of the entire war.

The Battle of Kursk, to this day, remains the largest tank battle in human history.

Both battles will be in COH2… along with a great many others.

Some details from the game from the upcoming edition of PC Gamer.  Via PC Gamer.com:

• Company of Heroes 2 will take place on the Russian front, with players controlling the Soviets as they battle the invading Nazi forces.

• Snow plays a major part on the battlefield, falling and melting dynamically, and slowing your soldiers and tanks based on its depth.

• The game runs on the Essence 3 engine, the latest version of the graphics engine Relic have been updating and expanding upon for years.

• The cover system has been revamped, to function more realistically and allow soldiers to vault over obstacles.

• Line of sight plays a large tactical role, with the game’s fog of war based on what your soldier’s can actually see. Relic call this system “True Sight”, and it causes areas of the map to be grayed out and enemies within turned invisible by buildings, items of cover, or dropped smoke grenades.

• The Normandy landing that opened Company of Heroes (and Saving Private Ryan, one of its key inspirations), was the 23rd biggest battle of World War 2. “13 of the 15 bloddiest battles” happened on the Eastern front, points out Company of Heroes lead designer, Quinn Duffy. The game should represent those battles and their vicious scale, as much as it does minute infantry tactics.

• Just like the original, the scenery is highly destructible, and you’ll be given control of plenty of tanks and other explosive equipment. That includes barn-burning flamethrowers.

• There will be multiplayer, but Relic aren’t ready yet to talk about it.

• The game is due out 2013.