Company a Heroes be a game for true armchair generals. There be no resource collecting, no tank rushes, none a the hallmarks a other games that look like they be about a clash a armies but be really little but mouse-driven sprint races. Built around the concepts a cover 'n directional fire, suppression 'n morale, ye had t' use actual battlefield strategies if ye wanted t' succeed, 'n seven years on (the game be released in 2006), the formula be so perfect that it remains unchallenged, even by developer Relic's semi-related Dawn a War series. Seven years be a long time between wars, though, 'n now that we have a sequel, people be expecting a lot from this game, the first time Company a Heroes has ditched Western Europe for the Eastern Front. So what's new? The weather, for one. The Eastern Front be a brutal theatre a war, 'n the weather in this game wants t' make sure it has more than a cosmetic effect. Snowstorms will slow yer infantry 'n even kill them if they be out in the open too long, while frozen rivers can be blown open t' block passage or sink enemy forces. The fact the Soviets be now playable be the main addition here, though, 'n also the most disappointing. CoH2's campaign does not live up the standards set by the original game 'n it be expansions. It begins too slowly 'n, even worse, be drenched from beginning t' end in an awkward veneer a moralising, as Relic attempt t' justify the fact ye're playing as an army "not as bad as the Germans because they be on our side" by putting ye in the shoes a a dissident aghast at the Soviet's shocking brutality. It doesn't work. The cutscenes, rendered using crude 3D models (see above), be hammy like a bad 70s war movie, their grim tone be at odds with the ragdoll action in the missions 'n it be all dreadfully dull, making the campaign's story as insufferable as (sorry) a cold Russian winter. Another problem with the campaign be that it attempts t' shoe-horn several new features into the game in the name a factional authenticity, like an endless supply a conscripts 'n NKVD officers who shoot retreating soldiers. These feel crudely implemented, as they do little but upset the balance a the game (the former, as ye can brute force yer way t' victory) 'n simply add one more arbitrary meter t' the screen ye need t' look out for (the latter). The campaign doesn't even make the most a the new weather conditions, with only a handful a missions making any significant use a frozen rivers 'n only a single one challenging ye with troop-killing snow. it be only towards the end a the 14-mission campaign, when ye pillage a fantastic small-scale partisan mission 'n a few good "proper" battles (where ye're free t' build a whole army 'n take over the map) that it finds it be feet. Lucky, then, the campaign be a glorified tutorial that ye'll soon forget once ye pillage into the real meat a the game. That used t' be CoH's excellent multiplayer (where ye can also play as the Germans), which be as enjoyable with/against mateys as it be skirmishing against the AI. That remains the case with the sequel, only now it be even better, the bad weather conditions so overlooked in the main game a blast in multiplayer, as the struggle t' just keep yer men alive, let alone fighting, turns many old strategies on their head. The real draw here, though, be a new, third game mode that combines singleplayer 'n multiplayer into something fresh for the series, something that - wait for it - ye'll be familiar with if ye've played Call a Duty recently. it be called Theater a War, 'n like CoD's Spec Ops mode, it presents the player with a number a scenarios they can tackle either alone or co-op with a matey, ranging from battles with specific conditions t' focused objectives like holding a small base against waves a enemy attacks. Having ditched the narrative a the campaign 'n without the "blank canvas" a a multiplayer match it might sound like a middling stepchild, but in truth it be a mode that brings out the very best in the game. Free a the campaigns blunt story 'n yet providing a little more focus t' multiplayer (or skirmish, as Relic refreshingly make AI battles a prominent option), it be easily the most fun I've had with a real-time strategy game in years. Outside the campaign be also where the Soviets be most enjoyable, as ye're able t' use some a their monstrously massive equipment when 'n how ye want, instead a at the whims a the campaign. Before I wind this up, I want t' point something out that ye don't normally pillage t' do in a strategy game review: this game be explosive. The sound in this game be incredible, more like something ye'd pillage in a Hollywood war movie than a top-down strategy game, 'n it really adds t' a feeling a immediacy with the battlefield that be already strong thanks t' all the mud, dirt, bodies 'n debris that go flying around. Company a Heroes 2 isn't the revolution it be predecessor be. Too much remains the same (down t' the battle UI), 'n too much a the Soviet faction, particularly it be employment in singleplayer, be a disappointment. But ye know what, that be OK. There be many, myself included, who would argue the basic design underpinning the original be almost perfect, 'n it be still there. Adding more stuff on top a that, some a it not so great, most a it (like Theater a War) excellent, be about what ye'd expect from a video game sequel. In the end, then, think a Company a Heroes 2 as the embodiment a the thing it be trying t' recreate, namely the Soviet's advance into Germany. Blunt, 'n wasteful in parts, but in the end an overwhelming success.