CLUB MED

COMPANY OF HEROES 3 is a fantastic RTS with a main campaign that just doesn't work

- Fraser Brown

World War II looms large at all times. Even when we’re looking for some videogame escapism, it’s there, deafening us with the cacophony of artillery and exploding tanks. For Company of Heroes 3, however, Relic has taken us further south, to Italy and the desert of North Africa. And a lot has changed since the previous games, with the studio’s ambition and desire for experimentation growing.

This is something new, but it’s not the novelties that have impressed me the most. It’s a beast of a game, cramming in two campaigns and four factions. Its proportions are fitting for this massive conflict. The main course, ostensibly, is the Italian campaign – promising something akin to a World War II Total War.

From Sicily to Rome, you’ll push your way north, fighting the Nazis in random skirmishes and incredible bespoke missions. It’s a huge turn-based campaign that serves up a slew of spectacular, tactically interesting RTS battles, and it should be the most exciting thing Relic has ever done. Lamentably, this is not the case due to the absence of one crucial ingredient: it isn’t remotely dynamic.

Across my nearly 40-hour march to Rome, I encountered hardly any resistance at all. The only time my adversary attempted to take back a town I’d captured, it was a scripted event. Aside from that, the Nazis seemed resigned to let me keep everything I’d claimed. Regardless of the difficulty settings, aggression is a foreign concept to them.