14 DAY TRIAL // The core ideas that Relic introduces via the new campaign map that’s a big part of Company of Heroes 2 – Ardennes Assault are revealed relatively quickly and a player can be up to speed in no more than one hour if they have a good understanding of the core mechanics of the title.
But close to the end of the Battle of the Bulge experience, the game delivered a surprise: the two German territories left were very, very strong, actual fortresses that seemed to be impossible to take out given the limited strength that my three companies had left.
The element of Company of Heroes 2 – Ardennes Assault I ignored was the fact that, when I defeated an enemy force, its garrison did not disappear completely but rather migrated towards other German forces in the vicinity, increasing their ability to stop me in my tracks in coming battles.
The player can stop this process, but it’s hard to plan a campaign that does not result in at least one final stronghold which has five levels of defenses waiting for the player to attack.
These basically translate into bonuses for the defending forces, and some of them, like heavy mechanized support or access to powerful air assets, can make a real difference during the tactical engagements.
The key to actually beating the final fortresses in Ardennes Assault is to take a look at the mission objectives for each territory and then choose one or two that seem easier to accomplish and leave them last.
One company needs to conserve its power
This somehow contradicts the way we tend to approach strategy games, where easier targets are tackled first, but there’s one more step gamers need to take in order to make it somewhat easier to complete a campaign in Company of Heroes 2 – Ardennes Assault.
The player gets to choose between three companies at the start and each of them will trade strength in order to get experience and requisition from battles.
As the game progresses, even the best of players will see their resource deplete and it pays in the long term to keep one company focused on easier to achieve objectives and conserve its strength as much as possible.
This means that relatively fresh and plentiful troops can be thrown at that final German stronghold with upgraded defenses and will stand a reasonable chance of achieving the objective that finally ends the fight and wins the Battle of the Bulge.
