My review of Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

[Pugnate]

Hey guys, I wrote a review of Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts for a website. I've been posting here a while, and am not trying to pimp my review or that website, but just wanted your honest opinions on the review.

Due to some technical issue, they aren't able to add new staff writers at the moment, but credited me in an editor's note. My name is Noman, BTW. Let me know what you guys think:

http://www.gamer20.com/gamehub...fronts-pc/review/1202/

I actually used to write for a couple of now defunct websites. One of them was All Out Games, that I helped establish, until it was bought by some softcore gay porn thing. :shock:

 

[WT]

Nice writeup ! I'm hooked on CoH, CoH:OF so it really annoyed me that I had to uninstall CoH to play OF. What a ridiculous decision by Relic, or whomever ... I also play CoD4, and still have Cod 1 and 2 on my PC, with no need to uninstall them, so that was a total FUBAR, IMO. I just wasn't impressed with Panzer Elite, finding their specialty vehicles lacking. I love multipurpose, and the Brits really appealed to me, as I prefer a defensive wall (I love pulling a Maginot on the Axis, only my D goes all the way to the seawall). I also tried to justify buying DX10 gear playing this game, but it wasn't noticeable nor worthwhile in its implementation.

 

[axhind]

Nice review! I really should install my copy that came with my 8800GT, but I'm too busy with COD4 at the moment...

 

[Pugnate]

It is a very good title.

 

[Gautama2]

broken link
nvm, works now.

 

[Maximilian]

Nice review, but the panzer elite dont have a tiger tank, i think you may mean the "Jagdpanther", the most powerful vehicle in the game, it can probably beat two tigers if it has 3x defensive vets.

 

[Homerboy]

Originally posted by: axhind
Nice review! I really should install my copy that came with my 8800GT, but I'm too busy with COD4 at the moment...

You got CoHF with your 8800GT? I just got CoH!!!
Damn it!
I LOVED CoH too. I mean LOVED. Will have to pick up a copy of OF, just keep forgetting.

 

[TehMac]

Opposing Fronts is amazing dude. Luftwaffe squadron Fallmirjiwbjfgjhjh w.e they're called + FG42 OMFG OMG PWWWWWWNAGE!

FG42s are like German Assualt Machine guns. They're like BARs but with pistol grips...yeah pwnage.

 

[Regs]

I'd click the link at home. To afraid here at work that i might get redirected to a gay porn site.

 

[Homerboy]

Originally posted by: Regs
I'd click the link at home. To afraid here at work that i might get redirected to a gay porn site.

its safe

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: TehMac
Opposing Fronts is amazing dude. Luftwaffe squadron Fallmirjiwbjfgjhjh w.e they're called + FG42 OMFG OMG PWWWWWWNAGE!

FG42s are like German Assualt Machine guns. They're like BARs but with pistol grips...yeah pwnage.

I dunno, I think the Luftwaffe are the weakest doctrine by a factor of ten. I guess it depends on how your opponents are coming at you, but you get one good perk(the INF) and nothing else usable with the doctrine. Building 88's is just dumb, they will go owned by mortars or arty in 2 seconds, you might kill one tank the first time your opponent comes by, but it will be dead after that.

So for me it's scorched or at, if I have a partner that picks Luft, we're pretty much guaranteed to lose against a competent opponent.

I feel the same way about the commando doctrine on the British side, sure I've seen some very good players use them with some effectiveness but most of the time it's nothing more than an annoyance.

Also, as an aside there are some very cheap tactics starting to be used by British players involving parking their command truck on a bridge bottling up the axis players at the very beginning of the game. This is most easily done on Hochwald, you can't destroy it due to lack of AT weapons in the beginning and they just block the bridge, then fortify behind it. By the time you can hope to kill the command truck you've already lost because you have no fuel.

Anyways, I won't play that map anymore because of it. It's so cheap it's almost shameful.

Scheldt sucks too because it often just turns into round the clock arty barrages taking out all the bridges, stupid stupid stupid.

But overall I do very much love this game, we just need more maps that aren't quite so vulnerable to cheap allied tactics.

 

[KeithP]

Nice review.

-KeithP

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: ayabe

Originally posted by: TehMac
Opposing Fronts is amazing dude. Luftwaffe squadron Fallmirjiwbjfgjhjh w.e they're called + FG42 OMFG OMG PWWWWWWNAGE!

FG42s are like German Assualt Machine guns. They're like BARs but with pistol grips...yeah pwnage.

I dunno, I think the Luftwaffe are the weakest doctrine by a factor of ten. I guess it depends on how your opponents are coming at you, but you get one good perk(the INF) and nothing else usable with the doctrine. Building 88's is just dumb, they will go owned by mortars or arty in 2 seconds, you might kill one tank the first time your opponent comes by, but it will be dead after that.

So for me it's scorched or at, if I have a partner that picks Luft, we're pretty much guaranteed to lose against a competent opponent.

I feel the same way about the commando doctrine on the British side, sure I've seen some very good players use them with some effectiveness but most of the time it's nothing more than an annoyance.

Also, as an aside there are some very cheap tactics starting to be used by British players involving parking their command truck on a bridge bottling up the axis players at the very beginning of the game. This is most easily done on Hochwald, you can't destroy it due to lack of AT weapons in the beginning and they just block the bridge, then fortify behind it. By the time you can hope to kill the command truck you've already lost because you have no fuel.

Anyways, I won't play that map anymore because of it. It's so cheap it's almost shameful.

Scheldt sucks too because it often just turns into round the clock arty barrages taking out all the bridges, stupid stupid stupid.

But overall I do very much love this game, we just need more maps that aren't quite so vulnerable to cheap allied tactics.

Out of players of the same skill level the axis team should win on the scheldt as long as they have wehrmacht with stukkas. But ya on hogwild gap that blocking thing is bullshit.

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: ayabe
I dunno, I think the Luftwaffe are the weakest doctrine by a factor of ten. I guess it depends on how your opponents are coming at you, but you get one good perk(the INF) and nothing else usable with the doctrine. Building 88's is just dumb, they will go owned by mortars or arty in 2 seconds, you might kill one tank the first time your opponent comes by, but it will be dead after that.

So for me it's scorched or at, if I have a partner that picks Luft, we're pretty much guaranteed to lose against a competent opponent.

I feel the same way about the commando doctrine on the British side, sure I've seen some very good players use them with some effectiveness but most of the time it's nothing more than an annoyance.

Also, as an aside there are some very cheap tactics starting to be used by British players involving parking their command truck on a bridge bottling up the axis players at the very beginning of the game. This is most easily done on Hochwald, you can't destroy it due to lack of AT weapons in the beginning and they just block the bridge, then fortify behind it. By the time you can hope to kill the command truck you've already lost because you have no fuel.

Anyways, I won't play that map anymore because of it. It's so cheap it's almost shameful.

Scheldt sucks too because it often just turns into round the clock arty barrages taking out all the bridges, stupid stupid stupid.

But overall I do very much love this game, we just need more maps that aren't quite so vulnerable to cheap allied tactics.

Oh, I dunno man, the games I play, I controlled about 56% of the map, which means I get a steady supply of munitions and manpower. Couple this with the fact that the early squads get knocked out fairly early in the game. This opens up pop cap, so I use the manpower to get Fallschirmjägergewehr squads. Use the munitions to get the FG42s...omfg dude, like I said before, I can not stop talking about them. They PLOW through every mother fucker unlucky to get caught in their way. They're like the STG44 but thrice the firepower. It's just...holy crap. The Luftwaffe's real weakness is lack of armor support, but the usage of the '88s is essential, hence a luft squad to erect a few. I remember I was losing, I built some '88s around key areas, like Bridges, a Control point, and wow....they just kept firing off shells, the British enemies had made a fortified position, and were attempting to strengthen it, they got blown away, bit by bit.

So it's all about coupling advantages, and making things work for you. I have consistently been the Luftwaffe, because I like that style of play; build a few powerful arty pieces, get gnarly troopers, hells paying!

 

[TheSlamma]

I love this game.

 

[TehMac]

Hrmm, Ayabe, I just played with some mates, and you're right, the Scheldt is a horrible map for the germans, and I bungled my round because the Brits took the initiative, and their squad is much bigger than my squad, so that was good playing there on my counterpart's. Then, he was able to chisel away at me, (I was on the right side of the Bridge, by myself, and so was he). Then, it was child's play, because he whittled away at me, and I had shitty units, and wasn't able to produce as much as he was, and in the end, I lost, of course.

It was pretty frustrating, but all the same, I feel that I could have turned the balance. The British are too good I think, they need their arty toned down a little bit, and same with the ridiculous Stuart Tanks. The Germans need more arty firepower, least the PE does.

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: TehMac
Hrmm, Ayabe, I just played with some mates, and you're right, the Scheldt is a horrible map for the germans, and I bungled my round because the Brits took the initiative, and their squad is much bigger than my squad, so that was good playing there on my counterpart's. Then, he was able to chisel away at me, (I was on the right side of the Bridge, by myself, and so was he). Then, it was child's play, because he whittled away at me, and I had shitty units, and wasn't able to produce as much as he was, and in the end, I lost, of course.

It was pretty frustrating, but all the same, I feel that I could have turned the balance. The British are too good I think, they need their arty toned down a little bit, and same with the ridiculous Stuart Tanks. The Germans need more arty firepower, least the PE does.

The only way you can win is if you have at least 3 walking stukas and never lose them(meaning you move them as soon as they fire their volley). If you are on the bottom, within 5 minutes of the game start most likely your base will start to get shelled constantly and if your mates can't break through the middle island or up top its game over.

I think the most ridiculous game I've ever had was on Scheldt...3v3 about halfway through one of my mates dropped, then a guy from the other side dropped. Eventually it was just 1v1 with each of us having 2 AI teammates. Well basically the AI is too dumb for this map, it won't rebuild the bridges so they just spam units. One of mine had 8 Marder's in his base and since the area is so small they basically couldn't move and were stuck.

Meanwhile my other AI and his two AI's were running round the clock arty barrages on the bridges. To make a long story short, neither of us could win because our respective "teammates" kept destroying the bridges. After 2 hours of stalemate, we both agreed to drop and call it a tie.

 

[TehMac]

Yeah, that sounds like a load of bollocks either way, I hate marder tanks, they're so focussed, and PE tanks suck...unless you're tank destroyer, the tank choices just suck. I'd say in terms of brute power, Tank Destroyer, Luftwaffe, and then the Booby Trap doctrine, but I'd say Luftwaffe is still a favorite of mine, because of it's huge potential with the '88s and the FG42s. Imho, these two factors are enough to go Luftwaffe by themselves.


And btw, what do you mean by Stukas? Stuka is a diver bomber, and afaik, there are no Stukas by 1944/45 which is when this game takes place, I could be wrong though.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: TehMac
Yeah, that sounds like a load of bollocks either way, I hate marder tanks, they're so focussed, and PE tanks suck...unless you're tank destroyer, the tank choices just suck. I'd say in terms of brute power, Tank Destroyer, Luftwaffe, and then the Booby Trap doctrine, but I'd say Luftwaffe is still a favorite of mine, because of it's huge potential with the '88s and the FG42s. Imho, these two factors are enough to go Luftwaffe by themselves.


And btw, what do you mean by Stukas? Stuka is a diver bomber, and afaik, there are no Stukas by 1944/45 which is when this game takes place, I could be wrong though.

This thing here is the "Walking stuka" and that is the reason the axis should never lose on the schdelt, its an upgraded halftrack, costs 150 munitions. Brittish artillery will never hit you on as its so inaccurate, the worst case is the guy whos isolated gets bombed a bit, but with wehrmacht you can stuka the enemy right back into their bases, and constantly stuka their fuel supply so they never get to OP it. Also wehrmacht + terror means you get the V1 rocket which is excellent against brittish artillery, especially on the schdelt. Its not a bad map you just have to play it different, if theres no semi decent wehrmacht on your team its safe to say you will lose, otherwise axis should win assuming skill levels are equal or greater than the enemy team.

Also i dunno if you know but fallschrimjagers with their FG42's were nerfed in the latest official patch so theyre not really the killing machines they used to be. Its commandos and rangers that everyones moaning about and theyre getting nerfed next patch as well which is currently in beta and free to download.

 

[TehMac]

Oh yeah, right, well I don't believe the Panzer Elite gets them. It's funny, because I had completely forgotten them, and I was reading a WW2 book last night, and I saw the term, and I was like "OH SHIT thats what they were!"


I have played with the latest patch, that's all I have gamed on, and I owned the enemy infantry up the arse.

 

[cheapherk]

If you lived close to ign you could get yourself a job= look.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

A friend and I got it recently and have been playing. The new factions are so different from the old ones that it's like playing an entirely new game.

 

[TehMac]

yeah, anybody who wants a game, feel free to hit me up.

xfire: macmyster.

 

[Starbuck1975]

I loved CoH, and had high expectations for Opposing Fronts.

Don't get me wrong...Opposing Fronts is very good, but doesn't quite mean the polish of the original game.

On more than one occasion, I triggered scripted events that seemed out of place...a perfect example...during one of the initial Panzer missions, I had a time clock constraint to secure a bridge...I sent out scouts to find the front lines of the British forces, and accidentally came into the line of sight of a fixed artillery emplacement...this triggered another scripted event that conflicted with the bridge objective.

In another mission, you have to secure objective points along three main avenues of approach in a city...there is a bridge on the far end...I came into line of sight of the bridge, and it launched another scripted event of British forces pouring over the bridge, but success in this mission requires that you first secure the avenues of approach.

The missions in Opposing Fronts are far more complex, with multiple objectives...my only gripe is that these missions get so complex, that sometimes scripted events seem to launch prematurely...if your gameplay or tactics vary from the almost guided route provided by the objectives, it tends to screw up the level objectives sequencing.

 

[TehMac]

If you're playing CoH for the SP, you're playing it for the wrong reasons. Period.