An important part of making the battle vibrant and terrible is of course the graphics, which are excellently implemented. There are quite a few degrees of detail you can have, dependant on how ninja your system is, but even on the etch-a-sketch settings in 800x600 resolution, it still looks fantastic. This is due in part to the intelligently implemented physics, the balance, and the attention to detail of every single units' every single animation, which - should it have been lacking - all the fancy textures in the world will not make up for. The sound too is carefully crafted, dynamically altering to terrain and surroundings, walking the line between the realistic and the stylised to deliver maximum impact. Company of Heroes just demands you go out and buy it a giant monitor and some really shiny surround speakers because, although it will not punish the modest, it will reward you for your system like few other games will.

'Attention to Detail' is extremely difficult to actually quantify when considering a game, and extremely boring to read about, because its...well, details. and have however polished their product until it shines, and the player will frequently notice new and deeply satisfying touches that allow the whole to really come together. If a unit is reporting to you its readiness or status whilst on-screen at the time, it will come through as normal speech, but pan away during and the voice will fuzz into tinny walkie-talkie distortion. I know - alone it wouldn't have exactly made my millennium either, but its safe to assume every nut, bolt and Nazi has been carefully considered before being put into operation.

Company of Heroes arguably shows off even more of its brilliant design in than it does in the single player format. Whilst on-line play obviously does not have the carefully crafted set-pieces or tactical puzzles laid out by Relic, the computer AI rarely implements the excellent moves that the player will to gain victory. It's always more satisfying to make a fellow human suffer than your own PC, but its even better to successfully perpetrate sneaky distractions and pincer movements when your opponent is trying to do the same to you.

Company of Heroes is excellent; the best World War ever made, and in many respects the best RTS in general. The only thing that stops me from unconditionally recommending it is that some folk still do like their RTS a little less intense, or with a bit more frivolity to the violence, and may still want to go for titles like Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends or Earth 2160. For the same reason Saving Private Ryan's battle scenes didn't make it an 'action movie' you can't really delight in the slaughter as much as you might want to in Company of Heroes, but you certainly can marvel at the carnage. One very surprising defect in the game that I can only assume will be addressed by the next patch is the AI of the tank drivers. The automatic responses of the ground troops are marvellous - hitting cover when drawing fire, adopting appropriate stances and arranging themselves around the terrain frequently in ways better than you could have done yourself. Behind the wheel, however, your troopers are immediately reduced to a level of idiocy not seen since the days of the Tiberium Harvester driver: entire planned blitzkriegs stalled because three truck drivers go for the same one-width opening at the same time and apparently then decided it a point of pride not to reverse when stuck. Additionally, the plot strung between missions is fairly inconsequential. Any other defects to be found are minute, and certainly disappear in comparison to the uniformly excellent quality of the game. Company of Heroes is superb; a perfect blend of intelligent and powerful visceral action, delivering such a natural World War II experience you'll be left wondering if you're even allowed to enjoy it as much as you do.

93%

By Duncan Lawson