In the Company of Heroes
September 20, 2006In our shallow computer-driven age, its always useful to be reminded that there was once a time when the future of the entire planet really was at stake. For me, that time was World War II. Its incredible to think that so many generations have passed since those dreadful events - events that still resonate and effect us, even today. I sometimes wonder whether we’re starting to forget the importance of those dreadful 6 years. Forget the countless millions of lives that were lost - both civilian and soldiers. Forget the importance of what the entire world has won through their sacrifice.
Fortunately, there are plenty of creative minds who have used their art to remind our generation of what it was like. The obvious examples are movies like ‘Saving Private Ryan’, or classics like ‘The Dambusters’. For computer gamers, the most recent effort is ‘Company of Heroes’, a WW2 Real-Time Strategy game from the developers at Relic.
Having only played the demo, from a game-playing point-of-view its very very impressive. The presentation is slick, the user-interface is easy to use. And the AI is the best I’ve seen in an RTS in recent memory. For example, I built a line of tank traps, barbed wire and sandbags across the 3 choke points, to block the enemies from entering my base. Unfortunately, I completely missed the west road leading into my base. The AI snuck 3-4 squads of flamethrowing engineers into my base and burned it into the ground. Frustrating, but impressive.
The fact that this game is based on real-life events adds, to me, an extra poignancy. The events chronicled in the single-player campaign really did happen. Thousands of people really did die storming that beach. Its kinda hard to “enjoy” the game when you realise that these events really did happen. But at least you come to appreciate, even if its only in very small part, the dedication and bravery of the men and women who lived and died during that dreadful part of our history.
