When comparing Age of Wonders III vs Company of Heroes 2, the Slant community recommends Company of Heroes 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best singleplayer games on Steam?” Company of Heroes 2 is ranked 118th while Age of Wonders III is ranked 150th. The most important reason people chose Company of Heroes 2 is:
The multiplayer of the game tends to be where the majority of the core experience fun can be seen. With the ability to fight both AI and human adversaries, you command large armies, positioning them in cover and strategic choke points, with the main goal overtaking key economic points to give yourself a military edge. The included Multi-Player contains a plethora of competitive maps, as well as a section of Co-Op maps that are similar to the campaign mode (though not as plentiful).
Specs
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Pros
Pro Worthwhile leveling system
throughout the game players troops are leveling as long as they are being used. This adds to each's pool of abilities. There are also points one can earn in battle that can be used to unlock new abilities. Both of these systems add up to a competent way to always be leveling and give a feeling of advancement in the game.
Pro Intuitive tactical battles
The tactical battles in the game play out in a way that feels different depending on what enemies are being fought , which makes for a good way to differentiate play. The battles also play out in a fast fashion that is easy to understand making for an experience that feels well made due to how the player can pick up the play.
Pro Great multiplayer
The multiplayer of the game tends to be where the majority of the core experience fun can be seen. With the ability to fight both AI and human adversaries, you command large armies, positioning them in cover and strategic choke points, with the main goal overtaking key economic points to give yourself a military edge. The included Multi-Player contains a plethora of competitive maps, as well as a section of Co-Op maps that are similar to the campaign mode (though not as plentiful).
Pro Focuses more on smart planning rather than brute force
Company of Heroes 2 is an RTS that focuses more on smart decision making of micro-unit control over macro-control and actions per minute. Players will most likely have fewer units under their command during the beginning of each match, making strategic and tactical placement of each unit necessary, rather than focusing on training many units and attacking head-on. This allows for more deep strategic gameplay to take front and center, as players will need to think aggressively and quickly, keeping units in cover and finding defensible positions, as the loss of even a single unit can turn the tide of a battle.
Pro Top of its class in graphics for an Real-Time Strategy title
While not a huge improvement over the first game in the series, the graphics and art style found in Company of Heroes 2 are still quite astounding for an RTS. The animation quality of each unit is incredibly well polished, with infantry moving with fluid realism, and vehicle movement being heavy and slow. Also, to give an added depth of realism, particle effects and quality are nearly unrivaled, as each mortar blast and each grenade detonation casts large chunks of earth into the air in a billowing cascade of terrain destruction, leaving large craters in the ground. Adding greatly to this is the equally gratifying smoke and spark effects one can see when a tank fires a round from its gun, or when bullets ricochet off armored vehicles. While the gameplay in COH2 is second-to-none, the great graphical fidelity adds an immersive aspect that has yet to be matched.
Pro Control large amount of units
Upped from the original game the player is able to control up to 135 units, which is quite a lot of micromanagement for those that are interested.
Pro Tons of replayability thanks to Downloadable Content
While DLC has the potential to introduce imbalance, with purchased items that give advantage, so far Company of Heroes 2 has not had this issue. New campaigns, featuring other allied nations, as well as different commanders with their own powerful abilities are proudly highlighted through this additional content. This allows the player base to have more to do and see, added increased longevity into an already brilliant addition to the Company of Heroes franchise.
Pro Mod support
User Created Content makes every game better. There is a big variety of nice user created maps and mods.
Cons
Con Some areas are too easy
At certain points of the game decision need to be made, which would normally mean something is lost when choosing, but sadly things like buildings are too easy to build meaning there is no loss when choosing what to do, which makes the choices meaningless.
Con Very poorly optimized
When there's a lot going on, it runs bad even on the best latest systems.
Con Gameplay can be quite hectic
Some missions can require the player to control up to 135 units at once, on three separate fronts , which can be difficult to manage. While not completely unmanageable, this is something to consider for those that want something a bit more simplistic out of their RTS.
Con Poor quality cutscenes
The cutscenes, while not animated with the in game engine, look pretty abysmal. The animation and graphical quality of each cutscene is immersion-breaking and can take the player out of the game in an instant.
Con Flame weapons feel over powered
When facing off against units or vehicles that use flame weapons, infantry units can be killed almost immediately. The sheer attack speed and ferocity of these flame-based weapons can reduce a player's fighting force to zero. This is especially notable with vehicles that use flamethrowers, as they can roll in from the Fog of War and overwhelm infantry in an instant, leaving players with the feeling that these weapons are overpowered.