Company of Heroes 2 Authenticity Is Linked to Intensity and Immersion

Company of Heroes 2 is making the move to the Eastern Front and the new setting means that developers at Relic have a new approach to the question of realism, one that haunts all teams dealing with a World War II setting.

Quinn Duffy, the leading developer working on Company of Heroes 2, tells VG247 that, “But when we talk about authenticity, it isn’t about being bolt-accurate on every tank. We want to have the intensity and the overall tone add to the immersion. We want the battles to feel tense and on occasion overwhelming, because players get engaged that way as adrenaline levels are driven up.”

Many World War II history buffs will certainly find reasons to criticize the goal, but Relic wants to make sure that it gets the atmosphere of the conflict right, because that’s what gamers focus on, both in the single-player and in multiplayer modes.

The first Company of Heroes was well known for its human versus human gameplay, because it allowed for a variety of tactics to be implemented and never relied on quick fingers in order to give one gamer the victory.

Jonathan Dowdeswell, an executive producer at Relic, adds, “Sometimes the strategies that emerge are out of desperation, sometimes you can get beaten back to your base and think ‘well, this isn’t working’ and so you might go for a Hail Mary, and that might distract your opponents just long enough for you to re-establish a toe-hold.”

Company of Heroes 2 uses new mechanics in order to simulate the Eastern Front: TrueSight, which introduces more realistic ways to scout the battlefield, and ColdTech, designed to show the effects that weather had on the Russia campaigns, especially on infantry squads.

Company of Heroes 2 will be launched on the PC during the first months of 2013.