Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

Doesn’t do anything terribly interesting outside of adding two new factions (a defensive British division and a highly mobile German counterpart). The added campaigns are very average, but will no doubt be entertaining enough to satisfy the needs of offline-focused players. By all means, grab Opposing Fronts if you simply need more CoH – just don’t expect anything particularly revolutionary here.

Sure, games such as "Supreme Commander" push the science-fiction RTS genre in cool new directions, but the World War II RTS genre has yet to learn the lessons of Company of Heroes. With Opposing Fronts, THQ and Relic keep a great thing going.

Upon playing the original, it was easy to get the sense that this was a complete package, with scarcely any room to squeeze in any innovation. Opposing Fronts clearly proves that isn't the case. Now more than ever, this is the can't-miss real time strategy game of the year.

No other RTS provokes the feeling that you're inventing rather than enduring to defeat your foe to this extent. It's complicated and exhausting with it, and while that's exactly what an established COH player will want, I fear it ever so slightly undermines the achievements the original game made in making historical wargames appeal to a mass audience again.

Single-player lacks the original's polish, but two diverse faction additions mean multiplayer's even more addictive than before.

With multiplayer back in full force with two brand new factions to master and a pretty robust single player campaign that provides plenty of good challenges, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts is easy to recommend to players that enjoyed the first game.

Few expansion packs come loaded with as many new features as Relic has seen fit to put in - two entirely new sides, an equal number of expansive campaigns, and enough potential multiplayer action to keep any player occupied for months.

Veterans players with plenty of Company of Heroes combat under their belt will eagerly dig into the new expansion pack as the new armies on offer are a lot of fun and will throw plenty of new twists into multiplayer games.

COH's year-old Essence Engine is still the most beautiful, realistic RTS powerhouse on the market.

In terms of tactics, the possibilities are almost endless.

Opposing Fronts is a damn solid expansion that is playable for total newbies, but works much better if paired with the original COH.

While it has its fair share of hiccups, the game's fundamental quality manages to shine through and ensure that there's plenty of entertaniment to be had. [Dec 2007, p.70]

Without any huge leap forwards in the graphics or gameplay it isn't going to blow your mind, however if you enjoyed the first instalment then you will certainly not be upset with Opposing Fronts.

I can't imagine a better RTS being released in the foreseeable future; certainly one has never bettered it before this. Everyone, regardless of whether you enjoy RTS' or not should own a copy - you're doing yourself a massive injustice if you refrain.

If you're new to the series, you should really pick up the original first, but if you're already a dedicated fan of the game and can put up with bugs, or are willing to wait a little while, then it's a must.

Excellent expansion for an excellent game. Panzer Elite was a little disappointing due to politically correct whining and ze germenglish. [Nov 2007]

Despite the 'semi-sequel' tag, there's as much here as the original game. This isn't like the expansion packs we knew in the past. This is World War, Too. [Dec 2007, p.64]

After extensively playing Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, I realised that expansion packs just shouldn't be this good.

Yet further proof that real-time strategy isn’t a genre with nowhere left to go. [Dec 2007, p.120]

When I think of expansion packs (despite that fact that this one can be installed independently) this is more or less exactly what I envision. It adds a significant helping of additional single player action and new playable factions that are far more than just cosmetically different from existing factions already in the game.

I cannot recommend the Company of Heroes series enough, and if you haven't tried it yet, Opposing Fronts is a perfect opportunity to join up for a tour. [Holiday 2007, p.86]

Same, but brilliantly different. [Christmas 2007, p.60]

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts does what every expansion pack should do: take a great game and make it even better.

With a great new campaign and smooth multiplayer modes, Company of Heroes is an easy choice for RTS fans to make.

When it comes down to it, Opposing Fronts delivers much of what the original did just remixed. The pair of lengthy single player campaigns and full multiplayer options makes it as valuable as the first game. Slight balance issues comes with the addition of the British and Panzer Elite factions, although it comes with the benefit of having access to two inventive new strategic styles.

The two new factions add enough to the multiplayer experience to make it worth the price of admission, and the extra campaign missions are just icing on an already delicious cake.

An excellent addition to an excellent game, and ample proof that the RTS genre can be both accessible and complex.

Company of Heroes was definitely a brilliant title, and Opposing Fronts does well in adding to it.

With apologies to the Combat Mission franchise, Opposing Fronts has started to encroach on the "pure sim" functions of "dice rolling" strategy games, but wrapping it all up in good looking, frenetic action make it accessible to a much wider audience.

Expansion packs don’t get much more solid than this.

So here’s the perfect recipe for creating an expansion-pack: sprinkle lots of new units, add a large chunk of single-player campaign and place the already excellent mutiplayer mode in the community oven that now makes it even tastier.

Opposing Forces puts the player in a position of decision making and responsibility, but still offers up the visual and auditory aspects of down-in-the-trenches fighting. It rewards quick thinking and attention to detail, and punishes those that possess neither, pretty much as it should be.

In the end, Opposing Fronts is an easy recommendation to any fan of RTS games.

A worthy continuation to the original Company of Heroes and is every bit as enjoyable.