Company Of Heroes Opposing Fronts

Company Of Heroes Opposing Fronts is an "action strategy game for Europe", with fast, fluid action that doesn't always come across as counter-productive to the real-time strategy genre.

Set in the near future, Company Of Heroes Fronts follows a battle against a small Korean army, known as the Terramar Flare, on the battlefield as one of four factions fighting for control of the city of Caerra, which is threatened by the Allies.

All the basic real-time strategy basics are here - you can lead the charge to the objective (represented by a number of "charm" units), seize enemy positions, seize and control territory, and hopefully ultimately defeat the enemy's army, using large-scale battles.

The Terramar Flare can be upgraded with things like explosive coils and sentry guns and fearsome attacks such as unleashing ice cyclones on the enemy from your cannon fire; you'll even be able to directly control the structure of the entire battlefield with a simple press of the 'A' button; though this is an extremely simple control scheme, it's easy to pick up, and so we were pleased to see that there's some difficulty to mastering it.

There are also 15 different and randomly generated maps in the game, with the first two worlds apparently containing a pretty big world map, though it's difficult to tell exactly which is which because the main map has been hidden in an underground cave. You can also change your initial look at the map by clicking on the "A" button, but again, it's easy to miss the object if you're not careful.

Another thing that we really appreciated about Terramar Flare is that it's essentially an unlockable mode for the regular blaster in your arsenal. When you have it unlocked, the game will launch into a handful of increasingly difficult levels that you have to pass through without dying, making it a relatively quick and fair way to replay the game. If you have it unlocked, you can have it unlocked and set to be used on any level of the game without the need for dying. The game will also auto-select your loadout whenever you get hit by an enemy, allowing you to play around with some more unique, game-changing options.

In addition to the general gameplay modes, there's also the full-fledged story mode that, while fairly involved, will be the only "story" mode to be found in the game. At any rate, after you've beaten the story mode and unlocked the second mode, Terramar Flare will then jump right into the Multiplayer mode of the game. It's just as easy and fun as it sounds, though you'll have to be at a very particular skill level to be able to play the campaign. The setup in Terramar Flare is pretty basic--you have to get through a number of different locales (each of which has its own set of bosses and levels) while picking up a sword or some magic item (for example, a sword, or a piece of armor) before facing off against an actual boss. In the first time, you'll be able to play through the entire story mode (from what we saw) in four-player mode, and the good news is that you can even take on any of the bosses in multiplayer, which will be pretty easy to do. If you're more of a hack-and-slash type, then you'll find that the game will actually be quite challenging. The developers have also added some incentive for you to play through the game with friends, though this will only be possible because of an exploit that involves being able to save at specific points on the map.

The game will feature two control schemes: an "freestyle" and a "indalgic" scheme. The former allows you to simply run around the entire game world, avoiding enemies or traps, and the latter has you running up to them, then attacking them with your sword. The two most obvious examples of this mode being the "free-flying" mode, which features large, unencumbered 2D characters as you run, jumping, and smashing their way to the goal. Free-flying mode has you moving around a number of different levels, facing off against enemies at your own pace. These segments will be filled with obstacles and traps, so you'll have to be careful when taking them on. Another unique aspect of the mode is the "extreme" mode, in which you have to earn certain points by performing tasks for high-flyer-style vehicles. The only items that are readily available to you are the "V-meter," which, while not extremely powerful, is capable of taking out enemies in a spectacular fashion, if you land on a different speed, the vehicle will start to limp towards you. Needless to say, these are going to be very difficult to get very far, and since the cars are a bit smaller than the action characters, the difference between an extreme speed driving vehicle and a law enforcement car is night and day.