Company of Heroes 3 Review - Multiplayer

ign.com:

This review exclusively covers the multiplayer mode of Company of Heroes 3. For thoughts on the campaigns, read our Company of Heroes 3 - Single-Player review .

For a lot of long-time fans, Company of Heroes is a real-time strategy series that’s more about competitive play than single-player campaigns, and we've logged hundreds more hours playing against other people than against the AI in scripted scenarios. That'll certainly be true for Company of Heroes 3, because while the single-player campaigns are trapped in a quagmire of a strategic map and bogged down in their storytelling, in multiplayer we can focus on what really matters: moment-to-moment gameplay, balance, and faction mechanics. CoH3 nails all of that thanks to a wide variety of factions, snappy unit controls, and great multiplayer stability.

I'll say that, as of a few days after launch, this is the most diverse, balanced, and stable multiplayer game in the entire Company of Heroes series to date. Sure there are specific balance issues – the M18 Hellcat's too tough! Those flamethrowers are OP! – but show me an RTS without balance issues at launch and I'll show you a liar. (It'll be you. I'll be pointing at you.)

Emphasis on movement and physical reality, how long a gun takes to move around, to set up, and to aim before they can become lethal is what flavors Company of Heroes games, and that flavor is richly present in CoH3. Units have counters and counter-plays like in other RTS games, but using them effectively is dependent on your deployment and tactical maneuvers rather than simply a rock-paper-scissors triangle. An anti-tank gun counters vehicles, but only in ambush or defense situations; a flimsy scout car can bedevil one with flanking maneuvers