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Hey guys, didn't see this posted here, so I thought I'd post it. CoH 2 is apparently in open beta. It requires that you "like" their facebook page and then download one of those annoying facebook apps to get the code. Once the code is unlocked, you go into steam and activate the code. Currently downloading it and will report back.

Here's the direct link to the beta download page.

https://www.facebook.com/companyofheroes/app_351292091639277

Here's where I got the info initially.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/04/16/hurrah-company-of-heroes-2-kinda-in-open-beta/

As more information: The beta allows multiplayer with friends and with bots and gives you access to Level 40 with six of the games maps at this time.

It won't run under XP though, damn it.

 BrookM wrote:
It won't run under XP though, damn it.

Well lets be honest. It was bound to happen sooner or later

So far seems more like a giant expansion of COH 1 (which is a good thing IMHO). Cold tech (blizzards, frozen lakes, camp fires) seems to be about right. It doesn't detract from the tactical gameplay, but instead adds to it. I'd say they put about the right emphasis on the weather.

The Ostheer (German side) plays very much like the German side of COH 1. Their units tend to be smaller and slightly more expensive but they tend to be individually tougher and better equipped. A good example is the 4 man grenadier squad (tier 1 basic infantry) versus the 6 man Soviet conscript squad (tier 1 basic infantry).

The Soviets seem to play a lot like the Americans from COH 1 but all their support weapon squads (HMG, mortars, AT guns) have 6 man squads which makes them more durable to make up for their slower firing rate compared to German units.

Those are my initial thoughts. So far I'm liking it.

Honestly I'm kind of torn. Playing the Beta I can't help but feel I already own this game. It's called Company of Heroes 1. Nothing they've added really makes me feel like spending full price for the game cause CoH1 is pretty much an identical experience. Also not a huge fan of the maps thus far.

Blizzard's are interesting, and the ability to capture vehicles is cool in addition to a host of balance fixes compared to the first game, but other than that I don't feel like anything has really been improved in the game mechanics (except that mortars are still stupid powerful). Lots of pathing bugs so far in my play so hoping that gets fixed.

That's the rub. COH 1 already has mods for the east front. Unless there's gobs of content that we just haven't seen yet, there isn't much that recommends this over the original.

The more I play, the more I think I'll wait for the steam sale so i can play the campaign.

And Eastern Front and Blitzkrieg oddly both offer more game play options than CoH2. Why they didn't take a que from them I don't know.

I will get it once it goes on sale. AT the moment I don't have the money.

Yeah. I like the game. It is fun. But for different reasons I'm probably gonna wait. Maybe if lucky the game will get 10% on the summer sales. Come Christmas though the game will probably go for one of their 50% deals at some point I'll bet.

I know too much about the Eastern War to be into this. The innaccuracies would irritate me greatly - I will assume that Soviet tech is cheaper and more plentiful, while German tech is more expensive but more powerful.

I don't particularly care about any inaccuracies myself. "Historical accuracy" in games, movies, and books is frequently just a lie anyway.

I'm a post graduate history student specializing in military history and I love the cinematic aspects of the company of heroes series. I think there's a difference between knowing the history and being OCD about it.

As for the game itself its pretty fun. Factions have a nice range of units and the new customize section makes it so that there will be some faction variance. I especially like that they added new commanders and you can mix and match which 3 you want. Replacing call in units with changes in the tech tree is also a feature I've been wanting for a while now. Honestly I don't mind that the game is basically another expansion to Company of Heroes because that was such a brilliant game anyway.

Now, mortars are OP, they hit like the finger of god and pulverize whole units at a time. MG's are a lot weaker than they were, small arms fire is better. Tanks feel suitably powerful as well which is fine by me. One of the problems with CoH1 was the AT guns being way better than armor to the point where there was no point in building tanks because they'd just die to AT guns that historically couldn't even scratch the paintwork. The Russian Zis-3 for example, in CoH 2, struggles to knock out panzer IVs from the front which is fairly historical. When I play an eastern front game I want to see big battles with T-34s and Panzer IVs duking it out, rather than hordes of At guns and infantry armed with shaped charge weapons. Now I've only played a few games so maybe it really is like that but these are just first impressions for now.

Also the Eastern front mod for CoH1 was terrible in my opinion, the units were well done and designed but they started playing with the balance of existing factions and generally doing things that they should have left alone.