Grab it here:
Can’t wait to try this bad boy out.
sweet!!! thanks!
dling now!
I dont know if this is the same demo as on the PC gamer disk, I assume, but I can’t stand cinematic campaigns, blah, blah, blah…just give me a choice of maps, a choice of options for that map, and let me play…skirmish FTW. I started the normandy mission and just stopped playing after the first 20 seconds but I guess the 2nd mission is pretty fun. Skirmish, Multi…that’s all I care about…hope it pans out as the small amount of multi I played looked very promising.
Nothing’s stopping you from playing skirmish matches in the final game, you know. :P
Please post your impressions - I’m the associate producer for the online portion of COH so I’m balls-deep in the multiplayer beta, but I’m curious to hear what you guys think of the single player demo. Lotta hard hours went into it.
I’m completely burnt out on RTS games. I think the last RTS game I really enjoyed immensely was Red Alert 2.
Saying that, I haven’t had this much fun with an RTS since then. This game is just plain fun. The graphics are amazing for an RTS, and I love the way the cinematics are done in the mission. The in-engine cines are better than most FPSes, let alone RTSes.
But, everything just comes together in this game. Incredible explosions, great sound, and chunks of physobs rolling and blowing all over the place. The thing I really like about it is that you just throw units around, with a general strategy. There’s very little micro. I’m sure the more I play it, the more nuance I will see in the cover system.
The first mission was pretty lame in the demo (olbigatory scripted D day scenario, where I think it’s impossible to lose), but the second mission is where things open up.
Some of the cool things I saw in the demo:
Shots hitting armor at odd angles and bouncing off realistically (like red orchestra)
Many different damage states on armored vehicles (main weapon out, disabled). The coolest state was “out of control”. The vehicle will then just go full speed, turning in a circle until it hits something. And when it hits something, it really hits something. So many times I saw tanks slam into buildings, smashing down the wall in a shower of debris that then rolled away down the road realistically.
I can’t wait to get my hands on the full version of this.
EDIT: Ok more things:
The game almost plays out like an action game at times, the main thing being the way you deploy grenades/satchel charges. Your squads whip these things out, then a timer is displayed before it explodes. I can see trying to quickly get a squad behind cover once I notice an enemy grenade. And the environment destruction that ensues from satchels/grenades is extremely satisfying.
It almost seems like The Outfit was a trial run for this game. While I enjoyed the outfit’s multiplayer, it had it’s problems (mainly controlling deployed units.) The things I really liked in The Outfit, especially the way bunkers and gun emplacements were built, are done the same way in this game. Click on a spot, then orient the gun where you want it to defend.
I want to play a skirmish map so badly in this game. Why couldn’t you guys give us just one skirmish map Tim! Damn you!
I haven’t tried this demo yet, but the multiplayer beta - even with all the problems with Relic Online - has been stunning. Such good fun and surprisingly well balanced (although there’s one or two issues with the latest balance changes:))
It’s ok, its definitely no Soldiers…
I was going to say the same thing. Personally I really enjoyed the Outfit and this game seems like a combination of The Outfit (destructable terrain, placement of assets) and DoW.
I am really looking forward to it. A Warhammer themed sequal to The Outfit realeased on the 360 would also be great.
Man, I’ve read this crap a few places…ITS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF GAME.
Saying that, I tried Soldiers a few times and just didnt like it…I played two short multi games of this and saw the possibilities and am excited.
I am sure the devs are happy to hear this. Soldiers didn’t achive much more than a small cult following and was a commercial flop - the game was selling for 10 bucks within months of release and gogamer was giving it away for months.
It’s definately no Soldiers. I loved Soldiers, but it was more of a tactical squad based game. More along the lines of a realtime Silent Storm.
This game is a different beast. It’s action packed and amazingly fun for what it is.
I joined the multiplayer beta a few months ago, but only did the tutorial as I never play RTS games online. I had so much fun in the demo that I updated the beta and played an RTS game multiplayer for the first time since a Red Alert null-link game.
I still suck at RTS, but man this game is fun online.
Am I right in understanding that you can record games for later viewing? Because with a game and purty and detailed as this, and the usual RTS issue of playing so quickly you can’t enjoy the visuals, that would be a very cool feature.
Yes, you will be able to record games (and share them with other players). Swooping in and watching a game from the closer camera angles really brings out the detail, fun stuff.
My favourite thing: the little ‘click me’ icons on the det packs. That’s a beautiful little piece of design.
I finally had time to play the sp demo… what a disappointment. Not in the game or the gameplay at all. Great game.
The disappointment was the demo itself.
Only 2 missions!
And I was hoping for a skirmish map or two against the CPU.
Bummer!!!
They even disabled skirmish in the multiplayer beta.
Although you can set up CPU players, it just won’t let you start until another human is in the game. I suppose you might be able to trick it, though… if you set up 3 people, one CPU and one human, then have the human quit immediately.
no, if you do that then game automatically jumps back to the Play Queue (ie. the game shuts down).
I have tried it… :(
guess I will have to wait until Sept 21.
You can play co-op against the computer though, right?
Wow. I thought this would be a slight graphical improvement from the DoW engine (which was/is superb), but the CoH graphics are top notch. The transition in the opening mission, from cinematic to in-game engine was so seamless it took me a few moments to realize I was now watching an in-engine cut-scene. Great work.
As for the demo, I haven’t had time to play the 2nd mission beyond a few minutes of defensive prep, but it looks like a great time. I’m one of those oddballs that actually enjoys the single-player campaigns of RTS titles, and I’m greatly looking forward to the full version. Only negative is that the DoW expansion is gonna pale in comparison, graphically, compared to CoH. So bring on DoW 2!