Company of Heroes 3: Dare & Destroy

Company of Heroes 3: Dare & Destroy is the latest downloadable content pack for this war strategy title. It's been a while since I played Company of Heroes 3, but the series has always held a special place in my heart. What really stands out about the series is how close you get to the soldiers, the fantastic animations when troops take cover or move, and the voice acting that brings the experience to life in a way that other similar games don't. Although the sound design is slightly inferior to previous games and the lighting is a bit tricky, it looks fantastic with all the explosions. This time, it's not the campaigns, a new game mode or the multiplayer mode that I've had the chance to look at, but four distinct combat groups in one package.

In the DLC, you'll encounter the Special Service Group for the British, which focuses on wreaking havoc behind enemy lines and causing major damage. You also have the Free French combat group for the US, which provides French firepower to complement your other forces. Their focus is on defence and pinning the enemy down at carefully chosen positions. On the German side, we have the Siege Breakers, and as the name suggests, they are excellent at reducing buildings to rubble and capturing fortifications. The African Corps, on the other hand, has been given Elite Forces; they are few in number and cost a lot of resources, but these troops are of consistently high quality and, rather than introducing a host of new unit types, they upgrade existing ones to new levels.

I started by testing the French battle group for the USA. Their infantry, the French Rifle Section, is perfect when behind cover. I also found them to be extremely mobile and able to be deployed wherever they are needed. They have enough firepower to wear down the enemy in combat. They can also lay mines and build fortifications, which makes it easier for you to create a defensive network. You also have access to railway-based artillery that you can use. These guns aren't physically present on the map, but you can call in an attack wherever you want. This artillery is extremely powerful and can take out almost anything you can imagine. You can also access Turrets; these are gun turrets that inflict heavy damage on enemy vehicles and infantry. They can also be upgraded to pick up soldiers and save their lives.

I liked this combat group thanks to features such as concrete cover, the Tourelle nests and Zone Rogue, which mines specific points. You can also choose an ability that prevents the enemy from capturing a control point. You can also give your turrets the ability to request artillery support. As soon as someone attacks, you can call down artillery on enemy positions. The fun doesn't stop there, as they also have a Char B1 tank that can withstand a lot of damage. However, I found that these tanks struggled to deal with German armour in the game. Their role is more about breaching fortifications and dealing with infantry. Overall, this is a strong defence-oriented battle group that can be a nightmare to face in team play. Your job with this specialisation is to hold off the enemy so that others can inflict damage.

It's fortunate that the pack also offers a counterpart to the French one, whose fundamental philosophy is to counter it. The German side has been given the Siege Breaker battle group. Their thing is to destroy and tear down fortifications as if they were made of butter. They are aided by artillery upgrades and new vehicles. One of my favourite features is that they can turn a vehicle into a Siege Leader. This vehicle's special abilities will then cost no resources; it can take more damage and will withstand more damage. You can now equip your vehicles with mines that are deployed around the vehicle and explode, often killing most of the enemy infantry in the vicinity. In addition to this, they also have access to the Sturmtiger. It is difficult to describe just how powerful this tank is. It demolishes buildings, destroys fortifications and blows most things up with a single shot. The downside is that there is a slight delay between each shot fired. It also loses mobility as it needs to reload whilst stationary. It is a vehicle you use at the right moment, as it is vulnerable without supporting troops. If you get it into the right position, you can end a match there and then.

Whilst playing, I also found the new infantry upgrades very useful. Your grenadiers can be upgraded with incendiary grenades, which are effective against infantry in bunkers or buildings. Your sappers can throw more devastating bombs specifically at vehicles, and you also gain access to rifle grenades and smoke grenades for certain infantry units. You can now equip your grenadiers with flamethrowers, and one of my favourites in the game, the Flammpanzerwagen, makes short work of infantry. This is a Battlegroup that benefits from combined arms warfare, where infantry, artillery, tanks and any air strikes all work together. Of the four included in this pack, I think this is the most powerful. They have fantastic options for destroying buildings, and their ability to clear infantry from buildings should not be underestimated. They can also launch flares to improve visibility for both vehicles and artillery. Their weakness is momentum; it takes a while before they become virtually unstoppable, and the enemy needs to make use of that time if they are to slow down this sledgehammer of a faction.

If the German counter-attacks the French, the British are a response to the German. The British battle group is designed to punish players who want to expand quickly but lack the troops to do so. You have new unit types and tactics to starve out your enemy. During my testing, I found this to be the most difficult and perhaps the most rewarding of all the combat groups. Their sniper, which has anti-armour capabilities, is a real pain for the enemy to deal with. With this specialised unit type, you can not only inflict damage but also slow down the rotation and rate of fire of the enemy's armour. This allows your tanks to circle around the enemy and fire from all directions. It looks almost comical when you pull this off. Your infantry has also received upgrades and can deploy a Lewis bomb to destroy both vehicles and buildings. When upgraded, it sticks to armour and becomes a real headache for the enemy to deal with.

One ability I liked most about the British was their dazzling grenade, which is called in as artillery. It prevents the enemy from moving or firing for a limited time, giving you the opportunity to attack from all directions. You'll also be able to call in aggressive air support to assist you on the battlefield. This is an infantry-oriented battle group with a certain focus on support, which forces you to rethink how you play. This is a battle group that demands mobility, a lot of micromanagement, and that you attack, fade away, and attack again continuously throughout the match. It is rarely about winning a battle, but rather about bleeding the enemy dry of resources and, in turn, heavy vehicles. You probably won't be building much out on the battlefield, which means the German battle group can't really use its full arsenal against you. It should be said, however, that the infantry focus makes you somewhat vulnerable to their new focus on flamethrowers.

Last but not least is Elite Forces, which belongs to the African Corps. It is something of a response to the British battle group and focuses on a core of elite units. Almost everything you use in this battle group exudes quality rather than quantity; however, this means higher costs and, generally speaking, smaller forces. One example is that all their medium-weight vehicles can now carry side armour. This makes it harder for enemy armour of the same class to attack. Your units can now also rank up to level four faster, and there is also air support that ranks up the more you call it in. This results in more aircraft and more powerful attacks. I liked an ability that placed an aircraft in a holding pattern above a vehicle; it helped with the range and meant you didn't need to have scouts in front of the vehicle.

Another improvement is that you can swap out the guns on certain vehicles, effectively giving these tanks a different role or enhancing their capabilities. My favourite vehicle has to be the Tiger Ace, which has two modes. One ensures that everything you fire hits its target, and the other allows you to chase down vehicles and rotate the turret more quickly. In the right hands, this is a monster on the battlefield. Elite Forces is all about levelling up troops, managing your troop types and improving them over time. It's the same unique gameplay mechanic behind the faction, but in a way that differs from the other combat groups. Above all, you become almost ridiculously powerful over time as your troops shoot, reload, move faster and outclass enemy troops. They're also brilliant at chasing down and finding enemies thanks to their mobility.

If you like these elements, this could be a valuable pack; however, it doesn't provide any content for the campaigns. You're simply paying to gain more unique specialisations for existing factions, with additional troop types, skill trees and the like. My favourite quickly became the German Siege Breaker, but I also liked the French one thanks to its focus on defence. The British variant is incredibly difficult but rewarding, and the African Corps gives you more of the same, only better. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, and it's also clear that they're specialised against one another. When I played a bit online against other players, it turned out that Elite Forces and Siege Breaker gave the best results. However, I usually play as these factions, which is surely a contributing factor to this.

However, things didn't always go smoothly, and the most challenging aspect of the British commandos is the amount of micromanagement required, as your units are extremely fragile at the start. It doesn't help that you lack both defensive and offensive capabilities. Out of the four factions, I can wholeheartedly recommend three and would offer a slight word of caution regarding the British. Although I enjoyed their variant, it is difficult to play and demands considerably more from you as a player than the others in order to function effectively and avoid being overwhelmed. It works best in team-based matches rather than one-on-one.

All the new or modified unit types look good and add a bit more life to the game. However, it costs more than some indie games, so you really need to play the game regularly and want more to get anything out of this downloadable pack. If you're unsure whether it's worth it, there are now both guides and recommendations to consider. I think three of the factions are genuinely good value for money. The fourth, belonging to the British, is exciting but demands flawless gameplay from you at all times; you rarely have a response to the enemy early in the match, and the enemy always has something to counter you with. That's why I'd categorise this as a more advanced combat unit where you need to feel very confident with your gameplay. If you like Company of Heroes 3 and regularly play the multiplayer portion of the game, there's something to be gained from this downloadable pack.