Heroes: A Dead-On Shot Of Adrenaline

Company of Heroes is set during World War II and follows a group of American soldiers as it swarms the Normandy beaches and pushes into Germany. You control squads of men as well as individual vehicles. Each unit has strengths and weaknesses. Engineers, for example, can build fortifications such as machine gun nests but are weak if engaged by riflemen at long range. An M4 Crocodile Sherman flame tank can burn enemy snipers out of buildings but is vulnerable to heavy German Panzers.

Even though there are lots of units on the screen at times, everything is so beautifully rendered it almost seems like a shooter. Tanks and vehicles have scratches on their paint, mud on their tires and drivers that wipe the sweat off their brow. Zooming in on the vehicles reveals a host of details, such as unit insignias and serial numbers painted inside the turrets of open-topped M8 armored cars. Troops carry realistic weapons and come complete with backpacks and accurate uniforms. Even the terrain gets into the act, with rolling green hills and hardscrabble villages that have seen better days.

The best part of such detail? Everything looks fantastic when you destroy it. One of the game's coolest features is that everything on the maps you play is destructible. Trees can be toppled, buildings can be burned, people can be pulverized and even those grassy green fields can be scorched.

The game is played in a series of missions, with your squads trying to capture strategic points, which gives you access to resources and lets you improve your war machine. The artificial intelligence is cunning and ruthless, probing your flanks and trying to sneak around your defenses. It will keep you alert and provide an adrenaline rush every mission.

-- John Breeden II

Company of Heroes Mature; PC Windows XP ($50) THQ