Tag: heroes
Company of Heroes 3’s ‘Potenza’ Mission Is a Unique Strategy Challenge – IGN First
Company of Heroes 3 has set out to bring us some of the untold stories of World War II, with its focus on the Mediterranean theater and involvement of partisan forces. So while we won’t be storming the beaches on D-Day or taking on waves of tanks at Kursk, we do get to see some battles that haven’t been portrayed a thousand times in games and film already. And one of the most exciting flashpoints I got to check out was an epic assault on the Italian town of Potenza.
This wasn’t a battle I’d even heard of before getting placed into the commander’s chair. It doesn’t even have its own wikipedia page. But let me set the scene for you: It’s September 20, 1943. The Allied invasion of Italy is already well underway, but the Axis forces have dug in to many defensible hilltop villages across the Apennine mountains that run down the center of the peninsula. One of these, Potenza, is a natural stepping stone from the Allied landing site at Salerno for establishing a commanding strategic hold over Southern Italy.
Unlike the other assault missions I played, Potenza feels almost like a classic castle siege. The imposing, vertical sweep of it is visible from the moment you load in, and there’s no easy way to sneak in. You just have to fight your way up. And the Wehrmacht has left traps and ambushes every step of the way. It’s a serious challenge, and one where I never quite knew what to expect at the next choke point.
Down and Dirty
The initial approach is the one point where my Allied forces had the advantage, progressing down a gradual slope with momentum on our side to clear the bridge and set up a forward position at the base of the hill. The outer German defenses didn’t put up much of a fight, but they did lay some mines along the road as a parting gift, so I couldn’t just charge headlong.
Once you’re set up on the other side of the bridge, Potenza becomes a bit more like a traditional RTS mission – but set on a very steep incline. You have access to a full base and capture resource points in the classic Company of Heroes routine, but all the slopes, switchbacks, stairways, and tight corners make it very difficult to push ahead with armor. Even trying to flatten everything in sight with mortars won’t necessarily win you the fight, since the hill itself is the enemy’s best defense.
My Way or the High Way
There are three specific areas to capture to claim victory, and you can approach them in any order you like. Going up either side of the hill leaves you with only one exposed flank, but as I discovered, also forces you to traverse trickier urban terrain and features some of the Wehrmacht’s deadliest surprises. Straight up the middle seems like a suicide run, but it has some advantages in that you can at least get a better line of fire for some of your bigger guns.
I played this one a couple times and found that the best way was to move up a little bit on one side of the hill, establish a foothold, then move up the other side with a second strike group and do the same, before having them meet in the middle. It’s a truly brutal mission, and I’m not sure it’s even possible to clear it without heavy losses. I mean, when you park a tank behind some sandbags at the top of a hill, surrounded by buildings where snipers can cover you with overwatch, I can see why the strategy the Allies took in real life was simply bombing the whole thing to rubble before making a push to capture it. I don’t love destroying Renaissance architecture, but the number of men I lost in that ground assault made me feel like maybe it would have been worth trading a few historic buildings. It’s not like the town itself was in great shape when the fighting was done, anyway.
On the Horizon
Potenza is almost the quintessential Company of Heroes 3 mission, showing off so much of what this entry in the series does that none of its predecessors could. The mission geometry, the savage, building-to-building fighting, and the spectacular Italian mountain views constantly reminded me that I wasn’t in Belgium anymore. You literally have an uphill battle ahead of you in the Italian campaign, but by the time I’d planted my flag on Potenza, I felt ready for it. At least, as ready as I’ll ever be.
Overwatch fans revolt over Blizzard’s plan to lock heroes behind battle pass
Marvel World of Heroes is Niantic’s next attempt at an AR hit
Pokémon Go developer Niantic has announced its next game, Marvel World of Heroes, another mobile AR game planned to release in 2023.
There were a number of announcements at D23 this past weekend, which included a tease for Niantic’s next game, another AR game, this time bringing the Marvel Universe into the player’s hands. “In Marvel World of Heroes, players can create their own unique Super Hero identity and origin story,” reads the trailer’s description. Players will need to patrol their neighbourhoods to foil crimes, complete Super Hero missions, and thwart interdimensional threats.”
The description also notes that as players level up, they can unlock equipment and abilities, and will be able to team up with heroes like Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Captain America, where they’ll face off against various villains in order to save the multiverse.
Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth gets its first bit of gameplay in new trailer
The EA published The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth has received its first gameplay trailer, showing off the turn-based, mobile game in action.
First announced back in May, Heroes of Middle-earth was revealed as a character-collecting RPG, but no gameplay was shown at the time, just a single piece of concept art. Now, as revealed at GameSpot Swipe, the game has finally been shown in action, with the game’s art director Chris Salazar going into some detail.
Interestingly there is a new ring that’s been added to the universe, which according to Salazar, “grants the player the ability to bring the best characters that best suite that battle that’s going to happen in that location, and somewhat push the bounds of what is the narrative canon.” Salazar also explained that the new ring will make a lot more sense once you dive into the game.
Disney’s new animated musical is about the Star its heroes are always wishing upon
When you wish upon a star…
Pokemon Go Developer Announces Marvel: World Of Heroes
During the Disney and Marvel D23 Games Showcase, Niantic closed out the show with the announcement of a new game based in the Marvel Universe. The trailer for the game showed players out in the real world responding to a portal in the sky by holding a phone and using Doctor Strange’s abilities, Cyclops’ eye beams, and calling Thor’s hammer. The camera then zoomed out to show more players firing off various plasma and laser attacks in a public park.
The implication of the trailer is that it will be a competitive augmented reality game with players fighting one another out in the real world, but it also featured the “Not actual gameplay” qualifier on the bottom of the screen, so it’s hard to say what the gameplay will be. It’s safe to assume, however, given it is a Niantic game, that it will rely on GPS data and will share some mechanics with Pokemon Go.
In a press release for the game Niantic writes, “Players can create their own unique Super Hero identity and origin story. Players will need to patrol their neighborhoods to foil crimes, complete Super Hero missions, and thwart interdimensional threats. As players level up, they will unlock equipment and abilities, and will team up with Marvel Super Heroes such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America and others to battle iconic Super Villains and save the Multiverse from cosmic and earthbound threats.”
Niantic unveils Marvel World of Heroes location game for 2023
Marvel World of Heroes, a New AR Game From Niantic, Announced
Overwatch 2’s battle pass has a free track and won’t lock heroes behind a paywall
Overwatch 2 won’t be locking new heroes behind a paid battle pass, it’s emerged. Blizzard VP Jon Spector confirmed that heroes will be available through a free track for the battle pass. Spector’s comments were an attempt to put an end to speculation over what he described as “incomplete info” circulating online about Overwatch 2’s battle pass.