Im Westen (leider) nichts Neues

The add-on to Company of Heroes 2, The Western Front Armies, unsurprisingly revolves around the Western Front, just like the first Company of Heroes. Even though the main game focused on the conflict between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the question still arises as to why the number of playable factions did not reach significant regions until a year after the release with the US troops and the German High Command West. After all, CoH 2 only offered us the Soviet Union and the German Eastern Command to choose from. As a multiplayer title - and that's what Company of Heroes 2 apparently wanted to be - this couldn't be considered a smart move since the early Command & Conquer-games.

I also consider the omission of an original soundtrack, which was still included in the main game, to be just as 'misguided'. Instead, we are presented with 14 nameless tracks from the Gamerip trenches, which seem standardized not only because of their names. The content of the tracks, too, is rather uniform, as they are all characterized by their combination of fast strings, sustained brass, restrained percussion and a lack of climaxes.

Games from the Company of Heroes-series

Company of Heroes (2006)

Company of Heroes 2 (2013)

Composer Cris Velasco takes a more conventional path here, which lacks the creativity of the main game. While the ambient pieces 01–04 are almost fantasy-like in their calm nature, the action tracks are more reminiscent of an Empire: Total Wars or Star Trek-film scores by Michael Giacchino (05+10). Unfortunately, the gamerip never reaches the depth or even that of its predecessor, but rather acts as a means to an end for most parts.

This is a real shame, because it would have been nice to have a direct juxtaposition of Velasco's interpretation of the subject matter with that of his three professional colleagues. As it is, the score would bob along in insignificance if at least one piece worth listening to had not emerged from the fog of war in the form of 13 . Its dramaturgical structure at least offers some variety and tells the familiar story of preparation for, encounter in and the aftermath of the battle.