If you love real time strategy (RTS) games, here’s one you’ll like. None of you were born when the Allied Forces stormed Normandy on June 6, 1944 — known as D-Day in war history. But that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying Company of Heroes, the game which is based on this historical day.

You, as the gamer, are equipped with three resources — manpower, ammunition and fuel. You can use your men in all the units for construction purposes. You’ll need fuel to raise structures and purchase new vehicles, and also enough ammunition to equip your units with weapons of warfare such as hand grenades and the works.

The campaign is wonderfully designed and follows the paratroopers right from the storming of Normandy to the defeat of the German Seventh Army. The battle takes you across open roads that spell danger to tight city quarters.

Of the 15 missions that are included in the game, most are praiseworthy and include objectives beyond the stereotypical chase-and-destroy element, characteristic of RTS games. Some missions require the gamer to block a road and make way for the convoy, while others include setting defences against a German counterattack. The other duties include crushing lines of retreating forces.

You are likely to develop a fondness for either the Axis or the Allies. The differences in their strategies lie in their research orientations and units, as well as in the number of options that each side throws up. The normal Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the game is significantly more dangerous than most RTS games in recent memory. Here the AI is simply more efficient and keeps track of all the details of an ever-changing battlefield.

Visually, the game is a spectacle. The manner in which the details of a battlefield has been worked upon deserves special mention — particularly the details of the massive destruction. The infantry units are also well animated. A lot of attention has been paid to the detailing of the war vehicles. Explosions, dust clouds, flames and everything else associated with battlefield effects are incredibly effective in conveying the madness of war. As far as the visuals are concerned, they seem to recreate the past right before your eyes while a superior audio quality conveys the feel of being on the warfront.

Although sound is probably the last thing that RTS players are likely to rave about, in this particular game, once the artillery, machine gun troops, and especially the tanks roll out on the turf, the business of sound gets serious. Company of Heroes certainly has an addictive element but at the same time, it is an enjoyable game that leaves you satisfied. A game worth a dekko.

Minimum system requirements: Operating System: Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP, processor: 1 GHz or higher, RAM: 256 MB or higher, 3D video card: 32 MB or higher, free hard disk space: 1.5 GB or higher