Great expansion...I need more
You also get to play as the Panzer elite forces in the "Operation: Market Garden" campaign. I generally don't like playing as the enemy, but once I got into it I really enjoyed this campaign. The German campaign focuses a bit more an vehicles like tanks, mortars, and armored cars, but there are tough Panzer Elite grenaders to use as well. You can also drop in Luftwaffe units that serve as both the engineers and fighting force. The key for this campaign is how you use the vehicles in unison with your soldiers. Combined they prove to be a tough force and provide excellent game play. Another unique aspect of the Germans is the little camoflauged scout car. Not sure how many other gamers out there use it, but it sure comes in handy. I park the little guy in enemy territority to scout the enemy especially AT weapons and then bombard them with mortars. Note that I recommend watching the '70s war movie "A Bridge Too Far" before playing this campaign. A pretty good movie that provides a good overview of the failed Brit, American and other allies attempt to quickly end the war and gain a foothold into Germany.
Both of the new campaigns are singularly shorter than the original and taken as a whole probably fall short too. I am now going back and playing the American campaign and finding that the individual scenarios are generally a bit deeper and longer than the expansion campaigns. However, there still plenty to be had with the new campaigns and the fact that you have two new armies and strategies to play with. I love some of the unique little situations in various campaigns that allow you to use units in special ways, like the paratroopers in the original game.
What can I say about COH? It's a truly great game with excellent and manageable RTS gameplay, I found that I'm overwhelmed by many RTS games like Total War and AOE - just not getting that much enjoyment out of them although I know there popular and good games. I like COH because I find it much easier to manage production while focusing on the action. The graphics and sound are spectacular. As a huge fan of the Commandos (pre-FPS bs)series and Soldiers: Heroes of WWI I found there are some minor similarities to the games in how you can manipulate your units. Additionally, one of my favorite things about the game is the historical accuracy. COH really follows the great events in WWI history and serves as a sort of history lesson as you play. You are basically reenacted these events and victories, unless you lose of course.
Not a big multiplayer fan, but the game appears to be quite live. I do play the skirmish maps, which offer plenty of extended gameplay and fun, so I imagine the multi-player is quite good. I've noted that the skirmish scenarios are much tougher, generally, than the campaigns. Your resources are limited, unless you customize, and the enemy comes at you with all they've got constantly. It took me a couple of tries to beat the computer on the first scenario that I played.
I certainly recommend the expansion to gamers who enjoyed the first COH, but I'm sure most of you are playing or have played the expansion already. If you have not played any COH, I recommend running out soon and grabbing the whole series. It's really one of the best games of it's kind out there.