An experience worth holding that "#2" in for hours
The animations in the game are fantastic. I love watching German and American heavy MG crews tear down and lug around their hardware, run upstairs into a nearby townhouse, rip open the shudders and perch their 20 pound Heavy Machine Gun atop a window sill, then opun up on nearby enemy squads, rendering them surpressed and uterlly helpless. Watching as your squads move about the battlefield TACTICALLY is really cool to see in an RTS game. Most of us RTS vets are used to seeing our troops bound wrecklessly toward our mouse pointers without even considering the reality that there might be enemies in the area. Add on top of that the AI in your troops being so sophisticated that they will find cover by themselves...it really adds a lot to the gameplay, reducing micromanagment and allowing more time for tactical desicion making.
The Doctrine command system is very original and brings all kinds of new elements to strategy, teamwork in multiplayer, and just cool ass bonuses for your armies. Of course the off-map artillery barrage and the Para Drop are the favorites for American players....as a guy that likes to play as the bad guys, i am especially particular to the Germans Stormtroopers, better Armor, ALSO the fact the Germans get to have a "friendly, neighborhood" morale officer is just priceless. The weapons upgrades for both sides are very authentic, not to mention FUN. Playing as the Germans and being able to upgrade ALL of my grenadier squads with MG'42 light machine guns as well as Panzerschreks was really neat, as this is what many German squads were typically equipped with. Recoilless rifles for the Americans, .50 cal MG's for American Armor, the weapons upgrade system is also a key component to a deeply authentic and very entertaining WW2 gaming experience.
I didn't get too far into the Single Player missions before i was hungry for Multi player. The Single Player Campaign is fun, but at times it starts to drag a little bit...with a game like this, it's Multi-player that really sets it apart from other titles. Some shortcomings....not many. I don't like that the Germans ONLY have the ability to barrage DEFENSIVELY with their off map artillery, i haven't seen them yet, but German Falschrimjaegers would be a great addition to the game. (for those that don't know....those are German Paratroopers.) There were two German Falschrimjaeger Divisions involved in the Normandy Campaign and it's a bummer not to see them represented in the game simply as a more elite version of the typical Volksgrenadier (or rifle platoon), maybe after you've upgraded your base to "assault stage"?
I Think that there should be some options for engineers to build sand bag emplacements that can hold AT guns or "Hull-Down" Tanks especially in urban fights instead of just being able to build a line of sandbags....it would just make things look a little more realistic, but again....nit picking on that one. Otherwise, great game, will master the Germans and i'll see you all on the Multi game rooms.