Company of Heroes Online Vs. StarCraft 2

I still think SC2 multiplayer is more fun than Company of Heroes Online. SC2 matches are faster paced, and that game has more players with which to make balanced matches; these qualities make it much more likely for the SC2 player to get into a perfect state of Flow [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) ].

Plus, StarCraft II may actually become a balanced game. Company of Heroes Online will always be like this: If the German players survive long enough and get enough resources to upgrade all their units to veterancy lvl 3, than the American players are at a disadvantage, as each American unit or squad gains veterancy only by killing enemy units, and when a squad gets veterancy-upgraded, only THAT squad gets THAT veterancy upgrade, the one it has earned. The Germans buy their veterancy in bulk while the Americans earn their veterancy per unit. Relic's balancing answer seems to be that: the Americans have a stronger early game, so they can contain the German players into a smaller part of the map, making it less likely for the German players to be able to afford veterancy upgrades; plus the American players, while they dominate the map, can set up traps all over the place. Also, the American players tend to have better access to artillery.

But despite SC2's fun and balance advantages, Company of Heroes Online (this free game I recommend you not play because it is half as addictive as Diablo and WoW) has more tactical depth than SC2, better sound design, realistic graphics (not necessarily better), and is 90% micro, 10% macro (while SC2 is half and half); the nice thing about this is that the 10% macro is pretty much spent on actual strategy, an ideal difference from SC2's pressing-buttons-a-zillion-times-to-get-more-units-building or getting unit-producing structure #10 built; although, many players LOVE mashing those buttons.

I'd say that the artificial intelligence of both games is equally smart. Both games feature a retarded unit (the German's motorbike, the Protoss's Immortal). Neither game features a useless unit.

I read somewhere that the original Company of Heroes took Relic Entertainment as long as it took Blizzard to develop StarCraft II. Five years. That's a lot of life dedicated to making an RTS game! Good thing both games turned out awesome