Real-Time Strategy games have always had a couple of inherent limitations on their actual strategy. In most cases these games come down to a set strategy based on the comparison of what the two forces are. Once you know what force you are playing and what force your opponent is, you have your build order. Certain skew strategies might mix it up a bit, but by and large there tends to be a definite best order in which to do things.
Company of Heroes 2 aims to change that with its winters. The game will have different mechanics based on whether the battle takes place in winter or summer. The idea seems too obvious to have not been implemented to such a degree, but it also adds enough complexity to the balancing act that RTS games have to manage anyway that it becomes more than just a headache.
Winter will make different units have different effects than the summer battles, and will be prone to things like blizzards that will also have drastic effects on the battlefield. As communication manager Simon Watts said,
One blizzard could also be your savior because it forces an opponent to kind of hunker down and wait for it to end. We think that it could be something really exciting for the competitive game.
I’m inclined to agree that it sounds like an exciting possibility, but time will tell how effective the execution in Company of Heroes 2 actually is.
