Company of Heroes 2 has some ambitious ideas for combat, most notably weather and winter storms having a more major impact on gameplay than is normally considered desirable or plausible in a real-time strategy. How well that kind of system works and balances is a big question brought up in response, as well as how random these weather effects actually are.
Soon those questions will start to get answers. A press release for the game states it will enter a closed multiplayer beta starting on April 2, 2013. There will maps for 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 gameplay, allowing players to play against AI-controlled enemies if they so choose. The players in this beta test phase will be able to sample the first 40 levels of progression and load-out customization, so this beta will be giving quite a bit of meat for those on the fence to chew over.
The beta will initially be restricted to pre-order customers but should be opening up to a wider pool of Company of Heroes 2 players later.
