Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault announced

It’s back to the Battle of the Bulge for Company of Heroes 2 in newly-announced standalone expansion Ardennes Assault.

Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault is a single-player standalone expansion focusing on the Battle of the Bulge, and it offers some major new strategic decisions. According to the press release, the dynamic 18-mission campaign will have your Company decisions carry over from mission to mission and your actions will impact both the battlefield of the Ardennes and the story. Your Company upgrades and Veterancy carry over from each mission, and with a limited number of soldiers under your command, you’re going to have to fight smart to get your Company through intact.

There are three new US Forces Companies to play as, each of which have their own Officers and play-style, and there are apparently yet more features that are still to be announced. You will not, however, be playing as the German Oberkommando West forces.

All of this sounds really quite special. I like continuous missions and important decisions, and I’m hopeful that there really are some big decisions to be made – I’ll be a bit disappointed if it’s a purely linear campaign with a few units carrying over from each mission. If it’s a big branching campaign with some out-of-combat decisions to make, though, possibly with conflicting objectives that will change future missions? That would be fantastic.

We’ll be hearing more in the coming months, I’m sure, as Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault is due out on 18 November. The first few screenshots can be found below.