As fantastic as Company of Heroes is, one must always be on the lookout for modifications which provide a different or even more fun experience.

A squad of fallschrimjager move up the road covered by armour and artillery.

Normandy 44 is one such mod. It has been around for quite sometime now (with previous releases on the original Company of Heroes). The latest version for Opposing Fronts incorporates the new game elements as well as being a slight redesign of the original mod.

The latest version of Normandy 44 (which is labelled as being version 3) provides quite a different experience to what the original Company of Heroes provides. First of all, this mod embraces realism. This means that units will now act, perform and even look like their historic counter-parts. Watch as heavy MG teams tear apart unprotected squads in seconds, or a Tiger kill a Sherman with a single direct hit to the rear.

This however does not mean that the gameplay has been forgotten. Infantry squads reinforce quickly and cheaply to make up for their increased vulnerability and tanks are expensive and have significant build times (depending on how advance the tank is).

This gameplay has been a feature of all versions of Normandy 44 up to this point, it provides a fantastic change for those who are tactically and historically minded and significantly ups the challenges and actions present on the battlefield.

The Waffen-SS doctrine has been selected, which enables the pioneers to build the related barracks giving access to an aspect of Waffen-SS troops. Other buildings give you access to other types of forces such as recon or heavy support elements.

Not only is the gameplay significantly more realistic and tactical, but the available units and their abilities are too. In Normandy 44, the doctrine you choose determines what army or combined group of armies your units are modelled after. Here is a list of the following armies available in Normandy 44:

Werhmacht

• 709th Grenadier Division / 6th FJR (Fallschrimjager)
• 2nd Panzer Division
• 1st SS Panzer Division / 16th SS Panzer Grenadier Division

Panzer Elite

• Kampfgruppe Koch (consisting of units from 3rd PzRgt / 2nd Panzer Division)
• 16th Luftwaffenfeld Division / 3rd Fallschrim Division
• Kampfgruppe Knittel (consisting of units from 1st InfRgt / 1st SS-PzDiv)

Americans

• 29th Infantry Division
• 101st Airborne Division (also uses some units from 82nd US ABD and 6th UK ABD)
• 2nd Armour Division

British

• 7th Armoured Division
• 6th Airborne Division
• Canadian 3rd Infantry Division

As I said before, the doctrine (army) you choose has a big impact on your subsequent units available and the overall playstyle that must be adopted if you are to win. For example, the 1st SS Panzer Division doctrine choice for the Wehrmacht gives you access to extremely well equipped and loyal troops. The downside is these troops are available in very limited numbers therefore your overall army size is limited. This is just one of many different armies that are available within Normandy 44.

I'll try and create a video soon of actual gameplay once I get my mates sorted out with this.

I hope you download it and try it out. Its a very good mod (which is alot to say considering its still in beta too) and I highly recommend it. Just be aware that it hasn't been taylored for SP much, you're best off playing this with a human (I'd gladly play if one asks ).