Company of Heroes vs Company of Heroes 2
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes is the rare few World War-themed games that managed to let you experience the intensity of war and the heroic sacrifices that had to be made through the eyes of a soldier. You can play the role of a brave Allied lieutenant leading your own squad of soldiers in the game's single-player campaign or you can join the multiplayer battle between Axis and Allies (up to 8 players) by choosing a team to play as. The game also features destructible environments (you can reshape the battlefield as needed), some historical accounts about the war you'll be fighting in, and a unique strategic gameplay.Company of Heroes is one of those few rare games that World War 2 buffs would really enjoy, but even if you're not one of them, you can still enjoy the brilliant gameplay that this game has to offer.
Company of Heroes 2
Company of Heroes 2 is the exciting follow-up for the original Company of Heroes game. Set in World War 2, this game is rather multiplayer-focused but it does provide players with an intense single-player campaign which also double as a way for you to be familiarized with the gameplay before heading into multiplayer.The game does have a lot of "standalone" DLCs that adds either a new single player campaign to the game or a new multiplayer army for well... the multiplayer gameplay which you'll have to buy if you aim to get a "complete" version of the game. This kind of make the multiplayer aspect of the game rather pay-to-win since players without the new multiplayer standalone, which usually features a new army that's slighter stronger, will probably be on a disadvantage.
All in all, Company of Heroes 2 is still a great game from a great franchise, but it seems like the developers/publishers may have lost some favor with its player base mainly because of the slew of "standalones" that players have to shell more money for in addition to the "base game".