The most recent DLC, the Western Front Armies, is a tremendous step toward achieving the success that Company of Heroes 2 has been working so hard to achieve over the past year of adjustments, balancing, and community building. There is no new single-player content in this DLC because the campaign storyline in the base Game wasn't very well written and executed. Instead, with the German Oberkommando West and the US Army's entrance, the emphasis is on bringing fresh blood to the multiplayer servers.

In many aspects, the Company of Heroes 2 was a significant advance over the original Company of Heroes. Still, when the theatre of war was altered, we had to abandon our preferred armies and playstyles. Playing as the Western Germans and the Americans after spending so much time with them in the CoH1 is like welcoming old friends to your lovely new house. Bringing those legendary units and battlefields into the new graphics and physics engines of CoH2 feels better than an improvement.

The US Forces and the German Oberkommando West are two new factions in the first Company of Heroes 2 expansion pack, The Western Front Armies. It is a wholly multiplayer expansion pack; as such, it does not include any new single-player campaign material. Relic developed Ardennes Assault, a second, utterly single-player campaign expansion pack.

Players who do not yet own any Company of Heroes 2 products can access all current Company of Heroes 2 maps in auto-match and play against all other factions in multiplayer or skirmishes against the AI by purchasing the USF army separately.

Under the direction of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, US Forces landed on the gruesome Normandy beaches and battled their way far into Europe to push back the German war machine. An army of citizen troops is now stretched out on hostile territory and battle-weary against a professional military with more than four years of experience. The US Forces fight ferociously and ruthlessly to widen the frontlines as they contend with the best Germany offers.

The US Forces are a flexible army that can bend but not break. They rely on soldiers and vehicles that are incredibly adaptive, and their distinctive base structure reflects the transient nature of the frontlines. While elite Paratroopers and airpower disrupt enemy plans far beyond the front lines, fast light and medium armoured vehicles, like the venerable M4A3 Sherman, provide mobile firepower to support adaptable Riflemen.

Features :  

• PRINCIPALS US FORCES : Utilize innovative techniques to command Eisenhower's massive Allied army
• A WESTERN FRONT : Increase the scope of the conflict to the well-known Western Front theatre of battle, which will feature beautiful new settings that will add authenticity and vitality to the Game like never before
• NEW MAPS : Along with the impressive collection of 23 already-existing Company of Heroes 2 maps and more than 1,000 community-created maps accessible on the Steam Workshop, eight magnificent new maps have been added.
• ACTIVE ONLINE CONFLICT : Engage in visceral combat with enemies worldwide and experience frontline strategic warfare at a previously unheard-of Level of fury.
• EVERY BATTLE HAS A STORY TO TELL : Experience the severity of frontline combat up near and personal while taking command of the conflict with your military prowess.

No need for the Base Game. Although you cannot play as the other three factions without the Base Game, this enables Standalone Multiplayer access. To play different Game variations, though, check out Company of Heroes!