The Company of Heroes series has raised the bar when it comes to Real Time Strategy games (RTSs). The graphics have been a big part of Company of Heroes. The dynamic weather, the day/night options, the beautifully rendered destructible environment and the spectacular looking firefights are still keeping Company of Heroes in the spotlight.

While the graphics were and are still very influential, it was the gameplay that really made Company of Heroes such a popular title. The game is very well balanced and while it is a very complex game, at the same time, it is basic enough where RTS fans can just pick it up as they play. But as with all things, eventually, we need something different; something fresh. Over the last few months I reviewed several other RTSs and while they were not horrible per say, they were not Company of Heroes material either.

The problem that I have with many Real-Time Strategy games is the lack of actual strategy. Much of the time, sheer size alone determines the outcome of a fight. I'm not a fan of the Zerg strategy and this is probably the main reason why I like Company of Heroes so much; numbers don't mean anything in that game; strategy dictates the outcome. While I'm not bored of the Company of Heroes strategy and game mechanics, I am really bored of the World War II genre. Since I'm craving a good RTS to play, I decided to take a gamble and pick up a copy of JTF - Joint Task Force. JTF shifts from the WWII genre towards modern warfare. While it looks like the game does not provide for a navy, it does seem to at least have some sort of an air force. The game's quality will be determined soon enough. I'm just excited that I'm not going to get shelled by Tiger tanks this time; hurray!