The consensus for now sounds like that this game is very good but not great enough to revolutionize the RTS genre like its predecessor did. Still, people have considered it a worthy sequel to the original. Here are some quotes and scores from other websites:

PC Gamer:

Like the Red Army it depicts, it wages its war by throwing everything forward at once, and like that Red Army, too many casualties were left to die along the way. It’s sometimes clumsy, a game that can’t maintain all its systems, with too many disparate moving parts to feel consistently coherent. But the final result, despite the small losses along the way, is a winner.

80%

AusGamers has given the game its highest praise saying:

These gripes really do pale in comparison to the overall achievement of a sequel that is absolutely well worth the wait. Even now, I can’t wait to finish this review and sink some more hours into the multiplayer which, coming from an avid admirer of the original games, is testament to how well Relic Entertainment has made a game for the fans, but also presented a whole lot more.

9.4/10

Edge Magazine:

Attempting to explore the Eastern Front thematically proves misjudged, while persistent unit stupidity is wearing thin after seven years and four games. Counteracting that are the core mechanics, which are as enjoyable as ever, and there are smart new missions to test series veterans.

7/10

Nevermind about what I said about Edge, Quarter to Three was the most critical of CoH 2, but looking at other reviews of games, Tom Chick seems like the Armond White of videogame journalists:

Company of Heroes 2 might be the steepest tumble from game design genius to crassly missing the point that I’ve ever seen.

1/5

There are other review scores found on Metacritic, where CoH 2 currently has an 82 out of 100 (31 reviews up now):

• Hardcore Gamer Magazine: 4.5/5
• Gaming Trend: 90/100
• Videogamer: 8/10
• Gamesradar: 4 out of 5 stars
• Destructoid: 10/10

I tried the beta but it didn't grab me as the first one did. Looks like a solid game, though.

Feels and looks too 'arcade' for me. After a few years of Men of War series, it will be hard to go back to Company of Heroes. It is a shame THQ didn't last long for CoH. Though, obviously it would have not saved it.

I like RTS... however there is something very unappealing about COH2, its just like generic...

I'm glad they didn't go the DoW2 route, making a very different RTS isn't worth it if its dull, repetitive and lacks depth..

I've only managed to play one game of the Beta, but I enjoyed it quite a lot. With how much I've sunk into the first one, I'm definitely looking forward to this ones' proper release.

I think the game really shines for the Multiplayer, and in this sense, many of the reviews coming out right now have the potential to fail by not giving that a fair review.

the game is true to the original.

p.s. I think the PC gamer reviewer is an idiot. CoH2, 80; DA2, 94? lol.

Still playing the beta and I can't wait for 25th and play it proper.

Reviews for this game have been pretty weird, none of them seem to care about the multiplayer even though, from what I can tell, CoH has always been primarily a multiplayer series.

My mom is playing the beta for some reason. She gives it a thumbs up.

I am not kidding.

can i go out wit your mom dawg would dat be cool wit you

It's a Relic game. It's a known quantity. I don't expect it to suck anyways. I just don't expect it to be that different either.

From what i´ve played of the Beta it feels solid and i like the different setting over previous games. Now i´m just waiting to jump into the campaign on the 25th!

It's like a vampire sucked all the personality out of the game and left it to rot a bland, super generic Men of War clone. Sit your tanks your tanks back, infantry forward, micro a few units real well and win every battle. Love unfunny one-liners? Well you're in luck because you'll be hearing them over and over again because that's all there is, one line! It's a shame the vibrant and colorful art style of the first game got replaced with this harsh grittiness. Relic lost a lot of good talent back in the 2007 split including all the original dev leads of the first CoH. Very disappointed in these new devs.

Pretty much, its a shame their growth was hampered by the fall of THQ. The guys who ran the Dow2 community were pretty awesome :(

It seems about accurate. People who enjoyed the first one will probably enjoy the second one, but it doesn't do anything too amazing. Still a good strategy game, definitely worth it for those interested in the genre, I know I'll be playing.

I'm having a lot of fun playing it, but the menus look like a Free to Play mess. It's hard to get anywhere, get anything done, and downright confusing. Not a big fan of all that day one DLC either.

I don't think I'd say COH revolutionized RTSs. Starcraft 2 is the biggest RTS and its as traditional as they come.

I see Tom Chick continues to be a complete joke.

I love that Tom Chick's reviews always piss everybody off and are completely the opposite of everybody else.

I don't really care why, but I find it hilarious.

He might as well have only 2 stars. Does he ever go higher?

@cornbredx: He definitely doesn't like RTS' very much. He gave SC 2 HOTS a 2.

To answer your question about going higher than 2, he gave both Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us 3 stars. But to be fair, he did give Metro Last Light 5 stars, so he does give out perfect scores once a while.

Oh wow, I didn't know that (I only occasionally read one of his reviews, it's mainly more fun to read the comments on them). I guess there are games he likes! ha

My friend seems to really like it. I'd buy it, but I'm kind of indifferent towards RTS games.

gezze, glad thats not just me ... the menues are messed up.

Very few games can be said to 'revolutionize' or really change up the RTS formula. Total War is one, I'd say, because it started out as a CnC clone with samurais and ended up as something never seen before. The first Dawn of War is another, as it had a unique resource system where the player had to be aggressive and go out to capture points to earn money, instead of managing workers around blobs of minerals.

Is there no room for RTS in this day and age of tower defense and DOTA..MOBA, DOBATOMA? Anyway, I got in on the beta and it sure as hell is more CoH, which I never cared for. It's unfortunate to see Relic pimping that DLC really hard this time. I hope this does well though, because I really really want DoW3.

I wouldn't say Total War was ever a CnC clone... or particularly revolutionary for that matter. It's a pretty natural progression from games like Lords of the Realm. If anything the series has moved even closer to Lords of the Realm over time.

I'm far more interested in the scope of anti-Russian stuff in the campaign and how much the story will focus on it. Yes, we all know about Order 277 but I'm hoping that they'll stick with the hint of a (from the first trailer) focus on the sacrifices of the Red Army more.

It's all about the Eastern Front for me, so as long as the gameplay is relatively close to the original I'll be happy. Stalingrad better be fucking insane.

@vuud: Yeah The first Total war never intended to be a C&C clone but I can see you're one of those people.

Also I think the price and the dlc is a response to the steam sales though Crusader Kings 2 dealt with it in a more tasteful manner.

Honestly, its a good game, but they didn't really change anything. Kind of feels like they just remade the first game but with shittier menus and some microtransations?

@xeiphyer: Well yeah like I've said before I prefer this over a completely new mechanics that lead to a game that feels nothing like its predecessor but I guess a middle ground could have been found. I would say that the game balanced differently with Russia playing very differently from the Germans, apart from that I'd say its just a differently balanced game with a upgraded engine and that's fine by me.

The original COH is one of the games I install to a new pc/ laptop everytime. I was hoping for a more wide scale warfare(air, sea) but im ok with the direction.

@xeiphyer If there's one thing that worries me it's those pre-order Commanders. As a free bonus they seem fine - just the same abilities rejigged. But as a micro-transaction each one is what, 2 quid? That's appallingly expensive for nothing really new. As a sign of what might be to come it seems really greedy on Relic's part. Who knows, but if I'm being asked to pay so much for a Commander I'd damn well better be getting a giant new tank with it ;)

It looks really nice. I will probably get it, though I will probably wait for the Steam Summer sale. I played a significant amount of the original back in the day. I really don't like all the DLC stuff though. Some of the stuff in that deluxe edition seem kinda major to be DLC, especially given that it is a full priced game.

I would not trust american review sites you normally look at. In Germany a RTS and PC crazy country it is getting really good scores.

What is Quarter to three supposed to be? A website about video games? Or a blog for somebody to hate on (most) popular things?

Reading some of the reviews on there now.. it´s fucking ridiculous. That website need help.

Edit: I don´t really care all that much about CoH2.. was hoping they would fix the AI. They probably didn´t. Still, that website.. oh god that website.

@superfriend: I think its just a video game blog. Like I said, Tom Chick seems to give most games lower scores than they should maybe because either A: he genuinely doesn't like the games or B: He's doing it maybe to grab attention and gain this reputation to become the Armond White of video games.

Whatever the case is, I'm not a fan of the site as I'm looking over the reviews. Sticking with Giant Bomb and Rev3Games as my go to places for reviews.

@mocbucket62: I wouldn't say CoH "revolutionized the RTS genre," if something did that then people might actually be interested in RTS games. It has some smart systems and is definitely more tactically interesting than most other RTS games and more about intelligent usage of men in a pseudo realistic sense then silly micromanagement methods, which is fine by me. I'll still take Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance for the sheer scale and original Starcraft: Brood War for the ridiculous volume of custom maps and generally creative playerbase but CoH is a good game.

I wasn't a big fan of the original CoH because my mind couldn't wrap itself around the idea of an RTS set in WW2. Once I engaged the enemy, it didn't occur to me that it made sense to 'make' more troops despite playing other RTSes before it.
Coming from that perspective, CoH2 always looked like a half-baked attempt to keep THQ's head above water. I hope anyone with sense doesn't blame Relic for the outcome.

I've been playing for two days now and I'm still enjoying the game but there are a couple of game elements that just seem rushed. The main menu's art design seem to harken back to an old movie theatre vibe with cartoonish movie marquees which don't really fit the theme. I think this and other gui elements gives the game an arcady feel. The new integrated Twitch streaming is a excellent feature and I've been using it a lot. Perhaps with an update and a more options I could see myself tossing x-Split and openbroadcaster if only more of my games had this wicked feature. Btw maybe I just suck at this game but on normal difficulty I'm still failing the odd level, how are you people fairing I wonder.