Rumours and previews of the expansion previously suggested that the British would be a more defensive force than the Americans of the original game, but in my experience they were just as effective at ploughing forward as their allies. The tanks in particular are especially useful and can use their increased speed ability to nip behind enemy tanks and fire a few shells into the un-armoured rear of the enemy. Certain units like the Cromwell Command Tank count as officers too it seems and form an invaluable part of the British forces.

Officer status isn’t just limited to single, pompous men running around on the battlefield though. Opposing Fronts lets players campaign as either the British 2nd Army (left) or the Panzer Elite (right)

As officers upgrade to veteran status, they gain a few new abilities – as if it were a special course they teach at Eton, or something. Veterans are formed a little differently than in the original game too, with only officers being capable of becoming veterans. Moving onto gameplay, I should point out that the voice acting isn’t the only difference between the officers and grunts of the British side. There’s the officers who are typically stoic and posh, supported by the grunts who are voiced in an annoying blend of English accents, all of whom you can expect to use phrases like “ By Jove, that was a blighter!” With the British Army, it’s the usual problems. Sometimes it’s just the Germans, talking in English but bizarrely using occasional German terms and reminding each other to “ Remember what Mother used to tell us, eh Klaus?”, but the British fall prey to this acting too. Yep, Opposing Fronts has unfortunately started down that long, dark road of using stereotypical voice acting and writing in place of the decent character-building cutscenes of the original game. By Jove, it’s a bloody war!As previously mentioned, the British forces play a little differently to the Americans and a lot of that is at first communicated through the voice acting.

Company of heroes 1 german voices