There's no nostalgia factor here, you enter in the mechanics rightaway. You may like or dislike the graphics (there was an issue,back then with H2 lovers, who at first disliked the design), but the game is so solid and works so well that it's impossible not get into it. Turn based strategy at its best.
I just did the first chapter and it feel super ok, nice adventure during the new republic. Its an open doors and shoot enemies game, but with story. Jedi academy is sort of similar but with more options, customization and better but very similar graphics. If you liked it (its the one I played back then) you will enjoy this title.
Nice and solid combat, good level design, thats all u need. As others say, you will feel the rush of a dark souls boss fight, the deaths, the learning and the exploits. Controls are a bit weird, but you get used to and they have interesting variations. It's extrmely important, however, to choose your weapons carefully for every fight, keeping in mind that some give you the key to victory. Try all of the weapons at the beginning, because the game doesnt do a tutorial on this aspect and I consider it basic, given that is one of the features of the game. Once you realize about the different approaches (and choices) to the fights, its extremely enjoyable.
I love CC series, but this is, in my opinion, the most balanced, dinamic and challenging of all the titles concerning player vs. engine game. The later ones are better for player vs. player. I explain: In the latest titles you can manage larger groups in bigger maps, but there is an AI issue: AI works in a very specific way: it tries to catch the victory locations, and moves directly to them, specially with its tanks. This way of fighting hasn't changed during the series and it is a desing that doesn't work well in big maps: their tanks get isolated in open terrain, their infantry is caught without support, and if you are smart you can kill them separately. Nothing of this happens in CC2, because that AI design was done for little to medium maps, that is to say, it was done for THIS game. Here, in the Dutch bocage, enemy tanks can't go fastly, so they always work together with infantry. That gives you the pain of your life. Get ready to plan, move, set killzones and tank traps with your scarce resources, specially if commanding allied airborne teams. My god, thats pure hell. If this game has some realism, I can't help but feel an overwhelming sorrow for the people that fought that grim war. Also, the problems with moving vehicles that you may find in later titles are already here, but due again to the size of the map they arent as bothersome. Interestingly, the game sets a division between infantry and support, so you can get only a limited number of heavy weapons. Far from feeling undersuited, it is very well balanced, and adds to the challenge. If your are in for loads of tanks, go for CCIII, the Russian Front, where armors rule the land since the very beginning. 9/10 made me a IIWW hooked, more than MoH spear head.
