Review: Company of Heroes – Tales of Valor

There was a period in the early noughties where every second PC game was WWII based. The market was flooded with so many mediocre WW2 games that I just got fed up firing an MP40 or storming the beaches of Normandy. At one point I firmly believed that the well had gone dry. The Medal of Honour series was in rapid decline and the Call of Duty developers decided to go the modern warfare route for the next instalment. Then, Company of Heroes came out and all was forgiven. It had something for everybody. It had the tactical element to satisfy your average RTS fan, but it was also action packed and not overtly complicated so it appealed to those ADD riddled FPS tards...er...I mean gamers. I was instantly hooked and to this day I still play it.

Something a bit different

Tales of Valour is the latest addition to the series and is the second expansion for COH. This time around Relic has approached the game a little differently. The single player campaign allows you to control one or two units directly instead of the usual base building and mass assaults. You will be responsible for loading certain shells for your tanks, moving into position, targeting/firing at enemies and generally using the special abilities available to your units to get them through certain situations. The system is very similar to Codemasters' Soldiers: Heroes of WW2. While I appreciate a fresh approach in gameplay it isn't implemented as well as I would have liked and in the end the option to use it was something I completely ignored.

Direct fire has been tried before and there is a reason it's not very popular. Every game that has ever used it has fallen into two categories; those that rely on direct fire because the AI can't take of itself and those that don't need it because the AI is better at it than you. Tales of Valour falls into the latter category. There is no benefit to using direct fire. The AI can target enemies just as well as you and so in the end the game becomes classic COH, but on a much smaller scale.

Blink...if you dare

The single player campaign has nine missions divided into three campaigns. However, it's criminally short. I sneezed during the German campaign and missed two missions. You could easily beat it in half a day. Despite its lack of longevity the campaigns are extremely fun. They range from commanding a Tiger Tank in France, assaulting and holding an important strategic position with American troops after the Normandy landings and commanding German troops who are there to aid their surrounded allies. Since you will be commanding only a handful of troops during each mission the game has more in common with World in Conflict rather than classic COH. The smaller scale combat might appeal to some, but hardcore COH fans will definitely crave for the classic base building style after a couple of missions.

One major problem I have with the campaign is its complete lack of immersion. That immersion is ruined by the supermen you control. In the Tiger Tank campaign your single Tiger is unstoppable. It can go toe to toe with about five enemy tanks in one engagement. Now throw in the upgrades you can get and it becomes farcical. I upgraded my tank to the point where it could fire every three seconds. Can you imagine how deadly a rapid firing Tiger Tank is? Ask the one hundred strong British I eliminated in the final mission of the Tiger Tank campaign. It's the same with the American soldiers. Baker squad has about four men, but they could take out about ten enemy infantry squads and that's without upgrades. Every mission descends into steam rolling from one part of the map to the other with little regard for tactics. The one exception is the campaign Falaise Pocket. It gives you the option to build troops and tanks. Also, all of your soldiers are normal and contain no drugged up supermen. It was by far my favourite campaign.

Fun with friends

Tales of Valour's real meat lies in its multiplayer. There are three new modes available including Panzerkrieg, Stonewall and Assault. Panzerkrieg seems to be the most popular one. It's your standard affair of everybody getting one tank and the object is to seek out and destroy your enemy. Stonewall is a co-operative mode where you and your friends are tasked with holding a position while the enemy AI throws waves upon waves of troops at you. Assault is an interesting one. Both players start off with a defensive position built for them and in order to win you have to assault and take your enemies position. The new multiplayer modes are enjoyable, but are also hit and miss. Assault can be a little dry and Stonewall feels repetitive at times.

As you would expect Tales of Valour is blessed with COH's excellent graphics and presentation. Each faction now has some new units, however, these new units can only be used at the expense other units. I see no logical reason for this at all. I felt it would have provided more variety in the skirmishes and multiplayer had all the units been included.

Final thoughts

Tales of Valour is a success, but it's not the resounding success Opposing Fronts was. For those who have no interest in playing online you may want to skip it as you're going to find very little in the single player campaigns. For those looking for another solid expansion you may also feel a little cheated by it. Opposing Fronts offered two full campaigns and two new factions while this only offers nine new units and missions.

Tales of Valour just doesn't add enough new content and what it does add is pretty much useless. This one is only for the die hard COH fans.