Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

By Jason Waldrop

Tales of Valor is the second and latest stand-alone expansion for Company of Heroes from developer Relic Entertainment. Company of Heroes was given high praise for its excellent graphics, unique resource management, solid tactical gameplay and fun multiplayer component. Opposing Fronts was the first stand-alone expansion to be released, and it truly expanded Company of Heroes by adding two new playable armies along with two very long, albeit extremely difficult, campaigns. This time Relic has decided to go in a new direction with Tales of Valor, much like they did with Dawn of War II, but the results are less than impressive.

Core Gameplay

Long time fans will be happy to know that the core gameplay has remained relatively unchanged and is still as solid and fresh as it was back in 2006. The player begins each mission with a predefined amount of resources – manpower, munitions and fuel – along with some units. In order to build new units and expand your base you must capture territories that offer these key resources. Needless to say, the more territory you control the greater number of resources the player will have at their disposal.

Resources are not the only key to winning a mission; any would-be armchair general will also need to know how to control the units that they have under their command. The small scale tactical combat continues to be this franchises strong suit. It's not enough to just create as many armored or infantry units as you can and then try to steamroll the opponent as a properly defended position will decimate even the largest offensive. Rather, engaging the enemy and suppressing them with machine gun and artillery fire, all the while positioning a combined force of infantry and armor units to attack exposed enemy flanks, continues to be the key to success in this franchise.

The only two real problems with the gameplay come from the spotty use of cover by infantry and the general lack of AI when it comes to pathfinding. Infantry units tend to spread out when engaging the enemy, taking them out of cover and exposing them to enemy fire. The pathfinding becomes a real issue when you are controlling a sizable force, and becomes even worse if trying to order units to move through urban areas. Both issues are not game-breaking by any means, but they do add an unneeded amount of micromanagement at times.

A new feature found in Tales of Valor is the direct-fire mode, where the player can take control over the aiming and firing of a specific unit. Unfortunately, the results are underwhelming as well as being superfluous. If you were to believe what is written on the back of the box, you would think that you could jump into the seat of that Tiger tank, or finding yourself on the battlefield hiding behind cover and exchanging fire with the enemy - sadly that is not the case. Ultimately, there is very little difference between direct-fire mode and just ordering a unit to attack normally.

In terms of presentation, Tales of Valor does not disappoint. The Essence Engine that has powered all three Company of Heroes titles continues to look fantastic. The sound effects, voice-overs, and the orchestrated sound track are solid and still pleasing to the ear. Tales of Valor does require you to register an account with Relic, and as long as there is an internet connection the disc is not required to play the game.

Campaigns

Tales of Valor’s three campaigns - Tiger Ace, Causeway and Falaise Pocket - are dull and uninteresting, offering a total of nine missions. Tiger Ace has the player controlling a Tiger tank in France; Causeway places the player in command of American troops days after the Normandy invasion; and Falaise Pocket finds the player leading the Werhmacht as they try desperately to hold off Allied forces. Of the three new campaigns, only Falaise Pocket had any real substance to the missions. On top of that, the campaigns are extremely short in length and can be completed in just a couple of hours.

Tiger Ace and Causeway campaigns do differ from Falaise Pocket and past campaigns in that there is less emphasis on resource management and zone control. In Tiger Ace, the player is the commander of a Tiger tank that is virtually unstoppable, with the main focus in the three missions being the management of your tank crew. Similarly, Causeway has the player controlling Able and Baker Company as they attempt to rally the troops to assault and hold the La Fière Causeway.

The military doctrines for these two campaigns have also changed as well. In the past, armies have access to one of three military doctrines – for example Armor, Airborne or Infantry – each with its own set of upgrades or even new units. For the Tiger Ace and Causeway campaigns, the military doctrines are replaced with unit upgrades. Unfortunately, the upgrades have a side effect of turning your units into super units, making the game much less challenging.

Online Gameplay

Fans of the online gameplay will be happy to know that Tales of Valor features three new multiplayer game modes - Operation PanzerKrieg, Operation Stonewall, and Operation Assault. Operation PanzerKreig pits players against one another in tank warfare, much like the old Atari game Combat. Operation Stonewall is a cooperative mode that has players teaming up to defend a town from waves of AI-controlled enemies. Operation Assault is the most unique mode of them all, essentially the player and his team mates control hero units and must lead the AI to victory by assaulting the defensive positions of the enemy.

The three new multiplayer modes are a nice addition, but they can only be played on a single map which over time could become stale. The Classic multiplayer and Skirmish modes remain untouched, and the new units that come with Tales of Valor unfortunately replace existing units. A better idea would to have been to have the new units augment the ones already in the game, along with adding a few new maps to add some variety to the Skirmish and Classic multiplayer. Sadly this just isn't the case.