Review:
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor Review

by Carl Doherty

Relic’s latest action-orientated expansion offers a series of inventive but short-lived diversions.

When it debuted in late 2006, Relic’s Company of Heroes seemed to be a first in many aspects. Not only was it the emissary for ‘Games for Windows’ and the first commercial game to utilise the new Direct3D 10, it was perhaps the first real-time strategy in which those little toy soldiers on the battlefield appeared to think and act for themselves. Following Relic’s success with the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, Company of Heroes managed to follow the World War II shooter vogue then led by the Call of Duty and its plentiful offspring without feeling like it owed its design to any of those series. While its foundations were steeped in RTS convention, COH had an intimate, infantry-driven approach that was as immersive as any first-person shooter. War had never been so much fun.

The first expansion, Opposing Fronts saw gamers hop into the steel-toed boots of those historical villains we all love to hate – or at least that’s how the videogame industry plays it – the German Panzer Elite, as well as those stiff-lipped gentlemen of the British Army. With no new factions to play, and only three brief campaigns, several new vehicle units and a trio of multiplayer modes on offer, Tales of Valor has far less to offer than Opposing Fronts. As a standalone expansion it upholds the series’ standard of excellence, but its skimpy features don’t really justify the full retail price.

Like Opposing Fronts, Tales of Valor is a standalone expansion, and does not require the original game to run. Those unaccustomed to the series will probably want to study the clunky but adequate training mode, though in all fairness anyone who hasn’t played the original Company of Heroes is best advised to start there instead. Be warned, Valor’s unforgiving single player campaigns are designed for players familiar with Company of Heroes, or at least the RTS genre if not this particular series, and the tutorials only cover the game’s most basic aspects.