Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

by THQ

Product Features

• 2-8 person multiplayer support via LAN or the Internet and New maps based on famous battles such as Villers-Bocage.
• 3 Immersive single player campaigns/storylines that utilize tank and infantry units, in both the Allied and Axis camps following D-Day.
• Direct Fire Control targeting system that allows players to aim and fire at any spot in real-time to capitalize on the changing battle conditions.
• New combat units available in multiplayer modes such as the all-terrain amphibious Schwimmwagen unit and the tank killing British air unit, the Hellcat.
• 3 New Multiplayer Modes: Become a tank commander in Panzerkrieg; Push back enemy lines in Assault; Defend against waves of attackers in Stonewall.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001E27KTM
• Item Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: April 8, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,838 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #13 in Video Games > PC Games > Strategy > Real-Time

Product Description

Platform: PC

Amazon.com Product Description

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is the stand alone -- meaning it doesn't require an earlier game version -- expansion to the 2006 Game of the Year winner and highest rated Real-Time Strategy (RTS) franchise Company of Heroes. Featuring new campaigns to overcome, units to command, and battlefields to conquer, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor delivers evolved gameplay mechanics and three episodic adventures containing 9 new missions, 3 new multiplayer modes, and new abilities to master. In-your-face armored might. View larger. Strategic power from a distance. View larger. Intense small-scale combat. View larger. Battles featuring overwhelming odds. View larger. New multiplayer vehicles. View larger. Three Stories in One Game Since the beginning of the Company of Heroes franchise, the stories that it has told have been born of the game's unique and engaging RTS experience. Focused on historically based, intense, small-scale WWII combat rather than the mega battles set in sci-fi or fantasy game worlds that are common to most RTS games, this allows players to experience both the fruits and follies of their battlefield decisions on an intimate level as they truly become part of the story. This approach to storytelling is taken even further in three separate single player campaigns built into Tales of Valor. Set during the historical battles following the Allied invasion of Europe on D-Day, these three -- Tiger Ace, Causeway and Falaise Pocket -- illustrate the struggles of both individual German and Allied squads from both the perspective of tank commanders and crew and field soldiers. Each campaign contains three missions, allowing players to immerse themselves in the gameplay and get to know their squadmates. New Multiplayer Vehicles and Modes In addition to its single player campaigns, Company of Heroes also features significant new multiplayer functionality. The first example of this are the variety of vehicles that players will have access to in multiplayer modes. These include, but are not limited to, the 'Schwimmwagon' an German amphibious vehicle used for reconnaissance missions and enemy troop harassment; the Hellcat, a sturdy Allied plane valuable in battling tanks from above; and the Kangaroo, a heavily armored, British troop carrier. The game also contains three new multiplayer modes which utilize both Allied and Axis forces. 'Stonewall' mode is a co-op mode where players work together to fend off invasion as they struggle to keep a town from falling under enemy control. 'Assault' mode challenges players to push the limits of the front line as they choose a unit, battle opposing enemy units and attempt to destroy the opposition's headquarters. And finally, 'Panzerkrieg' is an all out arcade style tank battle where every unit is out for itself. Direct Fire Control As an extension of Company of Heroes' focus on small-scale, but intense combat, Tales of Valor features a new optional targeting system known as 'Direct Fire.' Through this players can target exact spots on tanks or other vehicles, specific areas of the battlefield or even individual soldiers within a unit. This ultra specific targeting system allows players to get even closer to the action than in previous games, yet is toggle based, making it is easy for players to return to standard firing as you choose. 'Direct Fire' is available in all single player campaigns, as well as the 'Panzerkrieg' multiplayer mode. Key Game Features: 3 Immersive Storylines - Take command of key soldiers and experience how they helped turn the tide of battle in some of the most historic clashes of World War II. Episode 1: Tiger Ace - Control Tiger Tank Ace Hauptmann Voss’s highly decorated Tigergruppen against the British 7th Armored Division on D-Day in one of the most famous tank battles of WWII. Episode 2: Causeway - Command an American Paratrooper Company in the hours following the initial D-day landings. Episode 2: Falaise Pocket - Command the Wehrmacht Army as your soldiers try and hold off the advancing Allied army. Direct Fire Control - Not only can the player’s tactical and strategic decisions influence the battle, but players also directly control units on the battlefield. Players will aim, fire, and maneuver in real-time to capitalize on the changing battle conditions. New Combat Units - New infantry and vehicles such as the Schwimmwagen and Hellcat will be available. The Schwimmwagen is an amphibious, all-wheel drive off-road vehicle while the Hellcat, a sturdy Allied plane is valuable in battling tanks from above. Conquer New Territory - New maps based on famous battles such as Villers-Bocage will be available for competitive players in the online battlefield. 3 New Multiplayer Modes - New multiplayer modes to experience with your friends. Become a tank commander and square off in Panzerkrieg, choose a hero unit and join the battle to push back enemy lines in Assault, or team up and defend against waves of attackers in Stonewall. 8 Person Multiplayer Support - Game features 2-8 person multiplayer support via LAN or the Internet. System Requirements: Minimum Specifications: OS: Windows XP SP2/Windows Vista SP1 Processor: SSE capable processor, 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium IV or equivalent or AMD Athlon XP or equivalent RAM: 512MB XP / 1GB Vista Graphics: DirectX 9.0c compatible 64 MB video card with Pixel Shader 1.1 support or equivalent and latest manufacturer drivers Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM drive Network: Broadband Internet connection for online play Input: Mouse, keyboard

Product Description

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is the stand alone -- meaning it doesn't require an earlier game version -- expansion to the 2006 Game of the Year winner and highest rated Real-Time Strategy (RTS) franchise Company of Heroes. Featuring new campaigns to overcome, units to command, and battlefields to conquer, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor delivers evolved gameplay mechanics and three episodic adventures containing 9 new missions, 3 new multiplayer modes, and new abilities to master.

Three Stories in One Game
Since the beginning of the Company of Heroes franchise, the stories that it has told have been born of the game's unique and engaging RTS experience. Focused on historically based, intense, small-scale WWII combat rather than the mega battles set in sci-fi or fantasy game worlds that are common to most RTS games, this allows players to experience both the fruits and follies of their battlefield decisions on an intimate level as they truly become part of the story. This approach to storytelling is taken even further in three separate single player campaigns built into Tales of Valor. Set during the historical battles following the Allied invasion of Europe on D-Day, these three -- Tiger Ace, Causeway and Falaise Pocket -- illustrate the struggles of both individual German and Allied squads from both the perspective of tank commanders and crew and field soldiers. Each campaign contains three missions, allowing players to immerse themselves in the gameplay and get to know their squadmates.

New Multiplayer Vehicles and Modes
In addition to its single player campaigns, Company of Heroes also features significant new multiplayer functionality. The first example of this are the variety of vehicles that players will have access to in multiplayer modes. These include, but are not limited to, the 'Schwimmwagon' an German amphibious vehicle used for reconnaissance missions and enemy troop harassment; the Hellcat, a sturdy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars War gets personal but it's WAY TOO SHORT!, April 8, 2009

By 

H. Crosland "Dredded Panthyr" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor (DVD-ROM)

I have always enjoyed the CoH series and this expansion pack in a sense gives us a little bit more of what they wanted and that's being able to get up close and personal with some of the major battles that has been fought in the game. I like the idea that Relic has moved this game from more of the same to a more tactical RTS. But it's not enough...read on and see what I am talking about.

This game is reminiscent to the recently released Men of War but prettier and contains much less micromanaging.

I do like the idea that you still accumulate resources and use them to upgrade your men based on the amount of kills incurred. Also some of your solders get new abilities based on the upgrades like calling in artillery strikes or healing your solders. Also I like that this game is a bit more fast paced than Men of War where ONE scenario could take a long time to play with sometimes overwhelming odds only problem is, sometimes it feels arcadey.

The controls are sometimes a bit touch and go as the direct firing system you have to learn to manage and switch over to access another squad without taking the present unit off of an objective.

One of my complaints right now is that sometimes the enemy AI doesn't respond to attacks and just sit there while fired on or sometimes they retreat from my units for no reason or that some kills on enemy armor is insanely quick.

But my biggest gripe of them all is there are ONLY 9 MISSIONS total?? (and it doesn't help that I am 5 missions in!) Ok...wait you mean to tell me this is called a 'standalone game' in which you don't need the original games and you ONLY OFFER 9 missions that you can breeze thru in a day or 2 Relic?

This is not a good deal unless the people who want to play this game online don't care and unfortunately I am not one of them. This wouldn't fly as even a seperate solo game!

Relic, listen closely...when you produce a game like this for the single players out there, 9 missions is NOT ENOUGH. Try doubling that number or better yet, go back and let players use old maps from the originals to play in the new mode, don't cheat us by giving a thirsty person a sip and steal 30 bucks for it!

Worse yet you don't get any new countries such as Russia, Japan or Italy to tangle with and the new units just don't feel all that special.

I will be the first to admit that I fell for the okey doke because I liked the other 2 games but this felt like an afterthought and not worth a 30 dollar purchase. SO be warned.

Heck take notes from the little guys from Russia that produced Men of War!!!

You guys dropped the ball on this one!

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wait for price drop, April 13, 2009

By 

go bo sox! - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor (DVD-ROM)

Let me start by saying I've been playing CoH since initial release and so far have bought every installment of it on their respective release dates. I'm not going to tell you that ToV doesn't add to the game. It does, and as a matter of fact, I would recommend getting it at some time. However, that time is not now, as so far this product is grossly overpriced.

Let's compare. Opposing Fronts came with: 2 new factions, 3 concentrations for each faction, consequently a huge number of new units. Tales of Valor comes with: I believe 6-7 new units, at least 3 of which you'll probably never use depending on your play style. Also 3 new game modes. I'll leave the campaigns aside for now. So on paper, you can see that OF had much more to offer to the game experience, however, ToV still looks decent. That's until you realize that at this point there is only ONE map for each of the 3 new modes. Not to mention the fact that so far OF owners such as myself cannot play as the British or Panzer Elite during Operation: Stonewall. So that means that the largest multi-player component to this latest expansion is going to become pretty stale pretty fast.

Now single-player-wise, I would say that the Tiger Ace campaign was pretty fun, however that one sports a grand total of 3 pretty short missions. Woop dee doo. The other campaigns are decent enough too, but really, does anybody buy CoH to play the campaigns?

Relic has been touting the addition of Direct Fire for weeks, however after having used it, I have to say their implementation of it in CoH is substantially more limited than I thought it would be. It's not allowed in multiplayer (unless you're doing panzerkreig), which honestly is a little puzzling to me. One would think that at least the big ol' tanks--Pershings, Tigers, etc. would be able to use it in skirmishes or basic matches.

The bottom line is this: If you own the original CoH only, buy OF but skip ToV. If you own both CoH and OF, skip ToV. If you don't own any games in the CoH franchise, I wouldn't start off with this one. If and when Relic releases more maps for the new game modes, and after the price goes down closer to the teens, I would say that at that point it's worth it to pick up a copy of Tales of Valor. Until then, however, you're really only looking at about a week of interest in the new features before you start asking yourself why you bought this. I suppose the lesson I've learned now is not to touch Relic's products on or shortly after the release date. They're likely to burn you.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Giant freaking rip off, April 10, 2009

By 

Sean P. Walsh (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor (DVD-ROM)

Do not purchase this "standalone" expansion if you like long single player campaigns or b) like low dollar per hour entertainment

The single player campaigns are literally 3 missions long and take only 1 hour to complete each. So thats roughly $10 per hour of entertainment if you do not play RTS's online. There's an extreme lack of content here and its borderline gouging. The $40 previous add-on actually gave you some value with two fully featured campaigns but theres nothing to recommend here for the single player RTS fan.

I can only recommend purchasing if you are new to the series and like multiplayer RTSs because thats the only value in this purchasing this edition, you get all 4 factions to play online. Otherwise forget it until it the price drops to $10 because thats all this garbage is worth.

It feels more like a mod than a standalone game.

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