Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

If you enjoyed Company of Heroes, there’s little doubt you’ll want to pick up Tales of Valor. Just keep in mind that this is an expansion, meant to keep you satisfied until a true sequel arrives.

It is a well-rounded title and a safe bet for any PC Gamer as mild amusement if nothing else.

Tales of Valor may not be what longtime Company of Heroes fans were expecting from Relic's expansion, but the game still delivers a great experience from start to finish.

Tales of Valor does something new for the CoH Veteran. But it's over in a blink of an eye. Thankfully, the game has some very interesting new multiplayer modes and gameplay tweaks that shouldn't be missed. And the same goes for the greenhorn that will have no problem in liking the old and the new content. But, for next time, please make a Company of Heroes that will last a little bit longer.

Certainly it isn't with regards to single player content that just doesn't really justify the added expense when there are already plenty more varied single player missions available to you in the cheaper main game and its first expansion, but if your focus is multiplayer then the choice is a little clearer - and with three new game modes generously included, anyone with more interest in the online aspect will surely find Tales of Valor a lot more tempting.

Overall though Tales of Valour was a fun experience, I would have liked a single player that was more like the first game, but I still had fun with the content that I was given.

Altogether Tales of Valor is an adequate package of upgrades with a few surprises in the multiplayer and single player.

Pleasingly varied new multiplayer modes for an excellent game, hampered by a paucity of maps [June 2009, p.90]

If you are looking for a good strategy game, you've found it. And if you are looking for a good WW2 game, you've found it too.

Ultimately, Tales of Valor is worth buying only as long as you’re going to make use of the multiplayer component. A few of the new units need some exploit fixes, and the direct fire system feels more like a gimmick than anything that is really going to add a lot to the game. Let’s hope that Tales of Valor is a stop-gap release to tide the fans over, before Relic announces that Eastern Front expansion we’ve all been waiting for.

These tales are not traditional Company of Heroes stories, but they can make for some fun stories while they last.

Multiplayer modes are very original. [July 2009, p.62]

Gamers who spend the majority of their time in single-player modes should pass this one by. If you’re an online-focused player, though, Tales of Valor provides hours of amusement, especially if the community takes advantage of the excellent mod tools to flesh out the map selection.

Oh dear, Relic. Handful of short, small and laughably easy scenarios really was not what I waited for or wanted. Relic’s new obsession for ”accessibility” is ruining its games. [May 2009]

Although the strongest part of an strategy game is usually the campaign mode, this is precisely the weakest side in Tales of Valor. It’s low cost should not distract us from the fact that this package is repetitive and certainly short, but the talent of Relic is present, and this is enough reason to pay attention to its proposal.

Tales of Valor falls short in terms of the volume of new content most players will expect in a standalone expansion priced at $30. What's there is great, but it's just not enough.

The second add-on to Company of Heroes offers new campaigns, new multi-play modes and new units - but not enough of anything: only one small episode instead of a new campaign, only one map for each multi-player mode and just a few alternative units instead of new factions.

It is war on a personal level - instead of entire units, battles are fought by carefully selected small groups of individuals. It would be possible to come to know each of them, were it not for the short span of this standalone expansion. [May 2009]

It just doesn't hang together as a coherent package in its own right, and while the gameplay certainly doesn't sully the memory of the original, the thin spread of content is cause for concern.

As enjoyable as each of the single and multiplayer additions are (and they're quite good), the whole package comes off like a collection of mods the developers were tooling around with in their spare time. The original game is as great as it ever was and Tales of Valor certainly doesn't take away from that, but ultimately this "expansion" pack comes off as a modestly enjoyable diversion.

The new campaigns are over before you know it, the new units have a limited impact, and direct fire is largely ineffective. The real attractions here are the three new multiplayer modes.

A combination of cooperative gameplay and ferocious versus modes keeps things fresh in the game’s online multiplayer.

After the wonderful Opposing Fronts, CoH: Tales of Valor leaves the player with a bad taste in his mouth. The good multiplayer can't compensate for the short and weak single player aspect of the game so we can suggest it only to the true fans of the series.

Tales of Valor improves the popular CoH-Gameplay with minor changes, but the quantity of content leaves a lot to be desired.

In the end the price of this mission pack will turn away those players who want much more bang for their buck and I cannot recommend the game to those who just play single player games, but just those who play multiplayer only or both multiplayer and single player games.

ToV's singleplayer campaigns will do nothing for CoH vets, but the MP extras might just keep its head above water. [June 2009, p.90]

On the other hand, Tales of Valor’s main argument for purchase is that it grants access to all the factions in multiplayer, with no need to purchase the previous titles of the series, so those who just want to see what Company of Heroes has to offer in the online mode can consider this an interesting option.

The problem isn’t that Tales of Valor lacks any quality features or commendable traits, but that it doesn’t really do anything with them.

Diehard COH multiplayer fans will want this by virtue of being able to use the new units that all the other veteran players will be using with their copies. But the player who either wants a great offline experience, or simply another fantastic COH expansion, might feel a bit cheated and disappointed with how paltry this expansion feels.

From a presentation standpoint, graphically and in the sound effects department, ToV doesn’t seem to have changed much from the previous incarnations.

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is a fun addition to the series, but ultimately it falls short of bringing the quality and quantity of gameplay provided by its predecessors.

The game packs an engaging multiplayer mode, but seeing as you won't spend more than a couple of hours with the clearly meager single-player campaigns, it really doesn't deserve your attention; nor does it justify the slightly steep price tag ($30).

For experienced players, though, Tales of Valor offers enough distractions to fill your need for something new. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself returning to the original campaign and multiplayer modes the next time you need a fix.

Fun but slight real-time strategy expansion that's rather short on strategy and value for money.

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.

This short expansion is only for Company of Heroes completionists.

What’s the difference between Relic Entertainment and a large dairy farm in the neighborhood of Vancouver? Relic is better at milking its cows. Tales of Valor feels like a crisis management by-product, as if its design document was written by a marketing executive, edited by the chief financial officer, and polished by PR staff.

Queen of WWII RT strategies come with an add-on. Fantastic visuals and good scenarios are flawed by overall shortness of added campaigns and lack of anything new. [May 2009]

The target audience for Tales of Valor is the completest, the sort of person who's been jonesing for a fix. The problem is that this particular hit of RTS goodness isn't all that great because there's so very little to it once you get down to the actual gameplay.

You really need a lot of practice in order to be good at it (multiplayer).