Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor (0)

First release date

2009-04-07

Platform

Developer

Relic Entertainment

Publisher

THQ

Theme

Company of Heroes

Franchise

Company of Heroes

Aliases

CoHToVCoH ToV

Overview

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is the second standalone expansion in the franchise which returns to the western front in France during ; it contains three new campaigns, new multiplayer gamemodes and maps , new units and evolved gameplay mechanics.

Campaigns

Episode 1: Tiger Ace

Control the tank "Tigergruppen" against the British 7th Armored Division on D-Day in one of the most famous tank battles of WWII. This campaign tells the story of The Battle of Villagers Bocage. The battle takes place in 1944 when the Allied forces push ashore from the beaches. The player will take direct control of your lone Tiger where you can invest command points in your tank crew to unlock new abilities. This campaign shows off the new feature "Direct Fire" where you can point where you want your tank turret to point and shoot bringing you closer to the battlefield and closer to your troops.

Episode 2: Causeway

Take command of an American paratrooper unit who have been deployed a few hours after the beginning of the D-Day landings. This campaign follows the 82nd Airborne's fight for La Fiere Causeway. The player will take command of Able and Baker squads to accomplish the mission. Able squad is led by Sgt. Wilson and Baker squad is led by Sgt. Craft. The gameplay revolves around these two squads and their distinct abilities and specialty upgrades. The Causeway campaign also employs the new "Direct Fire" feature to better enhance the squads separate play styles. Able squad is better at storming into battle equipped with Sub Machine-guns while Baker squad wields Recoilless Rifles to neutralize enemy vehicles. Each squad can earn different upgrades, to having more ammo for Able squad or equipping Baker squad with another Recoilless Rifle. A new feature introduced in this campaign is "Field Dressing". Field Dressing is a special ability Able and Baker squads have to be able to patch up a fallen soldier on the battlefield.

Episode 3: Falaise Pocket

Take command of the army as you try and hold off an allied advance.

Multiplayer

The well praised Company of Heroes multiplayer mode returns with three new gamemodes and alternate units to use in classic matches.

Operation: Stonewall

The first of the new multiplayer gamemodes places four players into a scenario in which they must defend a town against countless waves of AI attacks and they must hold out as long as possible. AI attacks increase in strength over time from basic infantry to full armored vehicle assaults. Controlling certain points within the town is the key to victory. Aside from the usual cover specific buildings such as the Church will heal nearby units and the Manor will grant a population cap increase. The Garage will give engineers a repair bonus and holding the Bank will give you a bonus to your manpower income. If you survive long enough eventually you will earn special abilities such as a Bombing Run. This operation supports 1-4 Players

Operation: PanzerKrieg

This new multiplayer mode tests players skills in tank vs. tank combat. Each of the six tanks on the battlefield can be fielded for the Axis and Allied powers have a unique role and their own command tree to unlock unique abilities. Victory is achieved by reducing the enemy's points to zero and this is done by either holding the majority of the Victory Points, causing them to slowly tick down, or by destroying the enemy's tanks. The heavier the tank the more points awarded .

Each Victory Point on the map will also allow certain abilities to be used. The radio point will grant the player access to support abilities such as map reveals and artillery, the infantry point gives you AI controlled infantry to defend an area, and the mortar point lets you own the mortar bunker on the map. The radio and infantry points give you access to stronger call-ins the longer you hold onto them.

This operation supports 2-6 Players and uses the new "Direct Fire" ability on all the tanks.

Operation: Assault

A take on the classic DoTA mod, this mode pits two AI controlled enemy forces against each other, throwing streams of soldiers at one another's bases. The relatively equal forces will tangle with eachother and if one side makes a breakthrough they will end up running into machine gun nests so not much progress will be made by the AI alone. This is where you come in controlling a single super powerful hero of your choice to counter the enemy forces, remove the enemy MG nests holding up your soldiers and eventually destroying the mortar bunker strong points. Doing so not only stops mortar rounds from falling but it also causes it's defenders to surrender and removes a spawn point for the enemy forces and heroes. Each side has three defensive lines of 3 mortar bunkers each, and ends with a large fuel depot that when destroyed will spell defeat for it's owner. As the battle rages on each side will start spawning stronger forces.

At the start of the game you choose one of seven heroes to start with and as you destroy the enemy forces you gain experience to level up with, each level lets you enhance the strength of either your weapon, your armor or your grenades. Whenever your hero dies you can choose to spawn from the same selection after a short wait, but no matter which you pick it will retain the same level and upgrades.

This mode supports 1 - 6 players.

Alternate Vehicles

In standard matches owning Tales of Valor will unlock 2 new vehicles for each faction, and completing the Tiger Ace campaign will unlock Wittman's Tiger for the Wehrmacht. All of these units replace a normal unit when used.

American Units

American Units
M18 Hellcat (300 manpower 55 fuel) Replaces the M10 Wolverine (300 manpower 55 fuel) A similar tank destroyer with a similar price. While somewhat lacking in speed and armor penetration compared to the M10, it does have a couple unique additions. The first is a .50 cal upgrade that is identical to the others available to U.S. armor, but in this case is the only dedicated anti-infantry weapon available for it. An M10 or a Hellcat without the upgrade has to rely on either lucky shots with it's cannon or simply running the infantry over to deal with them. The other add-on for the M18 is the ability to camouflage itself, rendering it invisible (but stationary) and giving it a first strike bonus when it fires from camouflage. The bonus attack will increase penetration and damage but breaks the camouflage.
T17 Armored Car (280 MP 40 fuel) Replaces the M8 Greyhound (280 MP 30 fuel) The T17 trades the M8's minedrop ability for a white phosphorous round that can be used on any enemy vehicle to stun it. This completely halts the vehicle, keeping it from moving or firing for a few seconds, opening up all sorts of possibilities and making the T17 a more active player in the late game when tanks are commonplace. Unlike the Greyhound the T17 has no purchasable upgrades, but when it gets it's first level of veterancy it gets a large bundle of sandbags tied around it, a similar benefit to the M8's armored skirts. If you can survive long enough to make those kills you can consider yourself up one free upgrade.

American Units

M18 Hellcat (300 manpower 55 fuel)

Replaces the M10 Wolverine (300 manpower 55 fuel)

A similar tank destroyer with a similar price. While somewhat lacking in speed and armor penetration compared to the M10, it does have a couple unique additions. The first is a .50 cal upgrade that is identical to the others available to U.S. armor, but in this case is the only dedicated anti-infantry weapon available for it. An M10 or a Hellcat without the upgrade has to rely on either lucky shots with it's cannon or simply running the infantry over to deal with them.

The other add-on for the M18 is the ability to camouflage itself, rendering it invisible (but stationary) and giving it a first strike bonus when it fires from camouflage. The bonus attack will increase penetration and damage but breaks the camouflage.

T17 Armored Car (280 MP 40 fuel)

Replaces the M8 Greyhound (280 MP 30 fuel)

The T17 trades the M8's minedrop ability for a white phosphorous round that can be used on any enemy vehicle to stun it. This completely halts the vehicle, keeping it from moving or firing for a few seconds, opening up all sorts of possibilities and making the T17 a more active player in the late game when tanks are commonplace. Unlike the Greyhound the T17 has no purchasable upgrades, but when it gets it's first level of veterancy it gets a large bundle of sandbags tied around it, a similar benefit to the M8's armored skirts. If you can survive long enough to make those kills you can consider yourself up one free upgrade.

British Units
Staghound Armored Car (280 Manpower 45 Fuel) Replaces the Cromwell Command Tank(300 Manpower 50 Fuel) The British Armored Car may be a T17 by another name, but it's location in the tech tree gives it a very different meaning. As a unit on it's own it's a pretty standard armored car with the ability to buy a .50 cal turret gunner, added to the normal firepower of the coaxial and hull machine guns along with it's main cannon, giving it serious anti-infantry power, but only mild anti-armor. The main interest of it is the fact that it replaces the Cromwell command tank, which can give out veterancy, but has almost no firepower of it's own. If you don't plan to have a massive armor force, or your building Kangaroos which won't benefit from tank veterancy, it might be more beneficial to have another attacking unit. Note that even if you pick the Staghound you still have to buy at least one to unlock Fireflies.
Kangaroo Carrier (240 Manpower 10 Fuel) Replaces the Cromwell Tank (400 Manpower 70 Fuel) A converted tank with it's turret removed, the Kangaroo lets your infantry attack from a mobile armored position. The 'Roo fits 15 individuals, with room for 6 to be firing out the top at once, whoever has the best weapon for the situation will likely be the one shooting. The men inside will take no damage until the Kangaroo is destroyed, but are free to continue to fighting afterward.

British Units

Staghound Armored Car (280 Manpower 45 Fuel)

Replaces the Cromwell Command Tank(300 Manpower 50 Fuel)

The British Armored Car may be a T17 by another name, but it's location in the tech tree gives it a very different meaning. As a unit on it's own it's a pretty standard armored car with the ability to buy a .50 cal turret gunner, added to the normal firepower of the coaxial and hull machine guns along with it's main cannon, giving it serious anti-infantry power, but only mild anti-armor.

The main interest of it is the fact that it replaces the Cromwell command tank, which can give out veterancy, but has almost no firepower of it's own. If you don't plan to have a massive armor force, or your building Kangaroos which won't benefit from tank veterancy, it might be more beneficial to have another attacking unit. Note that even if you pick the Staghound you still have to buy at least one to unlock Fireflies.

Kangaroo Carrier (240 Manpower 10 Fuel)

Replaces the Cromwell Tank (400 Manpower 70 Fuel)

A converted tank with it's turret removed, the Kangaroo lets your infantry attack from a mobile armored position. The 'Roo fits 15 individuals, with room for 6 to be firing out the top at once, whoever has the best weapon for the situation will likely be the one shooting. The men inside will take no damage until the Kangaroo is destroyed, but are free to continue to fighting afterward.

Wehrmacht Units
Schwimmwagen Type 166 (240 MP) Replaces the Motorcycle (180 MP) This unique vehicle largely outclasses the motorbike at higher cost. With it's amphibious design the Schwimm can move through any map's flooded areas without the usual high movement penalty, and being a car as opposed to a bike, it can drive in reverse giving it greater maneuverability. Additionally the Schimmwagen can sustain more damage than it's counterpart, but it is not without it's disadvantages as it has a slower top speed and takes longer to build.
Geschutzwagen (280MP 55 Fuel) Replaces the StuG IV (340 Manpower 40 Fuel) Where the StuG is a harden battering ram, the Gewagen is more of a catapult. It contains a seriously powerful anti-tank gun, and a turret gunner manning an MG42 to hold off infantry. It's chassis puts out some serious horsepower giving it a very high top speed on open ground, but with very slow turning, and with no rotating turret that can be a serious liability. It's armor is quite weak as far as tanks go, but with it's incredible range, and the ability to pay 50 munitions to double it's fire rate, you can do all the damage you need before they can strike back if you engage at distance.
Tiger Tank "205" Replaces the Tiger This reward for completing the Tiger Ace campaign allows you to field the same commanded by Wittman in place of the usual Tiger. Unlike all of the other replacements this is merely a change in look and voice, it will function the same on the battlefield.

Panzer Elite Units
Schwimmwagen Type 128 (165 MP) Replaces the Kettenkrad (165 MP) As it is mostly the same unit but with amphibious travel, it all comes down to the doctrine abilities. Scorched Earth will yield incendiary traps for 15 munitions, placed like any normal mine but will only trigger on infantry. Instead of exploding they ignite a large area around it in flames, doing damage over time. Luftwaffe allows your Schwimm to mark an enemy target. This ability can be used on any enemy vehicle or infantry that isn't garrisoned. Marking a target will increase the accuracy of any of your units firing upon it, and will also allow you to see the unit after it dissapears into the fog of war, especially useful for tracking down snipers. The effect lasts about 20 seconds and can be used every 10 seconds. Tank Destroyer gives you a standard mine drop ability for 35 munitions a peice.
Hotckiss Light Tank (280 MP 45) Replaces the Panzer IV Infantry Support Tank (420 MP 60 Fuel) A lightweight tank, the Hotckiss has very thin armor, and a small cannon with no machine guns. For 75 munitions you can give it a Long Barreled 37mm to up it's anti armor capabilites, and for 150 munitions you can outfit it with a 4 tube Walking Stuka indirect rocket launcher. Although not as strong, it can be more versatile than the Panzer IV, and is much cheaper to put out.

Panzer Elite Units

Schwimmwagen Type 128 (165 MP)

Replaces the Kettenkrad (165 MP)

As it is mostly the same unit but with amphibious travel, it all comes down to the doctrine abilities.
Scorched Earth will yield incendiary traps for 15 munitions, placed like any normal mine but will only trigger on infantry. Instead of exploding they ignite a large area around it in flames, doing damage over time.
Luftwaffe allows your Schwimm to mark an enemy target. This ability can be used on any enemy vehicle or infantry that isn't garrisoned. Marking a target will increase the accuracy of any of your units firing upon it, and will also allow you to see the unit after it dissapears into the fog of war, especially useful for tracking down snipers. The effect lasts about 20 seconds and can be used every 10 seconds.
Tank Destroyer gives you a standard mine drop ability for 35 munitions a peice.

Hotckiss Light Tank (280 MP 45)

Replaces the Panzer IV Infantry Support Tank (420 MP 60 Fuel)

A lightweight tank, the Hotckiss has very thin armor, and a small cannon with no machine guns. For 75 munitions you can give it a Long Barreled 37mm to up it's anti armor capabilites, and for 150 munitions you can outfit it with a 4 tube Walking Stuka indirect rocket launcher. Although not as strong, it can be more versatile than the Panzer IV, and is much cheaper to put out.

System Requirements

Operating System: Windows® XP or Vista
Processor: SSE capable processor, 2.0 Ghz Intel Pentium IV or equivalent or AMD Athlon XP
Memory: 512 MB RAM. 1GB MB RAM required for Vista
Graphics: DirectX 9.0c compatible 64MB video card with Pixel Shader 1.1 support or equivalent
Sound: DirectX® 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card