Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
Encyclopedia
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is a real time strategy video game stand alone expansion pack
to Company of Heroes
. It was announced on November 3, 2008 and was released on April 9, 2009.
and Men of War
).
s.
tank crew using the 'new' direct fire mode (Based on the Battle of Villers-Bocage
), one as escaping Germans in the Falaise Pocket
and one with US paratroopers based around taking a causeway
. There are new online units to replace old ones, such as the M18 Hellcat
, T17 Armored Car
, Schwimmwagen, H39 Geschützwagen (a conversion of captured H39 Hotchkiss tanks into a self-propelled tank destroyer), Tiger 205
, Kangaroo Carrier
and the Hotchkiss H35
. There are also three new online multiplayer modes.
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
to Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Relic Entertainment. It was released on September 12, 2006, and was the first title to make use of the Games for Windows label. A standalone expansion, Opposing Fronts, was released on September 25, 2007. A second standalone...
. It was announced on November 3, 2008 and was released on April 9, 2009.
Gameplay
Tales of Valor includes new units, additional maps and further multiplayer modes, such as 'Stonewall', where the player commands a small number of troops against waves of increasingly difficult enemies, and a feature called "direct-fire", where the player 'Points and shoots' (seen in Soldiers: Heroes of WWII, Faces of WarFaces of War
Faces of War is a real-time strategy and real-time tactics computer wargame published by Russian publisher 1C Company and developed by Ukrainian developer Best Way. The game is a sequel to 2004's Soldiers: Heroes of World War II...
and Men of War
Men of War
thumb|Gameplay screenshotMen of War ) is a real-time tactics video game and the sequel to the 2006 game Faces of War , developed in partnership with Best Way and published by 1C Company, 505 Games, and Aspyr Media.The single player campaign takes place during World War II and features battles set...
).
Plot
Company of Heroes: Tales Of Valor has three single-player episodeEpisode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
s.
- Tiger Ace — Set in Villers-Bocage, the episode is a backstory of Kampfgruppe Lehr commander Major-General Maximillian Voss and Hauptmann Josef Schultz who is the main antagonist in the original. In the campaign, the two are members of a Tiger I tank crew as they penetrate the town. They are forced to abandon the tank because of mechanical problems and try to escape British forces in the area. The tank crew returns the following day in one of two new Tigers, spearheading a Panzergrenadier assault on the town. In the ending, it s revealed that Voss was promoted to major general and sent to Holland, setting the stage for the Opposing Fronts campaign. Schultz stayed in France and died during the defense of Autry.
- Causeway — Follows a company of paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division as they try to secure the La Fiere causeway for other Allied forces to pass through out of the Normandy beaches. The campaign focuses on Sgt Wilson and Sgt Frank Craft, who is seen as a dead weight to the group. After the 82nd's airdrop goes badly, Wilson's Able Squad links up with Baker Squad and together they find paratroopers to send to the town of Cauqigny. After the two squads take Chef du Pont town on the other side of the causeway, the paratroopers at Cauquigny fall back because of heavy German forces. The airborne forces retake the town and Wilson is run down by a German tank. As the Army's tank units head south from the beaches, the airborne finally takes the fight to the Germans with Craft leading the way. Able and Baker find and destroy the tank that killed Wilson as they assault a castle complex near the causeway. The ending cutscene reveals that Craft eventually took part in Operation Market GardenOperation Market GardenOperation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
, where he dies in the successful defense of a bridge over the Maas river.
- Falaise Pocket — The campaign features a unit of SS Panzergrenadiers and WehrmachtWehrmachtThe Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
stationed in the town of TrunTrun, OrneTrun is a commune in the Orne département and the region of Basse-Normandie in north-western France.-Administration:-Population:-Ruins and monuments:Aerial photography has revealed the trace of a Gallo-Roman habitat...
. Because of a bombing run over nearby Chambois town, the Germans figure that both towns must be held to allow the other units of Seventh Army to escape the area. The units in Trun find themselves facing the Canadian 18th Infantry Brigade that they must defend against an Allied assault while other German forces try to escape through the area. The ending cutscene tells us that about 10,000 germans were killed and many captured.
Operations
The expansion pack introduces three new multiplayer game modes:- Assault: Very similar to the popular online Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the AncientsDefense of the AncientsDefense of the Ancients is a custom scenario for the real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the "Aeon of Strife" map for StarCraft...
, with 3 members per team. They choose 7 "Heroes" each different in their Offensive, Defensive, and Support abilities. Ranging from a Pioneer/Engineer to Paratroopers/Recon, the goal of the game is to destroy the enemy's base, which requires the player to fight through three separate lines of defenses. Protected by mortar firing bunkers, these also act as the Player Respawn point. By destroying each bunker the player is able to progress closer towards the enemy headquarters. Once the gas tanks inside of a base has been blown up, that team that destroyed them has won and the game ends.
- Stonewall: 4 players are the defenders of a small town, defending against 16 waves of enemy attacks. Allies players face waves of Axis attacks progressing from a small band of VolksgrenadierVolksgrenadierVolksgrenadier was the name given to a type of German Army division formed in the Autumn of 1944 after the double loss of Army Group Center to the Soviets in Operation Bagration and the Fifth Panzer Army to the Allies in Normandy. The name itself was intended to build morale, appealing at once to...
to the mighty Tiger tanksTiger ITiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
; Axis players defend against waves ranging from Riflemen to M26 PershingM26 PershingThe Heavy Tank M26 Pershing was an American heavy tank briefly used in World War II and in the Korean War. It was named after General John Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Force in Europe in World War I....
tanks. There are always four critical buildings in the town: the Church, that automatically heals units next to it; the Garage that repairs all allies' vehicles; the bank that gives a boost in manpower; and finally the Manor that gives an increase in population cap. The 4 players must work together in order to defend the town, as the team in Relic designed it so.
- Panzerkrieg (tank war): Similar to Assault, with the "Hero" units being replaced by tanks. The Axis Team can procure 3 tanks: the HotchkissHotchkiss H35The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a French light tank developed prior to World War II.Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry because it proved difficult to steer...
, a small mobile tank hunter, the Panzer IVPanzer IVThe Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
, the all-around tank, and the Panther tankPanther tankPanther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...
, which specialize in head-on armor conflicts. The Allies have the M18 HellcatM18 HellcatThe 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 was an American tank destroyer of World War II. The manufacturer, Buick, gave it the nickname "Hellcat" and it was the fastest tracked armored fighting vehicle during the war with a top speed up to 60 mph. Hellcat crews took advantage of the vehicle's...
, a mobile tank hunter, a Sherman tank that is meant to counter the Panzer IVPanzer IVThe Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
, and the Churchill tankChurchill tankThe Tank, Infantry, Mk IV was a heavy British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war...
, which is the answer to the PantherPanther tankPanther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...
.
Development
Tales of Valor includes three new short campaigns; one where the player commands a Tiger ITiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
tank crew using the 'new' direct fire mode (Based on the Battle of Villers-Bocage
Battle of Villers-Bocage
The Battle of Villers-Bocage took place during the Second World War on 13 June 1944, one week after the Allies landed in Normandy to begin the liberation of German-occupied France. The battle was the result of a British attempt to improve their position by exploiting a temporary vulnerability in...
), one as escaping Germans in the Falaise Pocket
Falaise pocket
The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
and one with US paratroopers based around taking a causeway
Mission Boston
Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy. Boston was a component of Operation Neptune, the assault portion of the Allied invasion of France, Operation Overlord...
. There are new online units to replace old ones, such as the M18 Hellcat
M18 Hellcat
The 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 was an American tank destroyer of World War II. The manufacturer, Buick, gave it the nickname "Hellcat" and it was the fastest tracked armored fighting vehicle during the war with a top speed up to 60 mph. Hellcat crews took advantage of the vehicle's...
, T17 Armored Car
T17 Armored Car
The T17 and the T17E1 were American armored cars produced during the Second World War. They did not see service with frontline US forces but the latter was supplied via the United Kingdom to British and Commonwealth forces during the war and received the service name Staghound...
, Schwimmwagen, H39 Geschützwagen (a conversion of captured H39 Hotchkiss tanks into a self-propelled tank destroyer), Tiger 205
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
, Kangaroo Carrier
Kangaroo (armoured personnel carrier)
A Kangaroo was a World War II Commonwealth or British armoured personnel carrier , created by conversion of a tank chassis. Created as an expedient measure by the Canadian Army, the Kangaroos were so successful that they were soon being used by British forces as well...
and the Hotchkiss H35
Hotchkiss H35
The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a French light tank developed prior to World War II.Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry because it proved difficult to steer...
. There are also three new online multiplayer modes.