Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor Q&A - Single-Player, Multiplayer, and What the Fans Want

We get the latest details on this follow-up to the explosive strategy game Company of Heroes.

2006's Company of Heroes changed what people have come to expect from real-time strategy by focusing on explosive, small-scale battles featuring squads of soldiers behind enemy lines in World War II--soldiers with the ability to drive tanks through walls and blow up buildings. The game expanded in 2007 with the stand-alone game Opposing Fronts, and later this year, developer Relic Entertainment is getting ready to finish its next follow-up, Tales of Valor, which will be a stand-alone game that won't require the original game. It'll also have plenty more smashing tanks through walls and exploding buildings. Senior producer Tim Holman explains.

Tales of Valor will add new vehicles, new campaigns, and lots more explosive, squad-based action.

GameSpot: Give us an update on Tales of Valor. What aspects of the game is the team working on at this point?
Tim Holman: We're closing bugs at the moment and about to finish--close enough that we started thinking about the wrap party!
GS: We understand that Tales of Valor will be a stand-alone product rather than an expansion that requires the original game. Why go in this direction for the product? What exactly will players get out of the box?
TH: We'd rather make our content accessible to any new players rather than having them fork out cash for the original, and we don't want to split our multiplayer community. You will get three short campaigns (instead of one long campaign), three new multiplayer games modes, new units for multiplayer, new skirmish maps, and more.
GS: We understand that the campaigns will have an even stronger focus on small-scale tactical battles, including the Tiger Ace campaign, in which you basically play as a single tank crew rather than controlling an army. Why the even smaller-scale focus? What does this add to the experience?
TH: We've done big campaigns focused on telling long stories, and this time we wanted to do more intimate stories of small groups of soldiers fighting against overwhelming odds. It's hard to create that when you have a huge army behind you, but when you've got only a small number of troops, it's easier to create that tension.

Like in the original Company of Heroes, in Tales of Valor you'll generally control a small squadron of commandos.

GS: Tales of Valor will also have an arcade-style "direct fire" mode for the King Tiger tank in the Tiger Ace campaign. What does this new mode add to the game? Will we see it anywhere else other than in Tiger Ace?
TH: Players can play units in the regular way, but direct fire gives even more intimacy. In the hedgerow-and-city terrain of [the] Tiger Ace [campaign], it makes for some fun tactical maneuvering and fire control. And yes, [it's used for] other units. Defend against a rush of infantry with an HMG, funnel tanks toward your direct-fire-controlled 88, and my personal favorite, painting the landscape with fire, with my direct fire flamethrower (and that's just a few). We only use it in the single-player missions and one of the operations modes--original multiplayer stays the same.
GS: We understand the expansion will include a new set of multiplayer vehicles. Give us a rundown of them, how they work, and what they add to the game.
TH: I can only reveal some right now, so I'll do [a few of my] favorites. The first is the Schwimmwagon--this amphibious vehicle was used as a scout car--which acts as a great early-game harassment and capture vehicle. The second would be the Hellcat, a mean little tank destroyer used by the Allies. And then there is the Kangaroo, which the British used. It acts as a troop carrier and, while slower than others, is much more [heavily] armored. These new units are swapped for existing units and fill the role of the unit they are replacing in multiplayer, but people can also play with the "classic" units.
GS: What other additions and tweaks to Company of Heroes' multiplayer will Tales of Valor add?
TH: While there are some adjustments to multiplayer balance based off community feedback, the biggest multiplayer addition are the game modes. Invasion is a cooperative mode where players defend a town against waves of attackers--a very fun comp-stomp mode. In Assault, players choose a hero unit and join a larger battle to push back the front lines of their enemy and destroy their base. And finally we have Panzerkrieg. Multiplayer tank destruction using direct fire is a recipe for mayhem.

Tales of Valor will be available later this year.

GS: Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add about Tales of Valor, or about Company of Heroes in general?
TH: Tales of Valor has allowed us to create a more-intimate single-player experience while greatly expanding multiplayer. We think we've struck a good balance that meets the needs of both audiences.

Credit By Andrew Park, GameSpot

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor Hands-On - Driving a Tank

If you played 2006's Company of Heroes, you'll remember the game's distinctive look and feel--how, unlike other real-time strategy games, it wasn't about harvesting resources or building structures, but about commanding a small squadron of determined troops in tough battles. The game turned heads with its explosive action and equally explosive environments; its impressive technology built war-torn environments with plenty of fully destructible cover. Now, the game is set to return in a new add-on, Tales of Valor, which will offer three new single-player campaigns, along with new drivable multiplayer vehicles. We had a chance to dive into one of the new single-player missions and try out the new tank controls, which will be available for one of the most feared tanks in World War II, the King Tiger. Please be advised that this preview may contain minor spoilers.

Ride a tank, hold a general's rank in Tales of Valor. Tank included.

The game will offer three new campaigns, and we had a chance to try out a section of the Tiger Ace campaign, a series of Axis missions in which you'll take control of a German tank crew. Each character can carry infantry weapons in battle, and indeed, you'll need their abilities as foot soldiers to complete your missions. We played two missions that took place in a tiny French village which, during the war itself, was locked down against Allied reinforcements by the resourceful crew of a single King Tiger tank--in the game, your crew, and your tank. And as part of Company of Heroes' role-playing game-like gameplay, your tank crew will be able to advance along certain skill lines that will result in immediate upgrades to the actual tank vehicle itself, such as increased firing speed or better handling.

This mission gave us a chance to try the new "direct fire" control mode, a toggle-able setting that lets you use your computer's mouse to freely rotate and aim your turret at different targets. The Tiger Tank's powerful cannon has two different firing modes that use different shells (and switching between them requires a brief pause as your cannoneer swaps out shells): one mode is highly effective against enemy vehicles, and the other is more effective against buildings, emplacements, and infantry. Firing the cannon is literally as easy as pointing and clicking, and there's a hovering crosshair that you can use to acquire targets as well.

The King Tiger mission starts off as an extremely satisfying romp in which you roll through the town, flushing out your foes. Your powerful tank can mow down smaller Allied vehicles and send enemy foot soldiers flying. (You can also simply run over enemy infantry in a tank to crush them.) Later on in the mission, the Allies send reinforcements in the form of their own tanks, and though none can compare to the sheer firepower or the massive frontal armor of the King Tiger, you'll still find yourself challenged to negotiate the abandoned streets of the city without coming under withering fire. The King Tiger is massive enough to barrel through most low-lying cover and powerful enough to blast through most small buildings, but you may prefer to keep your cover intact to ensure that your tank isn't immediately spotted and fired on by enemies as well. Once you've stomped through the map, you'll then maneuver your tank to various control points to help Axis infantry (your allies in this campaign) capture each point.

After completing this mission, we found that our tank, despite our best efforts, had broken down as the result of a story-related event, and our once-mighty tank crew became a small infantry squad in hostile territory. We found ourselves at the northernmost part of the town (toward which we had fought our way), tasked with sneaking down to the southern end to escape. In this case, we found that stealth was generally a better tactic than going in with guns blazing, though after the handful of skirmishes we did find ourselves in, we made sure to avail ourselves of the weaponry our foes left behind, such as Panzerfaust ammo to blast enemy vehicles.

The King Tiger's massive cannon will lay most ground troops to waste.

Given that the mission took place after the Allies sent along another wave of reinforcements, we were outnumbered and outgunned, and so we carefully did our best to avoid as many conflicts as possible. Tales of Valor is very much an extension of Company of Heroes, and consequently this was a small-scale mission with a small squadron of troops. Playing smart can help avoid casualties, but fortunately, the expansion's new "field dressing" feature lets you revive fallen comrades in battle, so that you can continue on your way without having to worry about losing key characters.

Tales of Valor is clearly looking to add more gritty, small-scale action to an already excellent tactical strategy game. The expansion is set to ship in early 2009.

Credits : Gamespot.com