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CG rating |
The Bad
- Interesting multiplayer modes
- Grants access to all the factions in multiplayer
- Short and uninteresting single-player campaigns
- Direct Fire is useless
- The new units aren't well balanced
Review
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Company of Heroes was a breath of fresh air for the real-time strategy genre, something we hadn’t seen since the days of, dare I say it, StarCraft. New and interesting gameplay elements made the title a delightful experience, and the over-used WWII setting was well-thought of and designed.
The success of CoH once again confirmed (as if it were even needed) the status of Relic Entertainment among its peers, a position that allowed them to look straight into Blizzard’s eyes and go up for 12 rounds. However, its latest releases started to convey the same transition towards the accessible, a term which can be translated as “giving up complexity and variety for a less-complicated and simpler gameplay”.
From this point of view, Dawn of War 2 diminished my expectations for Tales of Valor, the second stand-alone expansion for Company of Heroes. Nevertheless, I was eager to try it out, thinking that not even a seemingly “just profit-oriented” company like Relic can ruin an excellent game. Time has taught me, however, that I should not underestimate anyone.
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Achtung - Panzer!
Tales of Valor was designed around the bravery of WW2 heroes and the three new single-player campaigns clearly reflect that. It’s not a bad idea altogether, particularly if you are a history buff and are familiar with the conflict’s aces, but the design is a bit odd to say the least.
Tiger Ace is based on the spectacular actions of Captain Michael Wittman, a veteran tank commander who during the battle of Villers-Bocage managed to completely take by surprise and eliminate some 35 allied vehicles with a single Tiger tank, in a matter of minutes. Voss, the re-named hero, must do the same, charge the unsuspecting British, save his crew when the tank becomes disabled and return with reinforcements to finish the job. Therefore, three small missions represent the entire campaign, which can be completed in less than an hour.
The short duration wouldn’t be a problem in itself, but the producers decided to get rid of all the tactical elements that made the original title a success. The Tiger tank, although a feared monster in real-life, has a lighting-speed turret movement, its crew seems invincible even when crouching in front of a machine gun nest, and artillery shells play the part of harmless fireworks.
The other two campaigns have no more realism or longevity either. Causeway - the American campaign, is based on the fight for the La Fière Causeway and the area surrounding it in Normandy, but it’s fairly unremarkable.
The second German campaign (Falaise Pocket) is a bit more interesting, set in the last days of Normandy when the Nazi forces managed a “victory” by keeping the Argentan-Falaise pocket open long enough for two German armies to escape to safety.
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In all three campaigns you can use a new ability (for Company of Heroes), called Direct Fire. Being one of the headlines for this expansion I was expecting to see FPS elements in targeting and firing, but instead all we got was a different and non-spectacular way to choose a target. So the shiny new thingy quickly loses its appeal when you realize it has no tactical impact whatsoever, although it does add somewhat to the atmosphere.
On the other hand, what comes to ruin the atmosphere are the cut-scenes. Not that they are no longer created using the in-game engine (the artworks are quite well done truth be told), but the dialogues are ruining it all. For example, the Germans think they’re heroes from the turrets, in a time when even the most fanatical Nazi realized that the Third Reich was in trouble.
On the multiplayer field things are a bit more varied, with three new game modes - Assault, Panzerkrieg and Stonewall, for up to eight players.
Assault is pretty much a WWII DoTA. You get to choose from eight heroes, ranging from engineer to sniper, and your mission is to destroy the enemy base. Enemy NPCs spawn regularly to be fed to the hero’s war-machine, which in turn gain experience and special abilities as they level up.
Each class has its own abilities, such as the engineer's ability to throw explosive charges or the commando's heavy machine gun and should you choose to change your hero after he gloriously dies on the battlefield, you will retain the experience gained up to that point.
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Panzerkrieg is a lot like Assault, but with tanks. You can choose a light, medium or heavy tank and you’ll be charged with capturing Victory Points. Almost all the models can call infantry as support on the battlefield, and you may also use repair depots if your war-machine survives a fight.
Even though these new modes are interesting and quite popular, the source of inspiration is more than obvious and the lack of realism becomes distracting. It’s difficult to watch a German pioneer walking through the enemy base, or a Panzer IV going at it with a Firefly with no regard to any tactical element other than who has the most hit points.
Stonewall fares better in bringing the realism and chaos of the real battles. Up to four players must hold a town that has a Bank (more income), a Manor (increases max population), Church (heals troops) and Garage (repairs vehicles) against 16 waves of enemies, that range from Volksgrenadiers to Tigers. The last waves are a delight to watch, as the massacre takes place in a now ruined town.
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Comments [Add a new comment]
| Ambele, depinde de preţ | |
 | 26% |
| Games should be bought? | |
 | 26% |
| Retail (Box) | |
 | 26% |
| Digital | |
 | 22% |
Total: 2352 votes
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