What's Company Of Heroes: Men Of Valour?

Besides an awfully generically-named videogame? Who knows! But there's a listing for it on Amazon, with a projected release date of March 2009, and they say it's from THQ. Taking all that into account - plus THQ and Relic's love of the expansion pack (see Dawn of War), we're just going to go ahead and start making plans for a second Call of Duty expansion. One that, we hope, includes the Russians. Oh, and if we're lucky, some North African combat as well.

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valour

About Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is the next standalone chapter in the award-winning Company of Heroes franchise, featuring all-new content, including three single-player campaigns, new multiplayer modes, additional maps and units. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor also introduces a new "direct-fire" feature that allows players more tactical control of their units and more strategic options in-game. Developed by internal studio Relic Entertainment and powered by Relic's proprietary Essence Engine™, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is fully compatible with Company of Heroes and Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, allowing players who own the entire series complete access to the epic battles of World War II. For more information on Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor, please visit www.companyofheroesgame.com.

Huh? Got new CoH expansion?

About Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is the next standalone chapter in the award-winning Company of Heroes franchise, featuring all-new content, including three single-player campaigns, new multiplayer modes, additional maps and units. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor also introduces a new "direct-fire" feature that allows players more tactical control of their units and more strategic options in-game. Developed by internal studio Relic Entertainment and powered by Relic's proprietary Essence Engine™, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is fully compatible with Company of Heroes and Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, allowing players who own the entire series complete access to the epic battles of World War II. For more information on Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor, please visit www.companyofheroesgame.com.

Earlier this week, THQ got around to formally announcing the long-known-about Company of Heroes expansion pack, Tales of Valor. Problem is, that's about all they announced. No details. Well, Relic have since spoken with Edge, and now, we have details. Seems the game will come with three "mini campaigns", which instead of being centred around a single, long story like the existing campaigns, will be shorter affairs. One of those three will revolve around the exploits of SS Panzer commander Michael Wittmann, who at the Battle of Villers-Bocage destroyed over 20 British vehicles in only 15 minutes.

The other two "mini-campaigns" are still a mystery, but we'd be surprised if there wasn't one each for the Americans and British. In keeping with the smaller, more intimate feel Relic are going for, Tales of Valor will also introduce a feature called direct-fire. It's described as a feature "in which a tank's turret...will follow the player's mouse cursor, allowing a tank's turret to move and control independently from the vehicle's path.". Anyone worried this will break the game should know that in singleplayer, you can turn it on and off, and it won't be making its way into multiplayer.

For instance, putting players in the role of a single tank commander as in the "Tiger Ace" tale meant that the game would have to adopt a more responsive means of firing on enemies, or at least make combat less randomized. In previous Company of Heroes, players had limited control over tanks and their turrets, but Valor hopes to address that.

In Valor, units will be upgradable with new attributes like faster reloads and greater accuracy.

Avid Company of Heroes multiplayer users may be wondering just how direct-fire could throw off the balance of the game when playing others. But the feature is being kept out of regular multiplayer, although Relic is "experimenting with several direct-fire multiplayer modes."

New units will be introduced in the single player campaigns and the studio is working on how they fit into multiplayer. Relic's goal for Valor is to add one new unit per faction, all of which will be vehicles.