Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War radically revised
DateTime:7/8/2009 5:21:12 PM

Now that the developer is returning to the Company of Heroes franchise, it shouldn't come as a surprise that once more Relic is looking to shake things up. Tales of Valor is the second Company of Heroes expansion, playable as a stand-alone game. And like Dawn of War II, it moves the game in a very different direction.In order to assist in this, the game is introducing a direct fire mode that lets the player control and fire the tank independently of the tank's actual movement. In playing through the three initial battles, we found this a fun "action game"-style addition and in many cases prioritizing targets actually made it necessary.

Players expecting a new army will be surprised to learn that Tales of Valor won't be adding any new factions. The single-player component focuses on the actions of a single squad -- the elite crew of a German Tiger Ace fighting in and around the town of Villers-Bocage during the invasion of Normandy. Another surprise? Base-building is gone in favor of controlling a single unit to achieve specific strategic objectives.