The single player campaign is split into three divisions. The first tale begins with a German tank commander, following the heroic effort to defend and reclaim a village from Allied invaders. Cinematics sometimes make use of the game’s graphical engine, and deliver some terrific moments with great scripting. The majority of the storytelling occurs within an animated storybook format, with beautiful two-dimensional artwork sometimes juxtaposed with three-dimensional set pieces. It may sound strange, but it stands out as a fairly economical yet memorable form of narration, even if it fails reach the entertainment level of the in-engine cinematics. Characters in the game itself are fairly detailed, even when you descend the camera right into the thick of things. Just make sure your system is up to snuff, as Tales of Valor's many graphical morsels can take a heavy toll on even a high-end PC.

Following the fairly easy missions with the German Panzergrenadiers, the game takes you to the familiar Allied front with an American paratrooper unit. Although I couldn’t help squealing like a schoolgirl whenever the narrator spoke (it was Garrus, from Mass Effect), the general impression I had was that the developers took great care to invest in production values. Tales of Valor is an outstanding exhibition piece for any juiced-up audio setup. So volatile were the explosions of battle, I found myself regularly reducing the volume to avoid disturbing the neighbors. Voiceovers are consistently excellent, and music thrums throughout varied combat scenarios – although some of the synthesized pieces sounded rather outdated.

Despite the thorough tutorial sessions, the game ends up throwing quite a bit at you in the heat of battle, which can make things a bit tricky for newcomers. Even so, most the game feels rather easy on the normal difficulty level. It wasn’t until the middle of the campaign that I actually began to encounter genuinely challenging situations. When things get particularly hairy, you’ll need to use the keyboard’s pause button to find a breather in the real-time action. While paused, you can still access units and take basic actions that would otherwise cost precious seconds on the battlefield.

The game’s single player campaign concludes with yet another battle from the German perspective, and as you might expect, the challenge of these missions feel a bit more substantial. The game becomes more of a heavyweight once you delve into the multiplayer, however. This is the main attraction, complete with both head-to-head and cooperative gameplay modes. There seems to be a pervasive feeling that Tales of Valor feels much less tactical than its parent game. Heavy emphasis on frantic battles, although indubitably fun, lend an almost RTS-Arcade feeling to the experience. To be honest, I did not find this terribly upsetting; what you’re left with is still a very tight package – refreshed, streamlined, and ready take you on a fantastic ride. Assuming you’re not fanatically devoted to the strategic mechanics of the original, you’ll easily find Tales of Valor to be an exciting experience well worth the money.  

Gameplay: 8.0
Combat mechanics work just as well as before, though the heavy combat focus may disappoint some players.

Graphics: 9.0 
Excellent details ensure the characters look convincing even at close range, while a variety of visual effects enhance the battlefield fireworks.

Sound: 9.0
Great score, great voice acting, and plenty of war-ruckus. If you want to draw angry neighbors to your doorstep, this is the best way to upset them.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The mechanics aren’t overwhelming, but your units do feel a touch overpowered.

Concept: 7.0 
It’s an expansion, but there’s just enough here to give Tales of Valor a flavor of its own.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Truly the best component of the game, and probably the main draw since the campaign is so brief.

Overall: 8.2
If you enjoyed Company of Heroes, there’s little doubt you’ll want to pick up Tales of Valor. Just keep in mind that this is an expansion, meant to keep you satisfied until a true sequel arrives.