The game looks great visually, and it's a substantial improvement from past Sudden Strike titles. The new 3D engine works wonders in the graphical department. Sorting units takes precious time and energy, but the pause button does let you take a moment to do just that if you have the patience. and path finding on the part of most tank units they'll slowly swivel around in a firefight while getting slammed or simply get hung up on terrain obstacles. Even this doesn't always work well due to particularly poor A.I. Unfortunately, players are not rewarded for taking the time to utilize these interesting play mechanics simply because it's far quicker to just group scores of units together and command them en masse.
It's possible to use medics to heal your wounded soldiers, send drivers to hijack abandoned enemy tanks, use engineers to repair your own disabled vehicles in the field, and more. This is particularly noticeable when it comes to the many varieties of infantry. When you get right down to it, however, the subtle nuances of each unit type are often lost once the action increases in intensity. Some individual units have special abilities or attacks, and most require regular use of ammo dumps and supply trucks to keep them in fighting condition. You might, however, say that some of the depth has been lost in the process, since you might not be able to take advantage of the same tactics that were feasible in the previous titles.At a glance, the unit variety in Arms for Victory is very impressive with over 100 different categories of playable combat units including numerous sub-groups of infantry, tanks, artillery, trains, ships, and even planes. In the end, Sudden Strike III: Arms for Victory tries to make everyone happy and it sort of manages to do so, in some aspects. Moreover, this transition is much more clear now, thanks to the heavily improved graphics engine and the new technologies it is capable of. This way, you can just start off by controlling large parts of the army at a time and gradually increase the complexity of your tactics, as you descend down the scale and reach the singular units. These improved mechanics make for a very flexible and versatile gameplay, which is especially useful for those who never played a Sudden Strike title before. In addition, you get to choose whether you want to concern yourself with micromanagement or leave it to the AI, since it is quite easy to just use entire divisions at once, rather than take an interest in every unit under your command. Improved gameplay mechanics and graphics engineĪlthough the game uses most of the same mechanics as the previous titles, there are some modifications in place, which aim to improve the experience and make some functions more accessible.
In addition, the large areas also allow you to properly organize your own troops and choose the best approach points whenever you assault a particular position. This might sound more boring than tactical, but the environments are always scattered with ambushes or stray enemy forces, so you do not actually have time to ponder. The size of the maps becomes that much more impressive when you take part in land battles, because it takes quite a time for the units to get from one place to the other. Moreover, the battles are on a much larger scale than before, featuring land, air and sea units that must be used together in order to accomplish the objectives for every mission. Sudden Strike III: Arms for Victory may take advantage of the same old World War II cliché, but it does so in a heavily improved environment and it should appeal to those who are looking for a challenge when it comes to strategy and tactics.
Thus, experienced fans and novices alike can find what they are looking for, whether it's a fast and fun tank battle, or a complex war simulator with plenty of tactics involved in the actual combat.
The Sudden Strike series has made a name for itself over the years, by providing players with an unaltered strategy experience and the possibility to choose the desired approach for every situation.