CDV and Fireglow have unleashed another Sudden Strike onto the gaming market, Sudden Strike 3: Arms to Victory. This time around, however, you will find a wider range of maps and even bigger battles. Sudden Strike 3 also sports an overhauled 3d graphics engine and allows players to zoom in on the combat with even greater detail. Although it may look good, Sudden Strike 3 lacks high quality voice acting that will help further immerse you in the game world. However, fans of the series will find the very familiar elements of the previous games in Sudden Strike 3 and enjoy it just as much as the other games in the series.

Gameplay

Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory cannot be mistaken for anything other than a Sudden Strike game. The battles in Arms for Victory are absolutely massive. Much like the previous Sudden Strike games, there are moments in the game where you are simply overwhelmed by the sheer amount of action that is happening at any given time, but this helps to make the battles more exciting. It is not uncommon for a player to have 50 or more units on the screen at a given time. Not only do the numerous units contribute to the action, but the same can be said of the matching large maps.

The maps in Sudden Strike 3 are massive. The box art pronounces “maps up 4sq km” and it truly offers that. There are times where you will find yourself managing an entire front, with soldiers entrenched on the side and tanks flanking to the east. Freedom of movement is key to strategically planning your next move and it helps provides a more authentic battlefield feel. Although Arms for Victory pulls off a great gameplay experience in many aspects, there are still some setbacks that may frustrate some gamers.

Arms for Victory does have some problems that take from, what would be, an excellent experience. The pathfinding of your troops is absolutely horrible. There are times where you will order troops to go up a hill, but they will decide to walk the longest possible way. Sometimes, soldiers would run in place as they got fired at and would require you to reselect them for them to move. This can be especially frustrating when you are in the heat of battle and you have tanks taking the long way to the battlefield. The pathfinding bugs are a huge downer to a game that had a lot of potential, but hopefully this problem gets fixed in a future update.

Graphics

The graphics in Arms for Victory are the best out of all the games in the series. The level of detail when you zoom in on buildings, tanks and soldiers is amazing. If you take into account the numerous units on the screen at any given time, the level of detail they are able to achieve with minimal slowdown is great. There is not a moment where you will not be in awe at the number of explosions being caused on the screen.

Sound

The basic sound effects in Arms for Victory are well suited for this title and further bring the idea of massive scale to the gamer. There is nothing better to hear than the sound of a plane flying overheard and carpet bombing a fortified enemy position. The same is true for the sound of incoming artillery overhead. If you combine all of these sound effects together, you get what a battle should sound like. Although the sound effects work well with the game, the voice acting takes from the experience.

Arms for Victory's voice acting is definitely not the best. When you hear a soldier yell a quote from The Terminator, in a battle that was supposed to take place before The Terminator was even released, it really takes away from the overall environment the sound is supposed to create. The voice acting makes me think that they spent more of their budget on the development of the graphics engine and took a cut in the acting department.

Duck and Cover

Despite its shortcomings, Arms for Victory will offer hardcore fans of real time strategy games an outlet for them to unleash their inner commander. The gigantic maps and the hundreds of soldiers, tanks and emplacements on the screen really give you the feel that you are looking down at the battlefield. This makes for interesting, albeit authentically long, battles that are action packed.

Conclusion

Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory is well worth the price tag. The massive battles will keep you on the edge of your seat, despite the battles lasting for several hours at a time. Sudden Strike 3's maps further enhance the experience by giving players battles that take them back to the days when they wished to control more than just 10 units. Despite all the great gameplay, the AI pathfinding really makes some of the easiest tasks the most difficult. The voice acting may also take away from the gameplay, but the sound effects make up for the voice acting quality. If you are looking for a World War II real time strategy game, Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory is well worth the purchase price.