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Armored Warfare

Armored Warfare is a 3D tactical tank battling MMO set in modern times with realistic graphics and gameplay. Like other tank battling MMOs, Armored Warfare places a huge emphasis on teamwork and strategic play.

Publisher: My.com (Mail.ru Group)
Playerbase: Medium
Type: Tank Shooter
Release Date: October 8, 2015
Pros: +Modern setting. +PvE and PvP options. +Unique micromanagement features.
Cons: -Secondhand tech tree. -Some wonky animations. -Poor tutorial.

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Overview

Armored Warfare Overview

Armored Warfare is a realistic, modern day, tactical military game with a strong emphasis on realism. The game was definitely inspired by the success of "World of Tanks," but unlike World of Tanks, Armored Warfare is set in modern times. Players will wage war across various unique terrains from deserts to forests to frigid icelands. Given the game's commitment to realism, different terrains will impact vehicle speed and maneuverability. Players who get their tank turrets damaged will also suffer from decreased accuracy and if damaged further will be unable to fire for a duration.

Armored Warfare Key Features:

  • Modern Setting – battle in modern military hardware like the M1 Abrams Tank. Tanks from the 1950s till modern day are available.
  • Destructible Environments – fight across a wide range of environments, from verdant jungles to sun-stroked deserts, where nearly every object can be destroyed.
  • Micromanagement Features – your crew gains experience and acquires unique talents while constructing your base using raw materials allots special bonuses to your stats.
  • Customization System each vehicle type has its own unique perk and players can customize their tanks.
  • Anti-Griefing System – friendly fire / ramming will be punished.
  • Five Vehicle Classes Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), Armored Reconnaissance Vehicles (AFVs), Light Tanks, Tank Destroyers, and Artillery.

Armored Warfare Screenshots

Armored Warfare Featured Video

Armored Warfare - Early Access Launch Trailer

Full Review

Armored Warfare Review

By Sean Sullivan

Vehicle shooters are surprisingly popular and nearly every avenue of transportation has been explored. But that hasn’t stopped My.com from entering the arena donning their best Patton impression. Armored Warfare is a tactical tank shooter set against a modern world rendered by CryEngine. Premature conclusions suggest that Armored Warfare is a World of Tanks doppelganger, but that’s an unjustified assumption. Yes, it’s another tank shooter. But Armored Warfare offers enough novelty to deserve recognition. It’s an engaging experience and breathes new life into a concept that has, perhaps, overstayed it's welcome.

Talk About A Pretty Sunset

I headed into a PvP battle, set in the midst of a mountainous jungle. While waiting for the match to start helicopters swarmed overhead while hot artillery fire exploded. Maps are not just inhabited by player-tanks trekking across dirt roads; the world feels alive. Your tank squadron is another piece on a greater chessboard. Planes immolate and crash into clay cities while jets scream overhead. While NPC’s breathe life into the game, russet sunsets show off the engine’s lighting effects and thick vegetation blankets the landscape. It’s clearly CryEngine and it looks good. Not cutting-edge but good.

Nearly every object on the map is destructible, bunkering under the colossal force of a 62 metric ton rolling cannon. Trees, stone walls, peasant's meager homes, all fall prey to the tank's might. However, oftentimes there’s a missing connection between the tank and environmental objects, a logical leap between cause and effect. Walls crumble but shatter before a sense of contact is made. Pipes explode around a surface irreflective of my tank's dimensions. The hitbox must be a square surrounding the tank leading to disconcerting animations to hawkish eyes.

Lead-Footed Behemoths

From the encapsulated cockpit, the lumbering tanks feel realistically sluggish. The metal beasts respond lackadaisically, making each turn a negotiation. Backing away from an enemy is anxiety-driven, as you crawl towards some hope of safety and hopefully don’t ram an ally (I’ve exploded caressing the hull of a friendly). The tanks move how my inexperienced imagination envisions them, slow. Since you don’t move with finesse, you’re forced to approach conflict tactically. Pummeling towards a group of hostiles will bring about destruction.

Tank Royale

PvP games typically function like a deathmatch even when a secondary objective secures victory—such as capturing the enemy’s base. Each team starts on opposite ends of the map and tanks branch out along the environment's various trails where each path leads to a firefight.

Once an enemy is in your line-of-sight, it’s a matter of point-and-click—although your tank will have to be grounded as the cannon can’t aim below its threshold. Players tended to huddle together, a dangerous tactic; it’s easier to shoot a cluster of targets than a singular bulls-eye. Each vehicle has a different rate of fire. After one fusillade piloting my Patton 44, I was offenseless, waiting to reload for six seconds. So, my best option was to roleplay an oversized-surreptitious sniper, peaking from behind concrete walls to fire off a volley before returning to safety. Every vehicle is optimized for functionality. My XM800T is better equipped to avoid enemy detection while my LAV-150 provided spotting bonuses to allies.

When players spot an enemy tank, their comrades are automatically alerted to the enemy’s presence by a red indicator. This seemed too easy and prevented flanking. It feels like everyone has wallhacks and it’s a matter of who gets the jump on an enemy player or has ally support in an engagement. It felt unfair because Armored Warfare fails to explain an essential mechanic that works in conjunction with spotting.

You have to take advantage of Armored Warfare’s camouflage mechanic. Every vehicle has a camouflage stat determining how easily it can be spotted within a particular context: whether it’s shooting, moving, or frolicking in the bushes. In the bottom left-hand side of the screen is the Environmental Camouflage Indicator (ETI). Circular segmented lines light up when portions of your tank are hidden by environmental factors within a 30 meter radius. If a mountain is at my right flank, then the right segments light up. The more camouflage offered by the environment, the brighter the segment become. The tactician searches for cover in foliage, or around structures, while paying attention to the ETI—using the environment to surprise enemy vehicles.

Working Together

My favorite aspect of the game is its cooperative PvE missions. It’s a rare feature in today’s nearly multiplayer-exclusive market. Along with four other players, you complete objectives combating NPC tanks. Besides the rudimentary narrative (that is voice-acted), it plays out nearly identical to PvP mode. However, instead of an equal number of enemy behemoths, you're faced with an onslaught of NPC tanks conjured out of the dirt. It’s not difficult but death is still a possibility; tactics are not exclusive to handling enemy players. PvE can become repetitive, especially when RNG delivers the same mission three times. But since missions reward money and experience towards Proven status, it’s a strategic way to purchase upgrades for newly acquired tanks, before heading back into the PvP arena.

Tired Progression

If you’ve played any other vehicle shooter then Armored Warfare’s advancement system will be familiar. Each vehicle has a series of upgrades that must be purchased with Proven points, earned by participating in battles. There are five spheres of upgrades: Armor, Firepower, Mobility, Technology, and Proven. The last can only be purchased when you’ve earned the Proven status and awards cash in exchange for Proven. After you’ve upgraded a slot, such as purchasing the 20mm KAD-B13-3 Autocannon for the M113, you’ll have to spend money to buy it. Nothing in this world is free.

Purchasing new tanks is a routine process, featured in nearly every similarly genre-defined game I’ve played (whether it be War Thunder or World of Warships). Once you’ve acquired Proven status for a vehicle, you unlock its subsequent upgrade. The M113 unlocks the Patton 48 and the LAV-150 and both must be purchased with cash to acquire. There are five vehicle types to use, as is typical. It’s a system that feels recycled, stale like there’s only one flavor of ice cream—it tastes great at first but grows bland.

An upgrade feature I do enjoy is your crew. As you gain experience so do they, unlocking equippable talents. It’s a deeper level of micromanagement that lets you customize your play style through incremental bonuses, such as improved aiming speed. Along with your crew is base-building, a feature I suspect will pop up more often after Metal Gear Solid V. Every day you receive 100 Raw materials used to construct your base and each building provides a stat bonus. The academy increases commander XP earned by 2% whereas the Command Center increases Free XP earned. It's another feature that brings depth to the game, breaking up the repetitiveness rhythm.

Armored Warfare's early game does not feel like a grind. Most don’t, otherwise new players would be dissuaded from playing. Map variety, frequent upgrades, and two game modes repel tediousness. And after nearly every match, you’ll have enough dollar bills hanging out of your pocket to upgrade some module on your tank. It’s rewarding to acquire incremental improvements. As expected, each subsequent advancement increases the grind time. So impatient players, or those who have lost the initial zeal, may become tempted to increase their experience accumulation.

Cash Only

Beyond purchasing three tiers of founder’s packs, players can invest in Armored Warfare by purchasing gold. Gold is exchanged for Global Reputation and used to buy modules. Or it can be used directly to purchase Premium Vehicles, such as the T92 or LAV-150. Despite this, I wouldn’t label 9-carat vehicles “pay to win.” Judging them by their stats, they seem better balanced than the in-game vehicles but don’t offer an overwhelming advantage. Gold can also buy premium time, earning players 75% more gold and experience. While that may seem unfair, Armored Warfare’s matchmaking pairs players driving similarly tiered vehicles. So a paying patron can’t use higher-tier vehicles in low-tier matches.

Final Verdict - Good

Armored Warfare is an engaging arcade-stylized tank shooter that features distinct mechanics culminating in a deserved recognition apart from its competitors. But at face-value judgment, it is another vehicle shooter, featuring a similar UI, gameplay modes, and advancement systems that all seem designed by the same developer. Fervent fans of tank shooters will appreciate the systems in place in Armored Warfare but general players may miss the subtleties. However, that doesn’t dismiss its worth. Armored Warfare is the quintessential tank shooter. But it may not be enough to stand out in the general audience's eyes.

Screenshots

Armored Warfare Screenshots

Videos

Armored Warfare Videos

Playlist: Armored Warfare

System Requirements

Armored Warfare System Requirements

Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 10 (64 Bit OS)
CPU: Core i5-4440 @ 3.1 GHz or better
Video Card: GeForce GTX 275 or better
RAM: 4 GB
Hard Disk Space: ~10 GB

Obsidian Entertainment only released recommended system requirements for Armored Warfare. Minimum system requirements will be added once available.

Music

Armored Warfare Music & Soundtrack

Coming Soon!

Additional Info

Armored Warfare Additional Information

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: My.com
Game Engine: CryEngine
Beta Date: May 27, 2015 (Early Access Test)

Development History / Background:

Armored Warfare was developed by Irvine, California based Obsidian Entertainment and built using CryEngine. Obsidian Entertainment is a world renowned game developer and has previously developed Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Sungeon Siege 3, and more. Armored Warfare was first announced on March 20, 2014 when Obsidian announced that they began working on a modern tank-centric military MMO. Armored Warfare is the first MMO to be developed by Obsidian Entertainment.