Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory Critic Reviews

Shortcomings aside, Arms for Victory is bound to suck you into its fold in short order. The immense battles with thousands of various units at your command are simply epic.

Due to control problems and pathfinding issues, Sudden Strike 3 is not perfect. However, the scale of the battles and intense firefights make it a marked improvement over its predecessors.

The level design appears to be somewhat lacklustre (there's too much 'take this point! And now this one!'), but it's still an enjoyable romp.

It has some lingering problems, but bigger battles and a more impressive scope make this latest Sudden Strike the best yet.

What Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory has is a bevy of strategic options at its disposal. As such, it's really going to appeal to those armchair generals.

It starts really poorly - even the disgracefully short tutorial uncovers the deficiencies of this title, namely units getting lost and jerky sounds resembling old electronic games. Then the first mission sucks you in for good. Diversity of situations you face precludes any possibility of boredom, but the presentation and unit AI deserved much more attention.

This is good news for the strategy-is-serious-business crowd, but it makes for a game without much character.

A relatively poor interface and the ongoing need for micromanagement mask the game’s many strengths and risks discouraging both casual players and bored veterans.

Your virtual units move and act so dumbly that you'll watch all your carefully drawn-up plans and dreams get dashed before your eyes when your tanks fail to return fire against a foe that's practically sitting right next to them.

It's fine entertainment for an hour at a time, but there are too many niggling problems to keep playing for long.