Surprised by 'World At Arms'

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By Spawn of Shooter

BLUF: I went into this expecting to hate the game. At first glance it looked like a carbon copy of other games I've really enjoyed, with some of the disadvantages of playing a phone-based game added in. I wasn't just wrong, I was way wrong. I've been playing this game as close to non-stop as I can get away with for nearly two weeks.

So I was expecting World of Arms from Gameloft to be your basic RTS (Real Time Strategy) or TBS (Turn Based Strategy) game, but it's not, not really anyway. There's more of an element of chance to it, influenced by how you play the game and how you use power-ups on the field. Having more advanced weaponry allows you to kill your enemies more efficiently, obviously. You get advanced weaponry with in game currency gained by leveling or you can purchase things with premium currency (which is bought irl with actual money). It's not a new idea, but it's a good one. Once you're sucked in you're going to want to use some of that allowance to buy a 'Charger' tank.

I'm actually playing in between phases of writing this, which may explain why I'm rambling. I just finished killing off a bunch of dirty terrorist Communist KRA, the villains of the game. I think they look Chinese, or North Korean. The latter can be pretty dangerous for sure, just ask the Wolverines. In fact, the enemy general you meet looks like a fatter version of Kim Jong Il (I'm so roneryyy....)

You cannot buy Matt Damon in the game.

Game controls are pretty simple and gameplay is fluid. However at times it seems too easy to do some things... I spent all of my default 'Premium currency' on missile strikes by mistake, and bought more land than I wanted. I, however, am "dumber than a sack of hammers" (I have a very caring father), so that might be a mistake others make so quickly.

I think the mix of the long term classic 'Freenium' game (a free game that offers additional benefits for spending real money) and quicker paced replayable missions is a great combination than most similar games. They are my favorite genre of game, because my gaming schedule is fairly random and I don't have time to be a pro Farmville player. Build this, 8 hours later it's done--you don't have to be on constantly or monitor all the time and check in. With World at Arms you can just check in when you need to. This game does have freemium qualities, but not so much that you have to spend money to get by or do better.

I also want to touch quickly on the graphics. I don't know if it's because it's stylized, but I really love th art in this game. It feels a lot like Command & Conquer and some of the other higher end war games. It's very bright and has a good frame rate. It also has pretty good music - uplifting in that sort of 'campy' classic war song way.

I really enjoy the little things, if you can't tell, and often rant about things that are only somewhat relevant to anything.

As for combat, I'm not entirely sure but it seems like the combat is based on the basic Rock-Paper-Scissors system you see in many RTS games (think, grenade beats handgun, handgun beats bayonet, though that's not exactly how it works in-game. There are several to be had, like Medic Pack and Missile Strike.

Overall, my initial meh has evolved into really enjoying the game. I give it a score of 243/276 half-eaten tacos.

Try it, you won't regret it. Don't hold Ponyville against them.

Spawn of Shooter is a military dependent and a gamer. His great-grandfathers, grandfathers, dad, uncles and the other arguably suitable role models in his life present a wide mix of military (some now LE) personnel from all four branches. These include a grunt CSM, a gunner’s mate, a retired Gunny from JSOTF-P, one green-side corpsman, a couple of MSGTs, a STA Marine, one FO, a couple MPs…you get the point. He likes first person shooters, gets his dork on in Planetside 2 and Civilization 5 and can competently shoot basic qual courses with shotgun and rifle, and recently completed his first handgun course. He understands the advantages and disadvantages of living in the fishbowl that is base housing, loves Anthony’s Pizza and thinks the brassards on the base Courtesy Patrols are kinda jumping the shark. He’s on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SpawnofShooter.