To say that Broken Arrow has been long awaited would be an understatement. For around six years fans have longed to get their teeth into its highly detailed, modern combat RTS, and I think the wait has definitely paid off, with this, the final release, featuring a detailed campaign, skirmish modes and multiplayer.
Right from the very start of Broken Arrow, way back in the tutorial, it was immediately obvious that depth and detail of units were major focuses of development. I quickly noticed just how detailed every single unit in this game was, with every group of infantry sporting a vast array of weapons and equipment, vehicles having countermeasures (and a crazy amount of detail) as well as a vibrant terrain both in and out of the cities.
It also features a myriad of combat support both in and out of the battlefield with airstrikes, ballistic missiles and pretty much anything you could imagine being used in the combat of today being replicated within the world of Broken Arrow leaving you with hundreds of choices to make when taking to the field.
The one thing that comes with having all of these choices though is that you also have to manage them, and with the ability to control and use all of these features you are at times left trying to micromanage a lot of combat. This is especially prevalent in the single player campaign when you’ll almost certainly need to pause the game to make sure that your units are optimal for the encounter ahead, lest they get destroyed by enemy AI before you’ve had time to react.
Personally, I have found that the infantry is extremely strong in Broken Arrow, with you being able to outfit them with a combination of anti-tank, anti-air and other anti-infantry equipment making them some of the cheapest and most effective all round units. They can, if set up right, effectively combat most other unit types other than long range support such as artillery or vehicles that out range them. This is an effective representation of modern combat doctrines changing, as modern wars are fought by specialist ground forces supported by technology, rather than encased in it as with WWII’s tank warfare.
Another thing that lends its hand to infantry being so strong is the line of sight mechanic. The reason this dominates play, especially in urban environments is that it can effectively make an infantry squad near invisible until the right moment — if hidden correctly behind a building or in trees — making ambushes a real possibility across most of the maps. It feels a lot more refined than most recent examples I can think of, and you can easily be left with piles of scrap where expensive tanks or helicopters once were if you fall into one of these traps.
On the other hand, when entering buildings, the entire building becomes a massive target for any unit within the vicinity and generally leads to your men being wiped out very quickly. I was expecting a Men of War style approach to buildings when being occupied with men breaking out windows and taking up positions but sadly they just seem to sit inside and shoot out with no real visual change. It does however give the units inside a clear line of sight on enemies and allows them to hit vehicles in return.
I have to say that the air units in Broken Arrow are a lot of fun. Nothing feels quite the same as strafing an enemy position with a massive bombing run or mowing down vehicles and infantry with an AC-130 or two. While the aerial units are expensive, they truly can shift the tide of the battle into your favour with the right deployment at the right time.
Speaking a bit more about Broken Arrow’s campaign: It lets you initially play as the Americans but as you progress it opens up and lets you play as the Russians as well, which introduces you to, what seem to be, much cheaper and questionably more effective troops. With a lot of the weapons being highly effective on both sides, having a largely and cheaper army will always make things a little one-sided.
The campaign also features Command and Conquer-like briefing characters that, for a serious modern war RTS, seems to lean a little too into the comical side. Especially in the tutorial where there’s a lot of jokes and off-hand comments that in my opinion set the wrong kind of tone for what I imagine a serious war RTS to be like.
With Broken Arrow’s skirmish mode it allows you to pit yourself against the AI in up to a 5 vs 5 matches, with you being able to choose from a number of AI combatants from tank support units to coastal infantry brigades, ultimately letting you match up against a myriad of different units in one pre-designed battle. I have noticed that you can’t add allied units that are not player controlled however, meaning that you can’t have a massive 5 vs 5 without inviting some friends or a few random people to join you.
If, like me, back in the day you were a fan of making Age of Empires 2 custom scenarios then you can make your own more modern ones in the editor section with complete control over the maps, the units and a whole host of other controls. This can and will 100% be used to make some great custom missions, and I can’t wait to see some of the recreations and new scenarios that come from the modding community.
Broken Arrow is an incredibly detailed game that lets you have access to everything you could need. However, outside of the details it just seems to be lacking in a few gameplay areas that will hopefully be looked into with the incoming patches.
You can find Broken Arrow on Steam.
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