Review
Final Armada Review (PS2)
Some of you might remember on old arcade game that went under the name of Battlezone. This classic retro hit put you in charge of tank in one of the world's first 3D games. The sands of time haven’t been all that kind to the games green wire frame graphics, but back in the day it was real cutting edge technology. There were even rumors that the military wanted a game developed for use in their combat training program.
Final Armada is a modern re-imagining of that classic game. It looks to provide an updated version of the experience found in those dank and dingy arcades of the late 80’s. Like its forebear, Final Armada puts you in the seat of a futuristic tank and lets you take part in a series of far reaching battles with other futuristic battle vehicles. Some of the tank’s neat little tricks include selecting different weapons, a hover mode for increased strafing abilities and several other upgrades that beef up the action. The problem here is that these additions don’t affect the basic game mechanic in any substantial way. Whether you are chasing down an opponent with a basic gun or one of the later power ups, you are essentially doing the same thing over and over.
This is not helped by the fact that the vehicle handling is pretty poor. Battle zone was famous for its twin stick controls. One joystick was provided for each caterpillar track on the tank. This took a little while to get used to, but before long it all made a lot of sense and added to the sense of realism. Final Armada again centers its play on driving, but things have moved on somewhat since the days of Battle zone; the stakes are considerably higher and the competition plenty more savvy. The lack of handbrake for quick cornering and the terrible turning arc, mean you spend hours trying to get your aggressor in your sights. It feels like you are battle the control system rather than getting down and dirty with the real business of blowing up tanks.
Graphically, whilst things are obviously more attractive than Battle Zone (we should hope so) it still doesn’t really live up to modern day expectations for a game of this genre. There is a general lack of inspiration that results in drab and mechanical visuals that lack any sense of spark or life that would make you want to play for too long. This poor quality continues on into the sound and music which is again bland and uninspiring. There is some pretty dire voice work that isn’t helped by the average writing. The musical score quickly gets monotonous and you go looking for the option to turn it off.
All of this could have been forgiven if there was an exciting game at the heart of it all. But sadly there is nothing here to lift the average vehicle controls, graphics and sound out of the mire. The levels themselves seem to have been generated en mass rather than have any level designer apply intent to their existence. Because of this it feels like you are playing through a pre-rendered and largely vacated game space. The missions that take you through each of these spaces are also pretty repetitive. Essentially you are charged with going somewhere, shooting something, going somewhere else then returning home. Not really that inspiring.
On the positive side, we have to applaud the developers taking on an old classic game like Battle Zone and taking the risk of updating it. It goes to show how far the games industry has come in the intervening years. Whereas it was quite acceptable for Battle Zone to deliver sparse and repetitive play, in the modern world this is just no longer fun. Most of the criticism here could be leveled at the original game, so perhaps Final Armada has actually been to faithful to the original. This is a shame as an intelligent update could have turned this into a compelling experience.
Overall this is probably a game that should be reserved for those that want to revisit the experience of Battle Zone verbatim. If you have fond memories of playing the game in the arcade you might find some fun here, although we suspect not for too long. If you’ve not got an ulterior motive for getting the game, we would say steer well clear.
Top Game Moment: Firing up the game transported me back to days of yore and smoky arcade filled with buzzing machines and excited sweaty teenagers. Although I have to admit it was down hill from there on.
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| Robots in disguise! | Airborne combat does add some additional interest |
Final Armada is a modern re-imagining of that classic game. It looks to provide an updated version of the experience found in those dank and dingy arcades of the late 80’s. Like its forebear, Final Armada puts you in the seat of a futuristic tank and lets you take part in a series of far reaching battles with other futuristic battle vehicles. Some of the tank’s neat little tricks include selecting different weapons, a hover mode for increased strafing abilities and several other upgrades that beef up the action. The problem here is that these additions don’t affect the basic game mechanic in any substantial way. Whether you are chasing down an opponent with a basic gun or one of the later power ups, you are essentially doing the same thing over and over.
This is not helped by the fact that the vehicle handling is pretty poor. Battle zone was famous for its twin stick controls. One joystick was provided for each caterpillar track on the tank. This took a little while to get used to, but before long it all made a lot of sense and added to the sense of realism. Final Armada again centers its play on driving, but things have moved on somewhat since the days of Battle zone; the stakes are considerably higher and the competition plenty more savvy. The lack of handbrake for quick cornering and the terrible turning arc, mean you spend hours trying to get your aggressor in your sights. It feels like you are battle the control system rather than getting down and dirty with the real business of blowing up tanks.
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| Another grey day! | Different planet, same game! |
Graphically, whilst things are obviously more attractive than Battle Zone (we should hope so) it still doesn’t really live up to modern day expectations for a game of this genre. There is a general lack of inspiration that results in drab and mechanical visuals that lack any sense of spark or life that would make you want to play for too long. This poor quality continues on into the sound and music which is again bland and uninspiring. There is some pretty dire voice work that isn’t helped by the average writing. The musical score quickly gets monotonous and you go looking for the option to turn it off.
All of this could have been forgiven if there was an exciting game at the heart of it all. But sadly there is nothing here to lift the average vehicle controls, graphics and sound out of the mire. The levels themselves seem to have been generated en mass rather than have any level designer apply intent to their existence. Because of this it feels like you are playing through a pre-rendered and largely vacated game space. The missions that take you through each of these spaces are also pretty repetitive. Essentially you are charged with going somewhere, shooting something, going somewhere else then returning home. Not really that inspiring.
On the positive side, we have to applaud the developers taking on an old classic game like Battle Zone and taking the risk of updating it. It goes to show how far the games industry has come in the intervening years. Whereas it was quite acceptable for Battle Zone to deliver sparse and repetitive play, in the modern world this is just no longer fun. Most of the criticism here could be leveled at the original game, so perhaps Final Armada has actually been to faithful to the original. This is a shame as an intelligent update could have turned this into a compelling experience.
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| Wrestling with that turning circle |
Overall this is probably a game that should be reserved for those that want to revisit the experience of Battle Zone verbatim. If you have fond memories of playing the game in the arcade you might find some fun here, although we suspect not for too long. If you’ve not got an ulterior motive for getting the game, we would say steer well clear.
Top Game Moment: Firing up the game transported me back to days of yore and smoky arcade filled with buzzing machines and excited sweaty teenagers. Although I have to admit it was down hill from there on.
