Fireglow's latest addition to the Sudden Strike series is now available, and promises to be another massive success and a source of endless fun for the dedicated fans of this RTT game. Arms for victory is just the first step in the Sudden Strike 3 project so there are a lot of features yet to be announced, some patches to be introduced and of course an add on, in the upcoming months. For the moment though, Fireglow can be really proud of their achievement as this latest installment seems capable to inherit the Sudden Strike legacy and presents itself as top of the line in the real-time tactics industry.

The action takes place once again during the World War II, and the campaign set includes 9 missions where the player has the chance to fight for each side from the beaches of Normandy to the far East where US Marines clash with the imperial army off Japan. One might argue that this is not good enough and nine missions are too few for a much awaited game such as Sudden Strike 3. I've had the same feeling myself but after you start playing the first scenario it's most likely that your attitude will suffer a 180 degrees change.

This is one difficult game to say the least and learning how to use the most effective tactics and how to deploy your troops on the field of battle with minimal causalities is quite an art. I'm not a hardcore fan of the franchise and my experience with this kind of game is limited so I've had my share of disappointments and failures in the first couple of hours. Still, I was not tempted to give it up, as I could sense huge value beneath the surface and the effort to dig it up is definitely worth taking.

Like in any real-time tactics game the player does not build units or construct a field base and relies heavily on the troops deployed in specific locations, so the missions are heavily scripted. With the economy factor out of the equation it should be much easier to control your army and hit the enemy from all sides while greatly reducing your losses. Well, it is not the case here, as you have to control between 1000 and 4000 units at a time and they must be covered from enemy fire at all time.

The task force includes infantry, tanks and support vehicles which require pinpoint accuracy when deployed on the battlefield, and without a clear strategy it's virtually impossible to advance and secure the objectives. Destroying reinforced enemy positions is a huge challenge and even the infantry hidden in the tranches can inflict massive damage to the assaulting force. It is a common rule of engagement that the attacking army should have at least a 3/1 advantage over the defending opponent in order to have a decent chance to prevail; this is not going to help in this case where a handful of soldiers in bunkers and tranches could wipe out dozens of incoming troops.

Tanks might come in handy in this situation as they have the firepower to reduce to rubbles enemy fortification but they lack the sight to shell the opponent from safe distance. Constant scouting is the answer and coordinating the air strikes with heavy artillery attacks from both ground and naval locations should do it, but this kind of support is available in limited amounts so it should be carefully used.