Conclusion:

Arms for victory is by no means a game for the masses, but it has enough depth to make it an extraordinary experience for anyone willing to try it and discover its hidden quality. Sudden Strike 3 has huge potential and I am confident that after one or two add-ons it will firmly establish itself as the best RTT game of the moment. For now on though I can't help but thinking that we've got just 80% of the full package and there is much more to be discovered in the close future, so it would be only fair to say that the game is good but it can be much better.

Gameplay: 80

The preset scenarios are somehow limiting our options but with a mission taking up to six hours to complete we'll have the chance to try multiple tactics and different approaches so it's very difficult to get bored. The command and control system is not better than in SS2, there are some minor problems with the pathfinding as well and micromanagement is out of the question with thousands of unit involved so you must take a deep thinking before each decisive action. Complexity has almost become a Sudden Strike's trademark and Fireglow made no compromises about this aspect, so even if some people may find the way each mission unfolds long and tedious, the effort eventually pays off.

Graphics: 81

It is obvious that the designers made huge progress and the graphics are much better than in the previous games, but the maps still look rather flat and there is room for improvement in this department. Artillery and air strikes are creating havoc in the enemy's outposts and the effects are good enough to illustrate this, but nothing out of the ordinary really, while the actual combat is reduced to small explosions and flames, in terms of visual effects.

Sounds: 82

I must admit that it was quite entertaining to launch a full assault against a heavily fortified enemy outpost just for the sake of sound effects, as the roaring cannons and the hundreds of rifles firing at the same time create a unique atmosphere. The music is not very inspiring but on the other hand when you try to handle a huge army against a determined opponent there is little time to complain about this kind of things.

Multiplayer:79

Although the game has just been released the hardcore fans are already competing over the internet and with no skirmish mode available this is the next logical step after completing the nine scenarios. The Sudden Strike 3 project planned to include 5vs5 maps for "Arms for Victory" but was eventually limited to 4vs4 players, the game starting with small number of units and if you capture a control point you will receive periodical reinforcements.

Hardware: 81
This game does require a lot of computing power but with these huge maps and thousands of units involved in combat it is a reasonable situation but it runs smoothly even on the minimal requirements.