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A long time ago there was a vector-based arcade game called Battlezone, which put you behind the controls of a tank in one of the world’s first 3D games. Though it is certainly a classic, and even has a degree of old-school cool to its look, visually it is laughable now, and it seems incredible that the US government approached Atari to develop the game as a serious military training tool.
But it’s still a better game than the most recent release to mimic the classic formula of arena-based military vehicle combat. Final Armada is mostly a terrible game, lacking in almost every department on the PS2.
Like Battlezone, the premise of Final Armada sees you guide a heavily armed, heavily armoured futuristic tank as it engages in long-range battles with similar mechanical beasts of war. Here there are different weapons to select, and an option to move into a hover mode that allows for strafing but reduces speed, and several other updates, but the game gains nothing from most additions.
Visually the game is ugly and technically underwhelming, with every frame dominated by clashing colours swamped by bland backgrounds and dreary greens and browns. Some awful scripting and a musical score that tires quickly also do little to help, but it is the gameplay that is truly to blame for Final Armada’s failings.
It surely should have been possible to create some more inspiring levels than the bleak selection on offer. Choosing a fictional setting frees game designers from the humdrum restrictions of reproducing reality, but here there are none of the fantastical automotive playgrounds that could have made this game a real treasure. Instead most playing areas are about as fun as a driving lesson in a car park.
The vehicle handling is also awful for a game centred on driving, with no handbrake meaning quickly turning to face a pursuer is near impossible. The contact with the ground when you are in wheeled mode also feels completely without substance, creating the sense that there is no grip or surface to the road.
Most importantly, the missions in this single-player-only title are thoroughly repetitive and almost all boil down to visiting checkpoints to blow stuff up, meaning that despite there only being 16 short missions, the game can really drag.
If there are positives they are thin on the ground and flounder in their efforts to rescue the game from the doldrums. The air support that follows you in the form of an agile assault ship can be guided to attack and defend with the d-pad, which occasionally creates some intense strategic battles, and a refreshingly simple vehicle upgrade system is one of many elements that give a feel for the yesteryear of gaming. But if being dated is a positive then Final Armada will surely sink.
