Starting out can be very overwhelming.  Lots of keyboard commands and many of them use a shift or ctrl combination.  Provided in the jewel case is a quick reference guide, which is very helpful, but in my boxed version there was no manual.  You can download a PDF version from the web site, which is highly recommended.  I must admit I was a bit surprised that not even the PDF version was on the disk, let alone no manual.

This title is pretty similar to a WWII combat sim.  Composed of mostly tanks and other gun-wielding ground armor, and a nice addition of three ground attacking aircraft.  Most of the offline games are tanked based with good reason.  The game is called armored assault.  The flying aspect is a nice touch to add some variety to the game. The offline games are a bit short and not campaign based.  So if you are looking for a story driven tank sim, you may want to pass on this one especially if you are not going to take advantage of the online games.

Online play is really the focus of this game.  Though a new release, there are already squads forming and some players are just near impossible to kill because of their expertise.  The online games are quite a bit fun, but can be frustrating as well.  One such frustration comes from what other players are calling a clutter hack.  Imagine yourself in your tank nestled between a stand of trees nicely camouflaged from the enemy.  Next thing you know you are being pummeled from a barrage of fire that you did not even see coming.  Unknown to you, the enemy has set the clutter distance to 0.  Thus making the battlefield to them look like a vast green desert and you sticking out like a sore thumb.  Solution?  You do the same and now everyone is on a level playing field.  The down side is it just takes the realism right out of the game.

With the retail version you do get two months of free online play.  After that the basic subscription is going to run you $9.95 a month.  I personally have and reviewed too many titles to actively get involved in a game to make it worth paying a monthly fee, but after reading the message boards I have found that those playing get really involved and have tons of fun.  So for some of you it very well might be worth it.

Though I personally did not find the graphics and sound at the high end of the spectrum, they really do not hinder gameplay.  When you are fleeing from 3-4 tanks trying to take as many with you as you can, the small stuff really doesn’t matter.

Gameplay: 6.5
In my opinion there are just too many keyboard commands. When you have to use shift and ctrl keys in conjunction with other keys that to me is just too much work and takes away from the game.  But hey that’s just me.  The offline games are short and the interface can be a bit confusing to novice players.

Graphics: 7.5 
Decent at best. 

Sound: 6
To my surprise the audio was a bit dull, but did not take away from the game.

Difficulty:  Hard
You can toggle the difficulty in offline games, though I didn't see much change.  One mission I was blown to bits within 10 seconds of starting my engines.  And the difficulty was set to rookie…now that’s tough!

Concept: 7 
It’s a WWII combat sim, so not exactly ground breaking here.  I did like the options of flying some aircraft for a change of pace.

Multiplayer: 8
This is where the game excels.  In fact if you don't ever plan on playing online, I wouldn't even bother with this title.  The game is quite new, but with the help of players posting problems and ideas on message boards the developers are lending an ear and addressing issues.  Wish more developers were like that!

Overall: 6.8
Will appeal to a limited amount of fans that enjoy games of this genre.  For the average gamer, I feel this game is quite difficult and not too visually or audibly stimulating.  A very limited amount of short games for offline play.