Available for Windows 10 PC and Mobile, this free game offers you an entertaining combination of role-playing features and combat strategy. Graphics are detailed and look good. Gameplay is challenging, with simple drag-and-drop mechanics to deploy the troops. Units are upgradeable to improve their destructive capabilities and overall, Armored Age is an enjoyable Windows 10 game.
Simple yet challenging
While Armored Age is an easy game to pick up and play, it has a decent amount of depth. The main menu highlights each of the game's feature sets, including achievements, unlockable and upgradable military units, and four national flags to carry into battle. Each area can be accessed by tapping on the icons that line the bottom of the main menu.
Additional menu features include your gaming stats (experience level, silver and gold counts) and supply lockers. Gold and silver resources are earned during battle, or you can boost your funds through in-app purchases. Supply lockers offer a range of bonus cards that include gold, silver and unit points that go toward upgrades. These lockers are time sensitive, only becoming available periodically throughout the day.
Speaking of units, Armored Age has an available 28 units that can be unlocked and upgraded. Units range from tanks to bombers to troops, and they have a World War II theme.
Gameplay is simple but requires a bit of strategy for success. Your bunkers are positioned at the bottom of the screen and your opponent's span the top. Unit cards line the very bottom of the screen, along with an energy meter. The goal is to destroy your enemy's main bunker (the largest of the group) before the game timer expires.
To place a unit onto the battlefield, tap and drag the unit's card into position. Units must be placed on the battlefield from your side of the battlefield, with two exceptions: paratroopers can be deployed anywhere, and bombers can target any area of the battlefield. Using paratroopers can be an easy way to get close to enemy bunkers to inflict quick damage.
Each unit requires an amount of energy to deploy. Don't panic if you run out of energy, it replenishes over time. That's a nice touch and requires you to manage your resources, adding to the game's challenge.
As you are strategizing to defeat your opponent, they are doing the same. Units meeting on the battlefield automatically engage each other as they try to reach the bunkers. Those units that cross the battle zone unchallenged focus their weapons on the bunkers. Bunkers can defend themselves automatically with their cannons but weaken with every attack.
At the end of a successful battle, you earn gaming cards that represent your winnings. These cards are also available in the daily chests and can represent gold, silver and upgrade points for your military units. Once available for upgrade, it will cost you a little silver or gold to complete the upgrade. Winning battles also earn you experience that can promote you up the ranks and make additional combat units available.
Summing up Armored Age
Armored Age's gaming experience is enjoyable. Graphics offer a nice bit of detail with the teeny-tiny tanks, planes and troops. The battlefield is not terribly complicated to advance across, and gameplay has a fair amount of challenge. You could blitz the enemy by tossing troops at the enemy as fast as possible or be disciplined and deploy troops in a more strategic manner. Timing, the type of unit and location of deployment can all take a role in your success or defeat.
While I like Armored Age, it has one oppressive downside. It is a free, ad-supported game that includes ad banners and 30-second video ads. The banners are small and easily overlooked as you play the game, but the video ads can knock the wind out of you. They can pop-up after each game or while transitioning between game features. You lack the ability to cancel the videos after a few seconds and are held hostage for the full 30-seconds.
You can opt out of the ad support with an in-app purchase of more than 1,000 gold bars ($9.99 value), which is a bit steep for this game. Overall, Armored Age is a fun game to pass the time with, but the ad support tends to throw a wet blanket on the fun. If the developer toned down the ad support a little, we'd bump the rating up to three stars.
