Video Game Review: Machines of War

There is just something exciting about a game with massive battles and big explosions and Machines at War offers both in no short supply.
Machines at War is an addicting game that lets you command a futuristic army to victory.

The premise for Machines at War is a real time strategy game and is simple by today's mega-game standards, but that just means the game is easier to get started. The premise is reminiscent of the original Command & Conquer game. Somewhere in the near future, the world has erupted into conflict and the player must build an army and destroy enemy armies to win. But the game is not that simple, as commander of your army, you must manage resources in order to finance the campaign and research technologies in order to upgrade your units and give them an advantage.

What type of base and what type of army are left up to the player. Build a big base or a light base and a fast strike force, the choice is yours. With 40 different battle units and 30 different technology upgrades for the battle units, there is almost an endless number of scenarios in the game.

There are no turns to wait for since Machines at War is a real time strategy game. Each player commands their respective army simultaneously and a good commander should be able to overview building units back at the base while mounting an offensive. When multiple armies are involved, it can be necessary to defend two fronts at the same time.

Each battle unit has it's own strengths and weaknesses, so the challenge for any would-be general is to create the perfect match up for battle that leverages his own strengths and the enemy's weakness. For instance, drawing the enemy into your automatic defenses or destroying the enemy's supply lines can turn the tide of the battle.

The game features destructible terrain which means that gameplay affects the map. Units leave tracks in the ground that can lead an enemy back to a base like bread crumbs. Tanks can hide under trees for ambush or destroy the trees to avoid an ambush. Bridges can be built and destroyed.

Simplicity without compromising gameplay is where Machines at War succeeds. Most games of this genre require obscure key combinations and multiple mouse buttons in order to win, but the developer strips all of that overhead away and only uses the left mouse button to seamlessly control the game. Unlike the big, complicated warfare games from Electronic Arts and Blizzard that start the player off with tutorial missions, Isotope 244 made Machines at War simple enough for a player to get into the game immediately.

But the game does give up a few features for its simplicity. It is a single player game. You can battle up to three other computer-controlled nations, but there is no online or network play with other players.

One of the nice twists that the game developer, Isotope 244, adds to Machines of War is the need to manage energy sources in addition to resources. Buildings and some units require power. Destroying an enemy power source can render automatic defenses useless and inhibit his ability to build new combat units.

The game strategy for Machines at War is typical of most war games. You must protect your resources at all costs, ensure that troop production does not slow down and in most cases overwhelm the enemy with greater numbers. Destroying enemy scavengers is the key to beating the game's computerized opponents because they will keep creating more scavengers and drain their resources.

A playable demo for Windows, Mac OSX, and Windows Mobile is available at the game's homepage.