Broken Arrow is a modern warfare RT that emphasizes vehicles
Blog Andrew Joseph 18 Feb , 2025 0
They say life is a highway. In the broken arrows, the upcoming modern war RTS comes from the steel Balalaika and Slitherine, a highway with exploded BMD chariots littered, I just advanced in heavy armor and then was attacked by my side catch. In the fictional Eastern European war between Russia and the United States, it has many tactical depths while remaining very easy to control.
From several tasks I played, this situation was a bit cloudy. I spent half my time flying the American nobles at the United Nations base in the Baltic Sea, which was a cunning mission, which meant he was just really concerned about selling more tanks and planes. Another convoy route to Kaliningrad is being fixed. Details about why such a conflict is not immediately nuclear, there is no waste of time. Or the reason that caused it in the first place. That's really not the point. This is one of Fulda Gap fans.
If you've ever played games like Steel Division, you'll find a lot of familiar mechanics here. Infantry, vehicles, aircraft and support weapons are ticking revenues using the levy income you get from holding the control point, and reinforcements will be generated on a specific basis before moving to their final destination. Therefore, a lot of attention must be drawn to ensure that the road to the front is safe or you may be sniped by trying to bring in new recruits.
Follow the order
One thing that immediately impressed me was how easy it was to control all items in broken arrows. Even when I was fighting to try to get rid of the ambush, the unit was very responsive to my command to charge or back off. Artillery has several target options, all of which are intuitive and easy to use. You select the ammunition, how long it takes for the barrage, then draw a line or mark a position and watch the shells fly. The aircraft has semi-realistic operability statistics, so you have to consider leaving the space between sweep runs.
Russian factions also use drones, but I can’t use them in any of the tasks I have to perform, so it’s hard to name their role. I'm particularly interested in the details there, as I played a lot of Modern Warfare RTSEs in the “War on Terror” era, and drone warfare is one of the main factors that can play games in our current moments in addition to those familiar tactical paradigms. I did play with some attack helicopters, responding to commands as sensitive as other units, and have a “stealth” mode where they can fly at higher speed costs to avoid detecting lower speeds.
The support units in the broken arrows are modeled by freight trucks that can carry variable consumables depending on whether you only need to do a quick top-up on the issue or create a dedicated supply table front scratch after the tank is beaten. Once supplies fall into the ground, they create a small circular repair halo that automatically restores any vehicle inside it to factory shape. It's a bit like a huge abstraction, but I really don't pay much attention to it. We have to consider the fact that supply is included at the forefront.
boots
Infantry are so fragile and easy to suppress that I don't use them often. They can garrison in buildings, but any amount of enemy armor seems to get them out of them. At least in the mission I was in, there weren't many opportunities for firefighting on the streets, the House occupied a village, or held the distance with a rifle team. The point seems to be absolutely on the vehicle. But this may just be the product that is showing off for that particular demo option.
There is a fairly detailed line of sight system that can increase tactical depth. During a training exercise, I was able to park the tank on a sunken ground that the enemy could not see, peek at the shooting, and then rewind back into my safe hole. In another battle, I basically used the highway overpass for cover. Many weapons have longer effective ranges than vision radius, which makes reconnaissance valuable. Although I can only use some lighter mortars in the demo, indirect fire is also a consideration. I'm very interested in what options are available and how to open up more possibilities.
Even on the maximum settings, the broken arrow does have some budget look. The explosion is great, but the vehicle model is a bit flat and has a rather simple, clay-like texture that doesn't really react to the light and get you away, “Wow!” This isn't the F-15's Microsoft flight simulator Grade replica. But I usually play with zooming so that I'm not picking on some small details.
Judging by what I barely see the broken arrows, I'm very interested in finding out the rest of the campaign, its multiplayer mode and Army Builders will add to its lively, easy-to-command RTS battle. This June, we will be able to ride the full version.
