Armor Valley is an example of ambition over substance. This game wants to be more than it can be and fails quite epically. That’s not to say the game itself is terrible, in fact if you take the time to learn the controls and the movements of the enemies you could in fact be in for a fun little jaunt.
Armor Valley tries to mix three different types of game into one package, as I said an ambitious feat which just teeters on the wrong edge of the spectrum. There are shooter elements, RTS elements and flight sim elements which on their own are quite fun to play, but mixed together they become a little tricky, not overly so but enough to put a casual gamer off the game before they get the chance to progress any further.
A major fault with the game is that your enemies can take several hits to destroy whereas you take only one or two and in the event that you do lose a mission, you end up back at the start of the level and all of the enemies are back on their feet. This led to a lot of cursing in my case and detracted from the game in a way that again will lose the casual gamer vote.
The controls are a little tricky as mentioned but once you get the hang of controlling your hover ship you will be zipping around the playing field like…like…well like a hover ship with big guns. Talking of guns, you have limited bullets and missiles so try to use them sparingly, this is not a game with which you can simply blast your way through the enemies with a constant barrage. You have to take the time to aim at your targets and think about what kind of arsenal works best for that particular kind. You also have to consider your own forces, will they take out some of the weaker enemies? Will that save you valuable ammunition? Oh, and you can change your camera angle to suit your individual playing style, not a huge advantage in a game such as this but still a fun little gimmick.
As I played my way through this game I found myself wondering if the designer had aspirations of it being an arcade release rather than an indie title. It could have done with a little more oomph but as an indie title it does the job. I would love to see what the designer could have done with a little more funding and a major publishing deal behind them. This game could have been a very popular title with just a little more effort in catering to casual gamers.
I recommend this game to anyone with a little patience and who are willing to put up with a few frustrating hours in order to get a lot of fun filled days of gaming.
VideogameUK verdict: 5/10
