Launched in Closed Beta version last August 14 and available in Early Access on Steam since January 8 of this year, Iron Conflict is - like the developers themselves of Angela Game like to call it - a Modern Real Time PVP Strategy Game, that is a game belonging to the genre of strategic management, strongly focused on Player vs Player online with real-time battles. We made the decision to take to the fiery battlefields built with the power of Unreal Engine 4 to find out if some of your precious time in Iron Conflict is worth it. Find out with us how it went!
Iron Conflict: as on earth so in heaven
Iron Conflict is a strategic war title that offers two different views and two different approaches to battles: you can play using the classic bird's eye view, in romantic and perfect Age of Empires style, or descend on the battlefield controlling every single unit on the ground or in flight. The fate of the battle is closely linked to the ability to cooperate between the various players, in a title exclusively focused on PvP online multiplayer, with battles ranging from a minimum of 3vs3 players, up to a maximum of 10vs10. Each player can take to the battlefield by deploying three different units (for a total of 60 units deployed simultaneously, in larger games). Each unit is composed of vehicles that can act on land, such as tanks, various artillery for anti-aircraft, anti-tank vehicles, then passing through the infantry (foot soldiers with the role of explorers, but capable of unleashing a fair amount of firepower) to finish with a whole series of splendid Fighters (like the F-35 Lightning II model), to swoop down from the sky like winged death. Every vehicle, from the modern ones to those actually used in the Second World War, has a great attention to detail: every polygonal model that descends on the battlefields of Iron Conflict it boasts a historical accuracy that is not so easily found in other titles of the genre. Mighty vehicles like the Type 99A2 burst onto the screen in all their perfect solidity and danger, waiting to change the tide of a battle that doesn't want to know how to turn in the right direction, for you and your allies. Each vehicle (and there are hundreds of them) has a different control system, which we greatly appreciated, considering that this video game allows, in real time, without interruption, to vary from a control from the top of the units to that more specific than each single “piece” that composes them, adding variety to a formula that has already been known for years.
Between Eagles and Lions
Regardless of the type of unit that you decide to bring into battle, Iron Conflict allows the player to choose which army to fight for: Eagle, Dragon, Leo e Bear are the names used to indicate the four countries for which to risk one's life in their defense. From Eagles (United States of America) to Lions (England), it is not difficult to guess which colors are being fought for. From battle to battle it will be possible to unlock new units (or upgrade those already present) thanks to experience points and the in-game coin collected. Upgrades are also managed by an accurate tree dedicated to technology. New skills and the purchase of new modules for the vehicles already owned complete the picture of a constant operation to strengthen one's ranks, to ring a series of victories that would be the envy of the most prepared players. The real-time combat system allows engaging battles full of pathos, and we have rarely seen such exciting air clashes, where the use of the Decoy (the "bait") sends the tracking of missiles in search of enemies haywire, giving life deadly dances in the skies with infantry units and tanks in the background giving them an explosion of bullets flying from all sides. It all works pretty well, although we feel that some balancing is still needed (and given the Early Access nature of the project this is perfectly understandable). The graphics sector is already more than satisfactory and we particularly appreciated the quality of the effects of the explosions and destruction of the buildings scattered among the maps (which are generated randomly with each new game, another point in favor of production).
It remains to be seen if this title, exclusively focused on PvP online multiplayer battles, will be able to keep alive the interest of a fair number of players, in order to guarantee a long life. At the moment the greatest perplexities are related to the amount of in-game currency necessary for the purchase of new units and for the upgrading of the same, which seems a bit excessive. Developers will have to be good and avoid falling into the trap of the much-hated mechanism known as pay to win, which would decree a rather premature end of the project that has yet to be officially and completely released. The Angela Game guys are quite responsive at the moment and have recently released a patch that updated Iron Conflict to version 0.0.4. How everything will evolve we will be able to find out only during the next few months, but if the premises are maintained we will undoubtedly have a respectable title in our hands!
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