by Peter Robbins, 24 November 2024
Cursory Summary
Armored Brigade II: it’s Armored Brigade, only better. A pretty simple formula. And it works. Don’t muck up what is already a great game; add a 3d under-belly and improved functionality, and boom, success.
I think it’s a pretty darn successful followup version, and it’s priced very nicely upon release at 10% off an already affordable price for a wargame. I’ll get a good bit more ‘constructively critical’ in the review main body, but that is the long and short of it.
I’ll start us off with a quick copy/paste of the general information about the game provided to us by the publisher. This introduction text is pretty much verbatim from the store, but useful as a quick summary of what you get out of the box:
“Matrix Games Press Release –
(author note: I think this deserved being reprinted to the public as it’s a good summary of what you receive with an Armored Brigade II purchase)Armored Brigade II Launches on Matrix Store
November 19th, 2024 – Matrix Games and Veitikka Studios proudly announces the release of Armored Brigade II, now available on the Matrix Store. This sequel takes the critically acclaimed series to new heights, transitioning to a custom-built 3D game engine that brings Cold War battles to life with detail and realism.
Unparalleled Scale and Realism
In Armored Brigade II, players step into massive Cold War battlefields generated from real-world terrain maps, ranging from the North German Plain and Fulda Gap to the Ardennes and southern Finland. Military formations, weapons, and vehicles spanning 1965 to 1991 are fully modeled, allowing players to engage in battles with iconic vehicles like the Abrams, T-80, Chieftain, and Marder, as well as rare finds such as the 2P32 or M56 Scorpion.
National differences play a critical role, as troop quality, fire support response times, and formation compositions vary between factions. Players can choose from a wide range of national armies, including the United States, USSR, United Kingdom, Finland, Poland, and East and West Germany.
Command and Tactical Depth
Anticipation is key to success in Armored Brigade II. The game’s command net system realistically models communication delays, requiring players to anticipate enemy moves rather than simply react. The new SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) system allows players to customize tactical behaviors for their units, whether holding fire for ambushes or prioritizing survival through covered approaches.Firepower and Dynamic Environments
Players can shape the battlefield with powerful artillery, MLRS barrages, sub-munitions, and smoke screens. Air power, including aircraft and helicopter gunships, is fully integrated, while air defenses provide critical protection for vital units. Explosions and gunfire can even ignite forests and urban areas, creating dynamic environmental hazards.Endless Replayability
Armored Brigade II offers a wealth of content, including developer-designed campaigns and missions. Players can also create their own scenarios using an intuitive mission and campaign generator, which allows them to choose terrain, units, and objectives with minimal effort. For those who prefer granular control, the mission editor lets players tweak every detail, from weather and ground conditions to AI behavior.
The game’s database editor adds even more customization options, enabling players to adjust unit performance or create entirely new platforms with bespoke capabilities.
Key Features of Armored Brigade II
- Fully 3D battles with terrain and units rendered in detail.
- Real-world maps for authentic battlefield settings.
- Military formations and vehicles from 1965-1991.
- Realistic command net system modeling communication delays.
- SOP system for detailed tactical behavior customization.
- Comprehensive mission and campaign generators.
- Full database editor for unit customization.
Whether reliving the early days of guided missile warfare or commanding advanced technologies of the early 1990s, Armored Brigade II offers an immersive and unparalleled Cold War experience.”
Disclosure: I was a member of the beta testing group for Armored Brigade II. I am also a rabid fan of the original Armored Brigade. Keep that in mind as a gush all over this product. I additionally happen to be a wargaming addict that has absolutely horrible ADHD and GAD. I hop terribly between games, and this one caters to that ability to drop in and out of often, hey I consider that a bonus for any wargame!
So, What’s In The Box?
In its release state on the Matrix Store you get the following collection of Armored Brigade scenarios ported over to Armored Brigade II. Also take note of the Tutorial and Scripted Showcase scenarios, which are well done. You definitely should play through all four of the tutorial single missions before delving into the full scenarios, or the campaigns. Read the manual, do the four tutorials, and read through the in menu guide, then dive into Armored Brigade II as a whole. You’ll thank yourself for taking the time to RTFM.
click images to enlarge
One of the game’s more useful hotkeys: Click on the Compass to reposition the camera in top-down view. This is very helpful as you get lost in the newer pretty 3D down low, Armored Brigade series in general has a top-down play feel to it. You are commanding a company or battalion commander role, not a platoon commander usually in these scenarios. While the newer 3D is nice to have, it’s not the main attraction of Armored Brigade II or its predecessor. The attraction is that you can command a mid-sized to larger body of troops with ease, concentrating more on analyzing avenues of approach, enemy course of action; the basics of military planning. You are not worried about arming your troops with specific weaponry like you are in Combat Mission. Not to knock Combat Mission, I love it, but in Armored Brigade II you are not lost in some of the minutiae of the weeds clicking. Armored Brigade II scratches a slightly different itch.
With Armored Brigade II, you do like to stay low and look around while Paused primarily, and occasionally to watch the action proceed; as Matrix and Veitekka have produced a customized 3D engine now down low, that is only just now starting to bud into its own unique engine. It is absolutely complete, but it’s got some ways to go in compared to Unity. But the key here is, they are in full control of the 3d engine and its performance. This game runs very smoothly. Bravo on dipping their toes into a completely from scratch 3D engine and not only coming up with some unique effects, but doing it with performance in mind obviously from day 1. The game runs well, saves fast, opens scenarios (even larger ones) very fast. This goes a long way for wargamer satisfaction and ease of play.
Developer: Veitekka Studios
Publisher: Matrix Games, LLC
Cost: $39.99 (initially on 10% sale as $34.99 US)
BUY HERE
You are trying to keep your units in HQ contact (yes, that is tracked, and it is used in the wargame by simulated delay of commands). This is important, as unit cohesion does affect the individual element’s rate of morale degradation and the unit’s recovery from suppression. All of the detail of Armored Brigade II’s fellow genre wargames is baked in (I don’t like to use the word competitors, as most of them are also Matrix Games – doh!), but you are not as distracted by the minutia here. Armored Brigade and Armored Brigade II are both extremely approachable. And that is key for Junior grade officer potential training sake ; which we’ll get into a little as an Appendix to this article.
Armored Brigade II fits squarely between the likes of Combat Mission and Flashpoint Campaigns as far as scale and scoping goes. It’s a perfect middle-ground for me personally. This is the scale I enjoy most. I like enough troops that there is the feel of a fuller conflict going on, while having more room to maneuver and think about avenues of approach and the terrain’s effect on line of sight, on a mostly 1:1 terrain basis. Yes, Steel Beasts PRO PE does similar and can handle similarly sized battles, but this wargame is just a tiny tiny bit more approachable. Sometimes that does equate to less functionality, so it’s difficult to put the two directly side by side. They both scratch a slightly different itch. Armored Brigade II is more mainstream approachable, by a slight degree. While Steel Beasts PRO PE scratches the simulationists itch at a similar scale. Both are great wargames, worthy of being on your computer systems side by side. I hate to use the term RTS for Armored Brigade II, as it’s beyond that. It’s an approachable realistic wargame, that happens to be RTS adjacent, there, that’s what it is. It appeals to both mainstream RTS wargamers that enjoy more RTS-y games like Regiments, or Warno, but also appealing to those that like Combat Mission, Steel Beasts and Flashpoint Campaigns. It found a niche right in-between, which is absolutely commendable. Detailed approachability. My tried and true description of games that I enjoy most.
Menu Guide
Don’t forget to read through all of the Game Guide, which is available in the main menu. This in addition to the four training scenarios is vital for understanding the wargame’s functionality before jumping into the deep end of the pool.
The above is a particular good point made in the guide. Avoid detaching units if possible. They get delayed if they are not adhering to their command structure. There are definitely situations where it is advantageous to position sub-units very specifically, along avenues of approach of likely enemy course of action, but when in doubt, stick it out with formations. Change their pattern and spacing instead of outright ordering sub-units in a company or platoon, unless again, it makes more sense to.
Single Missions
Notice above that there are now four training scenarios included. They are done very well. I definitely recommend you go through all four of them before diving full bore into the single missions.
Campaigns
The game includes four linear campaigns with linked missions as shown above. Yes, these are directly ported over from AB1.
One critique I feel compelled to give: I’m not seeing a great in the way NEW scenario or campaign content here, other than the tutorials and the scripted showcase missions showing off the newer airborne assault capabilities. That is one of the main critiques I have for Armored Brigade II. Sorry, I had to say it. Love you Veitekka and Matrix friends.
I stand slightly corrected, there are four new scenarios, but the lack of new/replaced content just gives the user the impression of not getting much new is still my critique here.With this said, with the ability to [Generate Mission] and also to [Generate Campaign] from the very large mapped areas depicted, this is not a big deal at all. This is not a show-stopper. The 3d down low additions alone are worth the price of admissions.
Waypoint Functionality Expanded
One of the selling features of Armored Brigade II is the improvements around waypoint editing while playing in the mission or for controlling the AI more granularly from a mission editing perspective for a SAVED single mission. You have a good bit more control on how the AI will behave in generated missions that you save off for later replay.
Let’s look at an example of waypoint editing.
Basic Waypoint Editing
You can edit any of the individual waypoints by navigating [Prev] or [Next] while in this waypoint editing mode. You can also add a new waypoint of any type to view this interface. Of note, each waypoint SOP takes effect as the unit is moving towards the waypoint, not once it gets there. The only difference is Split, which physically happens at the waypoint once reached. Just again, if you set the SOP it takes effect as you are moving towards the waypoint.
Small nit: I do wish that as you clicked on the Camera button that the waypoint editor would get out of the way of the view, even if for just a few seconds and then return to the editor mode. Just something to think about user experience wise. How can that be improved?
Waypoint Sync
Here are a couple shots of me syncing waypoints.
I do wish you could sync multiple waypoints, as is, it seems to only support one. For example I’d like to be able to have one recon unit go to a location and then two or three other units to start their waypoint moves. Currently, I only see it supporting one sync.
Notice in the above shot, this unit is waiting on the other unit to make it to its waypoint before unlocking its waypoint. Notice how its waypoint is red, once the other unit makes it to the white marker location, this waypoint will unlock and the unit will start moving and acting out the mission type,
The unit then advances as desired.
Multiplayer Potentially In Future?
The new Round Mode hints at prepping for multiplayer I Plan You Plan We Go format multiplayer in the future. One can only pray for Armored Brigade II to open up to the potential of multiplayer support. In the interim, get used to the Round Mode as a player. And don’t give any orders mid round 😀 to prepare for potential multiplayer action down the road.
From the manual. Round Mode explained. Sounds suspiciously like they are planning multiplayer? Nudge nudge wink wink!!
We do welcome developer/publisher feedback on this observation for clarity of reporting sake. Feel free to comment directly on this article.
Round Mode Example
The above is an example of the first round’s clock progressing. We are fifteen seconds into the scenario and enemy combatants are becoming visible quickly; and firing on us to boot.
Here we are as the clock stops after Round 2, we are at the 2 minute mark, the game has paused, and I start to give additional orders. I then will hit the [GO!] button when I’m ready with orders applied to all of the units, or allow them to continue existing orders just the same.
Rinse, repeat, have fun.It’s simple, and it works well.
How I recently described Armored Brigade II
“I would classify Armored Brigade II as more realistic in approach than Red Dragon/Warno/Regiments, while still extremely approachable. Approachable Detail is how I’d classify it. Elements move at more appropriate speed for example, there is no mouse lasso click-fest swarming involved. It’s a realistic wargame that happens to have RTS appeal. It’s hard to describe, it’s squarely between Combat Mission and Flashpoint Campaigns in scale and scope, while being RTS adjacent in approachability.The [Build] button you see is primarily to place minefields and obstacles that are in the scenario. What is really nice about AB1 and 2 both is that you can “generate” a mission from a larger map area, and then you can balance out the forces as you see fit “points” purchase wise. While that sounds game-y, they pulled it off in more of a control of what is available.There are no force pools that later open up like in Regiments. There may be re-enforcements added later on their development roadmap, but not in a RTS-y form or function. Once you “generate” the mission and adjust the force ratios and specifically available units, you can SAVE it off as a single mission, which is really nice. Makes the game eminently re-playable.”
Example Campaign Mission
We’ll take a jump right into one of the campaigns, entitled “Defending Fulda”. It is one of my favorites from the first Armored Brigade and they’ve ported it directly over to 2.
One beautiful callout, Menu / Save and Exit. I use this often. I’m an absolute poster child for Adderall, I have EXTREME ADHD. Ask anyone that knows me. I’m a whirlwind of energy, but with that comes a horrific attention span. I’ve learned to live with it, and features like this make me be able to jump in, get further in a mission, jump out, play another wargame, jump back in and continue like I never left. Just a simple but really nice feature. And it’s quick to save, that is key. Very quick. This is a very nice drop in, play, drop out wargame. It is not very difficult to operate at all, the controls are generally intuitive, and it plays well with military planning approaches to play. Done, winner winner chicken dinner in my book.
Additional Gallery Screenshots
Maps From AB1 Work In Armored Brigade II
Until the workshop is fully functional, you can cut and paste maps from AB over to Armored Brigade II. That is a very welcome feature of Armored Brigade II. With very little to no adjustments, most workshop items should port over relatively easily from what I’ve seen during beta testing the program.
This is where the maps reside in a default install of Armored Brigade II:
Note: Fort Knox is not included in the default Armored Brigade II installation. It eventually will be a Workshop item for ROTC potential use. More on that topic as an appendix to this first impressions article.
If you have an existing working AB map from the workshop, you should be able to just copy and paste it into the above folder.
A simple equation
Get the game.
Original was $40. This one is $40 (and actually less – $35 during initial sale). I’ve seen games on a PS5 cost that combined price, so, this is a no brainer. I’ve gotten more use out of the first than several PS5 console games combined. Armored Brigade II is Armored Brigade x 10 in its visual acuity down low. Yes, there is not a tremendous amount of difference in the gameplay approach overall; and the content is primarily a port of everything from AB1 – but that can also be seen as a Good Thing™ (the gameplay and functionality not differing a great deal).
If you enjoyed Armored Brigade, you will enjoy this even more. Period. There is very little adjustment time needed in going between the two, but you will feel and see improvements. Is it going to win 3d awards? Maybe not. Textures and modeling need to continue to improve. I’m going to admit that. But I think Veitekka would admit that openly too. It’s a completely brand new 3d engine. Give Veitekka time to improve it. I know they will. They improved it even within the month’s time I was on their public beta testing group. The best part of having a customized 3d engine of their own is memory management and performance control. This is a very smoothly operating 3d engine. Sometimes simpler is better/faster/more performant. Do we need whiz-bang graphics or speedy yet appealing visuals as battalion level commander wargamers?
Support the development of great wargames, and get a very enjoyable wargame to boot: Buy it. I think this is a must have for any wargamer.
US Fight Club – ROTC Pilot Program
The USA Fight Club, a member chapter of the Fight Club International non-profit serious wargaming community, will be working closely (unofficially, neither US Army or Matrix/Veitekka officially sponsored) with specific local ROTC units to establish Armored Brigade II pilot programs. During these pilot programs, the general use of Armored Brigade II as a software based training tool will be provided to the ROTC unit. We will also provide a training facility workshop map with a set of useful training scenarios depicting the main USACC (US Army Cadet Command) Fort Knox Military Reservation training grounds. The intention of this pilot program is to provide an accessible form of wargaming tool for the use in training cadets ahead of their Advanced Camp evaluations at Fort Knox. The scenarios provided will allow for training in the proper use of TLP (Troop Leading Procedures). We very much look forward to growing this program, hopefully, outwards and upwards within the USACC organically, and or by way of official sponsorships. We also hope to branch this program out to also be offered by the fight club to the TRADOC command of the US Army, as well as continued expansion to use by NROTC programs that provide junior officer midshipmen training for the USMC. More soon on this effort.
Fort Knox Military Training Facility – Workshop Beta Item (Work-In-Progress)
for an interview with the devs, see here
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