Armor Alley

Did You Know?

• The game was reviewed in Dragon #166 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser, who gave it 5 out of 5 stars.
• A 1992 Computer Gaming World survey of wargames with modern settings gave the game one and a half stars out of five.
• A 1994 Computer Gaming World survey described the game as 'a short entertaining diversion, but little of serious import'.

Gameplay

In Armor Alley, the goal is simple: smash the enemy base at the far end of the map. To do this, you command a convoy of units, all backed up by your personal helicopter. The enemy has the exact same tools you do, so how you arrange your forces and pick your fights matters a lot. The only unit that can actually win the game is the van, which carries electronic warfare gear. It has to physically touch the enemy base to capture it, but its armor is paper-thin, so you must keep it alive at all costs.

The battlefield is a flat, two-dimensional strip of ground. Your base sits on the left, the enemy’s on the right. Every map has these two bases, but the terrain between them changes from level to level. The game ends the moment either base is captured. Your view is locked onto the helicopter, which is the heart of the action. It comes armed with two guided missiles, ten bombs, and a machine gun with 64 rounds. On harder levels, the machine gun is swapped for six unguided missiles. Fuel is limited, so you need to head back to your landing pad before you run out. The helicopter is fragile, so your reflexes and flying skill are what keep it alive.

War funds trickle in over time, letting you buy units. Each has a price: a helicopter costs 20, a tank costs four, a mobile missile launcher costs three, a van costs two, and infantry or engineers cost five. You have to spend carefully. The farther your helicopter is from its pad, the faster the funding flows. And the more units you have left on the field when a battle ends, the more cash you start the next fight with. Every unit you deploy must be bought, and once purchased, they march blindly to the right toward the enemy. If you want extra lives, you buy more helicopters.