Please Note: As of 14th December 2023 the game is no longer available to play and the servers are offline making the game no longer playable.
Free to play live service gaming is without a doubt one of the single biggest things that I will have against in the world of gaming. It exists as a way for developers to make a game near impossible and give the players the power they get through using pay walls. That is the term pay to win micro-transactions and it remains as one of the worst aspects in gaming that many people hate but yet many developers still do it in mobile games today as a way of earning a quick buck from the consumer. One of the bigger offenders of this trend is a game called GUNS UP! Released on the PlayStation 4 and later the PC on Steam and iOS devices, a Player Versus Player strategy game where you build your dream military base against other players online. You do get to build your base and your army to invade other enemy bases, which sounds all fine and all but it is let down by design choices and atrocious micro-transactions that ruin every ounce of enjoyment you would have.
Starting out the game gives you the basic rundown on how to attack the enemy base with what troops you get, which is a decent way to start the game off, teaching you what you can do when attacking. After the tutorial battle you are then given the time to build bases and organize the buildings how you like them to be before you ready your units to enter another battle.
The game is split up between two set pieces, one where you get into fights where you attack the enemy player's bases and the other where you can organise your base, build structures, set up your units and customize their traits.
Building bases seems simple enough, you chose what structures to put down from sandbags and posts for where your units will take positions on, bunkers & sniper towers that attack enemy units on sight and also mortars which counter back against enemy supplies and any attacks that come in the air. There are also walls which you can put down to slow down enemies and also traps like explosive & toxic barrels which can be used to clear a couple of enemies. You can place each structure as you see fit and can also rotate them around so that the defence buildings are facing where the enemies are coming from. You also have tents which is where you can mobilize your troops who will take up positions to defend your base and you can assign a specific type of unit to be used for defending.
You have multiple types of units that you can utilize for combat, you start off with simple grants and can eventually recruit more powerful unit types such as assault troopers, flame troopers, grenade & rocket launcher troopers as well as chain wielding commando troopers for maximum firepower, sharpshooting snipers for taking out enemies from long range and also medics for healing and reviving your troopers. Each unit you get your hands on can be customized with different perks which boost either their overall health, damage, rate fire or accuracy as well as making them invulnerable to poison or getting staggered. You can also equip different hats on each of your units which not only change their appearance but also provide a small percentage of stat boosts. Units that you have available can be upgraded & promoted with Valour points that you have which allows you to add more perks to them as well as a special ability that you can give them like poison bullets which deal damage over time. Then there are also Medal challenges that each unit has that you complete which can also give your units some extra buff as well.
Buildings can also be upgraded as which alongside building each structure increases your overall Base Power and become more effective especially during defence operations. Perks can also be equipped to your Base Headquarters which can improve health of all structures or improve overall efficiency as well as also decided what troops will come out to defend it.
What you do have is a game that lets you build your base the way you like it and it seems cool to be able to build your defences as well as throw in some decorations around the base like putting in torches as well as placing your own base flag which you can customize to your liking and the same applies to your troops as well being able to change the colour of their uniforms which is a nice touch.
It all seems great improving your bases and readying your troops for the next battle, it does have some serious faults. For starters you are very limited to how many buildings you can have in your base as noted by the Base Points meter on the screen. If you reach up to a max amount you can't place down any more till you get a Base Point card from a card, drop (which I'll go into depth about it later on in the review). You're also limited in how many per structure you can put down as well and that is tied to your Player Rank Level so that means you can't put like five turrets and five mortars as well as more than dozens of wall pieces and ten to fifteen sandbags onto your base right away, no instead you have to wait till you increase your Player Rank which is done from completing PvP matches which then once you reach a certain level you are allowed to put more of the same buildings you used onto your base and it is kind of a stupid annoying process when you are trying to build a decent base to keep all other opposing players out. You are also limited in what types of Units that you can use and take during attack operations as well but eventually you do get to take more types of units into battle when you level up your Rank which forces you to make careful decisions for what to use. Either you want to have basic grunts or have some assault troops, or do you want either grenade launcher or rocket launcher troops, do you want to have powerful troops to easily overpower enemy bases or do you want to maximize trooper count to outnumber the enemy?
Once you are ready to attack an enemy base you first choose what player base to attack with their Base Power Level and skulls that determine the difficulty and then select your troops to use as well as using supply cards which alter the playing field from lowering enemy health or speed, making your troops more aggressive or accurate, to having items that can be used in battle from Tear Gas which block vision of enemy troops and bunkers, Fire Bombs & Missiles which deal direct damage, Paratroopers which drop in from the sky and provide back up and Focus which makes the enemy focus their fire on a single target which either would be a strong enemy or an enemy structure.
In battle you deploy your troops in battle with what munitions (the game's currency) you have and you get them during battle by taking out enemies and their structures before you blow up their headquarters which ends the match with you the victor. There is little depth to the battles in this game, you don't have any control of your units but can assist them on the ground by using your supplies that you either bring in or you get during the course of the battle. You do get a Blue Flag item which you can place onto the map to guide your troops where to go and they will hold position there for a few seconds before it disappears. How well you do in battles depends on how well fortified the enemy player's base is and what troopers you are using. Going on full assault against enemy buildings while you lay down bombs and tear gas on enemies is satisfying especially when you watch enemy buildings explode and the fire that comes from the destroyed buildings is always a beautiful sight to behold. Just be careful that you launch your bombs away from enemy mortars otherwise they'll blow your planes out of the sky, but at least the mortars operate on a cool down so you can take advantage of the supplies while the enemy mortars are taking time to recharge before going active again.
Once you complete a match you can go and complete another mission for more rewards in which after you win five matches, you'll earn a special reward. On top of regular PvP matches there are also Alliance Battles which are just clan matches where you complete against other clan members and also there is a holdout defence mission where you hold out against waves of enemies that attack your base as you try to hold out for a set time limit. Every now and then also after a few matches there will be an emergency defence mission where you have to hold out against attacking enemies for a single round. It's not really that fun to be honest because again you don't have any control over what is happening and you are only planting down mines or using tear gas and missiles or whatever the game gives you to hold out. By then you would have had a good amount of defences with good troopers on standby otherwise you'll be watching your base go boom in seconds.
Then there are the issues that arise with it constantly, on top of not being able to actually control your troops the costs to deploy more powerful troopers can become more expensive than using standard units. The lack of control over your troops is otherwise going to have them running into a massive ambush where bunkers easily overwhelm your men and you better hope that you have bombs, missiles and tear gas at the ready to regain advantage before all of your men are wiped out. You can deploy more troops as long as you have enough munitions to get by which you can boost the amount you start with per battle as long as you have the cards for it. The thing is with the stronger units on board you'll end up burning through your munitions real fast and you build munitions very slow, when you run out of munitions you can't deploy any of your men and that leaves you as a sitting duck as the enemies will then destroy your truck which when that happens you lose the attack operation. A big issue is that the matches don't always guarantee that you'll get through a match without much ordeal. You'll go through one PvP match just fine but then you'll go into a virtually impossible deathmatch despite the enemy having a low Base Power. I went through some matches with 5000 or higher Base Power with upgraded units and bases just fine and then I went into the next match with a Base Power at less than 3000 and I lost despite using my best upgraded units and supplies. I was even able to get through a match that had three red skulls which was supposed to highlight a very difficult match with a base with powered up structures and units but with a decent supply setup and some good units that weren't fully upgraded I still got through it just fine. All I can say is that it just boils down to just having enough munitions and resources and hope that the game plays in your favor rather than having a decent squad setup. Not being able to guide your troops anywhere on the map takes away the whole strategy aspect that you have in other games in the genre especially the Command & Conquer series of video games where you mobilize your troops and tell them to attack the enemy's buildings, vehicles or go toe to toe with other units on the ground.
To top everything of this game uses the micro-transaction schemes that are found in mobile games. While you get attack and buff cards and other kinds of rewards from winning PvP matches you can also get th upgrades for your troops as well as supplies and build points by buying card packs with Munitions Currency as well as getting the best upgrades possible by spending Gold on them and which you gain it by spending real life money. Both Munitions and Gold are what you will be spending on to get the upgrades and best card packs that you will need in order to have better chance of improving your bases and units but however each drop is random so you may not get the upgrades that you need. You don't just get Attack Cards, HQ Cards and Perk Cards but you might also get Dynamite which is used for destroying trees & rocks and other piles of rubble, additional Build Points for building more structures in your base or you might get a couple of EXP boosts which will give more EXP from winning matches that lasts for a set time. You just never know what you are going to get until you select which of the Card Packs that you want to open with some offering higher chances for betting cards so you are not always guaranteed to get one better card. It is straight up pay to win in a sense that the tougher bases that you encounter later does force you spend real life money just to get some of the better upgrades that you'll need to get the upper-hand on other players but even then, you'll still have a hard time with some fights if enemies either do more damage than you, heal faster than you can or can instantly blow your units up quickly with explosives. It is just a very unfun combat system that is made worse that you have to eventually pay up with micro-transactions just to make any later progress.
GUNS UP! Plays like a mobile game and even looks one, while the troopers aren't really the kind that would make an impression by many soldiers and superiors but the explosions look amazing especially when you watch buildings blow up and burst into flames, the gore as you watch unsuspecting soldiers walk into mines and other explosives and the buildings don't look too bad. As for the music, it is mostly generic war music with drum beat tunes that aren't really all that fitting for war.
There are strategy games that are pretty involved and having you actually building things and commanding troops to take over enemy bases and conquer many locations that are worth checking out where as GUNS UP! Is not one of those games you should waste your time and money on. It may have power fantasy of building a mighty base with many defences and powerful troops that will defend every inch of your base so that you would have an unstoppable force, but that is let down with minimal interaction during battles and it relies on micro-transactions just to make progress. Thankfully as of 14th December 2023 the servers for this game have shut down making the game unplayable now. If you were one of those players that somehow found some enjoyment with it while it lasted then power to you, but as it is GUNS UP! has many hallmarks of a strategy game ruined by a multitude of live service mobile gaming practices and we can be thankful that this game has taken its final salute before being shot down by the firing squad.
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Game Score: 5.1/10
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Game Title: GUNS UP!
Platform: PlayStation 4
Developer: San Diego Studio/Valkyrie Entertainment
Genre: Strategy
Age Rating: PEGI: 16+
Release Date: 5th December 2015
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The Good Points:
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Explosions and fiery effects look amazing
Customizable units with different colours and appearance items
The Bad Points:
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Micro-transaction practices that are mandatory for progression
You don't have any full control of your troops besides using Blue Flags
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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