First off.. I am biased. But I am going to give a bit O brutal review. Not really that brutal.

1st off. This is a "remastered" SABOW that was released back in 2011. It had a borked release with publishers that where borderline stupid. The game was released in a state with game braking bugs. This had nothing to do with the dev. In fact they released a series of unofficial patches to fix the issues. They however, where not allowed to officially fix the game. However, the rights just returned to the dev's. Where all that unofficial content was made official and many fixes and improvements where added in.

There are 2 choices for realistic tank games out there that are newish. This being one and the other being Steel Beasts Pro. Both have their ups and downs. But this one is a lot cheaper. And frankly its campaign system is better than SBpro. Both are most certainly worth owning for a tread head.

The vehicle models have always been a strong point in this game. And they have aged quite well. They looked good 4 years ago and still look pretty darn good. The textures for the interiors of models have been improved and are ok. But they do not look as good as they could be by 2015 standards. But they are better than they where on the 2011 release.

Some aspects have not aged super well. Buildings and some trees/bushes are showing their age. Not going to suger coat that. But they do the job. I guess as a side bonus it means it will run well enough on older vid cards =)

The campaign's are pretty dynamic. they never play out the same way twice. In them you have the option usually (campaign depending) of letting the ai control none playable tanks or taking that on yourself and ordering every friendly unit around on the map. Which I totally LOVE. Boss guys around, call in arty strikes, air strikes, and fight your tank.

You have realistic ballistics. Realistic damage model. Realistic shell types with realistic effects. the more important components of the tank you can interact with the mouse. Set angle for the gun when on slopes with the level gauge. On the M60a1 use the realistically modeled coincidence range finder and mechanical ballistic computer. However, for some reason you do not have player control over lights, the near infrared search lights, and unlike a previous game from Graviteam, you can not stall out your tank if in the wrong gear as driver. I miss that. =(




If your a tanker at heart...or in my case a Cav Scout out to pasture I do recommend.

I like this game to much.... It like being on some sort of retro FTX without the bad cold bad food, little sleep, being filthy, and endless maintance issues.


Edit... Oct. 2015

Since this review things have changed for the better. Now you have training missions to ease into your tank commander role. You now do have control over lights, a choice of manual gear shifting and engine throttlle settings. This last means you can drive stupid and stall the tank, throw a track, or over heat the engine. Which is a nifty optional feature. Tank interior has been greatly improved since I wrote this review. And it looks like some bushes look better now. The T62 can now lay smoke screens! I was, ya that's nice. After using such I use it quite alot to stay alive now.

The Basra 86 DLC is pretty excellant as well. Great map! Looks sort of like places I have been too in the mid east. While I of course never went to where this battle took place, I did get to around out skirts of Basra. What more can I say about that?

Last thought. This sim is pretty much what it always should have been now. There are some rough edges and there is larger than normal learning curve, but crap, its a legit tank sim in the old school sence. You want real without taking a heat round and having your clothes set on fire with massive flashburns, this is for you.

There isn't much out there in the way of tank sims right now, and even less if you want post-WWII tanks. Really, the only choice for that is Steel Beasts Pro, which carries a hefty price tag and has very little in the way of singleplayer content.

In walks Steel Armor: Blaze of War. SABOW is an armor sim (you aren't required to memorize startup sequences, but everything relevant to combat is simulated as accurately as it needs to be) set primarily during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. Iraq is equipped with the Soviet T-62, Iran has the US-produced M60A1. There are other scenarios in different periods, but they always use one of those two tanks as their player-controlled units. The game is really broken into two components: A turn based strategy segment, where the player moves around groups of men and vehicles around a large battlespace, and then a real time segment which plays out the engagements set up on the turn based map. The player is responsible, in this real time segment, for controlling units under their command to fight whatever enemy they've encountered, all while usually also commanding their own tank and tank platoon.

In the real time segment, the player can choose to occupy any position within their tank and assume the responsibilities of that crew position. Usually, though, you'll be playing as the tank commander, giving orders to your driver to move to different positions, searching for targets and then ranging them for your gunner to engage (there are no laser rangefinders in SABOW- the M60A1 has a optical coincidence rangefinder where a lens on either side of the tanks turret is focused on the target, determining its range, the T-62 has a simple stadiameter), then searching for more targets. SABOW gets across very well how difficult armored combat is without high magnification independently-traversable optics, thermal imaging systems, and precision fire control and stabilization hardware. Often times, in a tank versus tank engagement, whoever sees the other first is the one who wins, and the greatest danger to your tank are anti-tank infantry hiding in bushes with RPGs, or recoilless rifle emplacements which are only visible from range when they fire. Likewise, SABOW does a good job of conveying how horrifying it is to be in a tank under fire, hearing rounds thud off your armor plate while you desperately search for their source. Even being on the winning side is pretty horrific, watching the tank you just perforated with a sabot round creep forward for a few meters as gouts of flame pour out of its hatches, the crew climbing out while burning alive, put down by a merciful salvo from your tank's coaxial MG.

SABOW has a lot of content, if you're into this sort of thing. Dynamic campaigns, an easy to use mission generator, as well as fixed single mission scenarios. You can even try your hand at night fighting in a tank, using your horrible gen 1 night vision to try and spot targets that are within arms length of you. If you're at all a fan of semi-modern armored warfare, especially if you enjoy either of the two player tanks modeled (keep in mind the M60A1 is a base model A1- no AOS, No TIS, maybe a RISE kit but that's mostly non-combat stuff), SABOW is worth the asking price. Please buy this game to convince the devs to make more like it.

In a world of WWII or modern tank sims, this highly realistic title covers two vintage tanks that have never really been simulated in detail previously. So far, the realism and AI seem pretty top notch. In addition, exterior graphics such as tank models are very nicely modeled. Finally, the fact that this game features somewhat functional 3d tank interiors automatically puts this title above any other modern tank sims, that is of course because we haven't seen any interior tank models since Operation Flashpoint! (correct me if I'm wrong) Drawbacks? The interface navigation is a bit confusing and takes some getting used to. In addition, graphically the 3d interior models and land environment seem a bit dated to today's standards. Evidently, this game is not categorized as early access, but probably SHOULD be as it doesn't really feel like a finished product. Otherwise, if you like obscure vintage tanks in long forgotten conflict zones, (which I totally do!) this sim's for you!

I wish that I could give meh review for a game. I had completed all missions and I know how campaign works from other Graviteam titles as I had smashed through Africa with ease. I wanted to give it thumbs up, because it is a niche game with literally no competition. There is only Steel Beasts with whooping price of 120 ish dollars and some extremely obscure games which are obviously far worse. Yet, I cannot. I won't complain about poor controls or obtuse interface, I will however complain about fundamental things which this game fails to do, that is, to simulate real combat.

The most damning of all things is that this game has a wonky line of sight mechanic. I analyse every post battle screen meticulously and I quickly notice abnormalities. AI sometimes tend to clip impossible shots. This in reality mean that AI might be stuck in a river crossing, being unable to get back and is in a river bank, but he is able to semi-accurately fire blindly at you by clipping his shots through the ground! I had seen AI do similar stuff by ignoring his own smoke and firing through it as it would not be there. This applies and to stationary guns, AI seems to know where everything is and can make impossible shots which would never happen in reality. AI tends to be hyper aware of you and this results in frustrating gameplay where you can't move with a tank, because AT position will fire through all the vegetation where it can't possibly see you and hit you. Of course, you can't possibly see them and AT guns are dangerous. This twists gameplay from realistic to very stand off'ish and boring even when it comes to such simulators. Combined this with an ability to spam "mark target" and your commander will reveal any enemy in that direction despite lacking any direct line of sight to him at all. You also can cheat and see everyone on a battlefield at any time which kinda defeats the whole purpose of a simulator.

Another problem is that AI itself tends to be clueless. You order him to take defensive position in a dug up ditch. He says it did, but stands still. Then AI fails to cross a river crossing and gets permanently stuck, forcing you as a tanker to go through kilometers of ground to dispatch him at point blank range. When AI starts firing upon enemy, driver sometimes would move rear of a tank in front of an enemy and would stop, effectively rendering all armour pointless. Driver can't be trusted. Commander won't give you range estimates on your target and won't call your shots short or tall, but sometimes it would. Gunner sometimes would start moving his gun between targets and generally being hesitant to return fire. You can't trust it to do anything at all and every position is better crewed by yourself.

Third cardinal sin is that this game is unhistorical. It has some shoddy information in regards to its ammo which puts to doubt if developers really had solid sources or just were putting whatever in their game. Best example of this is L23A1 ammunition for Chieftain. This ammunition was made in 1985, quite late for this game's period. That is more, during 80's Iranian revolution had happened and Iranian became on Western blacklist which we know today. I find it highly unlikely that British had sent latest and best ammunition soon after it was developed to their enemies. Even more than that, performance of this ammunition is wildly different from what is available on public sources. So, this leads to frustration when your plan is foiled, because enemy whips out ammunition from a different time frame and wipes you with it. It is all over War Thunder again when unhistorical ammunition from several decades after tank's introduction date is being used as go to main ammunition type by everyone. This also puts in doubt everything else about authenticity of this game, because even third world countries have an awful tendency to fire best ammunition available for these tanks. This combined with all seeing AI tends to make games into stand off shootouts at unhistorically large distances.

Damage model is also very questionable. It shows penetrations and damage done at extreme angles of over 70 degrees at which no shell could connect with thick tank armour from a distance. Yet, it can cause damage. It also tend to sometime show shell trajectory from very confusing angles where nobody could had fired at you from. Even more, simulator for example had show that my platoon tank which was about 50 meters from me shot at the tank which I had destroyed. I was about 1500 meters away, his shot was registered as being 2 km away...Yet this tank had destroyed another enemy tank who was roughly 200 meters away from a first one and his shot was calculated as being 1900 ish meters away. Sometimes tank would receive or be destroyed with calibers and shots which you doubt even exists. At that point, a function to show who had destroyed you miraculously stops working and a tank was destroyed, but nobody had actually destroyed that tank.

Another problem is its command menu which barely does anything. You can't order your platoon to go fast. Its speed is artificially capped when it spots a single enemy. So, any maneuver warfare is impossible in this game. Command menu has many options, but most of them are quite pointless. There are no difference between March and Fast move for example, only that one will go to road and move through there and other will go directly to your destination. That is your main tool to move, you can't set up speed, you can't set up more intricate commands on command screen. You have plenty of commands like that who are extremely similar and hard to see any difference in reality. I order an assault on enemy positions, my infantry doesn't try to assault enemy positions and attack them as in normal attack. I order recon enemy positions, they get engaged as any other infantry. There are a lot of functions, but in practice it suffers from neither of them working out or providing powerful tool for commander to at least command your AI exactly what you want it to do.

There is a lot of content in this game, that is its saving grace. It has missions which helps you to learn how to use your tank and can be dozen good hours of learning by itself even if those missions are quite poorly done. Then there is battle editor, allowing you to have cheap fun with deploying a lot of stuff to shot at, though editor is fairly limited with what it can do. Then there is hundreds of hours worth of campaign. It is obtuse as it hides most of information from a player, but it is still fairly enjoyable and perfectly playable. It gives you unique capability to command your tank on operational and tactical level which only 1 other game out there allows you to do. Game has a lot of content, but it is shame that you can only command T-62 or M60. Those are great tanks, but you are looking at hundred of hours of tanking with only two vehicles. That is way too little and even after dozen of hours you will really want to play anything else. This is a true failing of this game, developers instead of adding more tanks to play with via DLC instead chose to add silly drones and more scenarios instead of allowing us to play tanks which already are in game like Chieftains, T-55, Centurion which is its biggest failing which prevents it from being a serious simulator.

In the end, you still have to buy this game, because the other alternative costs 120 dollars or 10 dollars monthly subscription which is a lot more expensive than this. Furthermore, it does have its own unique strengths as it allows you to command your forces in real operations and then to play with your tanks down to tactical level and for all its failings on tactical level, it is still the best simulator out there. Frankly, there are totally two serious games about tank warfare. Only IL-2 now are making WW2 tank sim, but even with all these three games, there is simply aren't any competition which makes this game a must buy.

As a long time player of tank sims, M1TP 1&2, i44, Panzer Commander, SBPro, etc. Graviteam has presented us treadheads with another excellent armor simulator. Starting with the modest T-72 Balkans on Fire, then the WW2 classic Steel Fury;Kharkov 1942 and now Steel Armor Blaze of War. The campaign theaters are unique as are the main combatants, the M60a1 and T-62. I'm most impressed by the M60a1 in SABoW, a tank that was the backbone of the U.S. ARMY for over three decades. It is well modeled and detailed in this simulator. Graviteams unique blend of an armored simulator coupled with their award winning tactical simulator engine from Actung Panzer: Operation Star gives the player the options to control as much or as little of the battlefield they wish. No matter how you play your rarely if ever going to experiance the same outcome twice. The Tactic's part of SABoW is not super easy to learn but not impossible and believe me if you take the time to learn it your experiance with SABoW will be nothing short of amazing that a game can have this much depth. Even if the tactics part of SABoW isn't your thing, SABoW still offers much even if you prefer to keep it lite, the QMB will give you hours of playability alone. Just a closing note, my hours playing SABoW here on STEAM is not much but I have owned SABoW since 2011 when the publisher was UIG. I can tell you now that since Graviteam has reaquired the rights to SABoW it is a much better game, so much better that when Graviteam put it up here on STEAM I repurchased it, it's that good.

could be a great game (like the other games in this series) but has an awful interface, retarded ai, ♥♥♥♥♥♥ controls and uncaring ukrainian developers.

the awful interface: you can accidentally delete an entire campaign by clicking an unlabeled button on a scoreboard, you can end an entire mission and lose all your progress by hitting the wrong button one time. byzantine labyrinth to perform any action. theres literally a button that says left click to surrender right click to change the in-game clock.

retarded ai: really not much better than a game like arma 3, tanks spin in circles often trying to strictly stay in formation. ai tanks will gleefully drive themselves into a river and die. it would be enough for this to happen once or twice, but often times the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ai wipes out entire platoons.

♥♥♥♥♥♥ controls: pressing W while not being the driver typically tells the driver to move forward. at random times, seemingly for no reason, it will instead say "executing maneuver..." and about a second or two later "maneuver completed". during this time you will not move at all and will most likely die.

uncaring ukrainian developers: this game was released years ago and virtually nothing is different from when it was released. the basra dlc is nothing revolutionary. a shame because it has a lot of potential. im not the first person to make these complaints but they will never change anything - because they dont care.

there is no tutorial in the game, but even if there was it would only help people to understand how frustrating and ♥♥♥♥♥♥ the game is when you actually try to play it seriously.

the physics are excellent, but the damage modeling is questionable. hitting a t-62 in the tracks from less than 30 feet away with heat rounds four or five times doesnt seem to have much effect on their mobility.

you can go to a lot of interesting warzones, but they mostly look the same and everyone in the game speaks russian anyways, so its not really groundbreaking in that regard.

i wouldnt buy it for 30 dollars. i would refund it myself but i went over the hours played limit trying to figure out how to get the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ thing to work.

A real hard tank simulator, not suitable for WoT/WT noobies

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣤⣤⢾⣿⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡔⠋⣀⣼⡏⣼⣏⣹⣿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⣶⣿⣿⣿⣡⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⡤⢾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⠋⣉⣉⠙⢻
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⠴⠚⠁⣀⣴⣿⣿⣿⠿⢿⣿⠿⣿⣿⠟⢸⣷
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣤⣤⠔⠚⠛⣇⣀⣠⣴⣿⠿⠋⠹⣿⣤⣾⣿⡦⣽⠇⠀⡴⠃
⠀⠀⠀⢀⣤⣶⣿⠋⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣾⡟⠋⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⢹⣿⣿⠛⠛⠂⢀⣼⠁
⠀⢀⣴⡟⢹⣿⠇⠀⣠⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣿⣴⣧⠀
⢠⣾⠋⠠⡿⠋⣠⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣡⣤⣤⣄⡤⣊⣭⣿⣿⣿⣮⣍⣿⡿⠛⠉⢀⣸⣧⠤⣄⣀⠀
⢻⣷⡆⠀⠀⣈⠁⠀⠴⠿⠿⠿⠿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠛⠛⠛⢿⣿⣿⣷⠴⣾⣿⣿⣿⣷⣦⡄⠑⢤⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣗⣀⣠⣤⣤⡀⠀⢀⣿⣿⣯⣀⣠⡆⠀⠈⢿⠋⠀⠾⠿⠿⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣾⡿⠳⡀
⠀⠀⠈⠙⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣤⣼⠀⢰⠀⠀⠀⠉⢁⡀⠀⠘⣿⡿⣁⠴⢳⣄
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠻⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡦⢬⡛⠻⠿⣿⣿⣿⡄⢾⣶⣶⣾⣯⣿⡆⠀⠀⡉⠁⠹⣷⣿⢿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠛⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⣷⣄⣀⣠⣼⣿⠃⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡀⢠⣇⠀⢰⣿⣿⣌
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⣿⣿⣧⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⡄⢻⣿⣿⣿⡉⢻⣿⣷⣸⣿⢠⡟⠀⠙⢿⡄
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⢀⣷⢸⣿⣿⣿⣷⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠀⣤⠀⠘⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠟⣠⣾⣇⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⣾⣿⠀⠀⣇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⣿⣏⠀⠀⠀⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⡴⢀⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠏⠙⠖⠒⠛⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⡛⠛⠿⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣡⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣷⣶⣤⣤⣴⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⠟⢿⣿⣿⣿⠟⢻⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣴⣼⣿⣿⣿⠀⣋⣿

Playing this game after passing the very steep learning stage is very rewarding and joyfull.
This game can be adressed as Combination of GTOS tactical map with very well balanced tanks sim that is cointaining very well known controllable two main battle tank (T62 vs M60A1) against bunch of other APCs, Tanks (T55 , chieftains etc) and infantries ...
Thanks for this game Graviteam, please add more tanks and arenas , such as tigers, panthers and T series from WWII as DLCS or release new games

Steel Armor: Blaze of War (SABoW) is a tank simulation, tactical first-person shooter, real-time strategy, physics simulation, and intelligence simulation. All-in-one.

What I like:
- Artificially intelligent crew, pilots, and infantry, who have ace/superior/realistic combat skills
- Realistic vehicle, damage, and environment physics
- Good graphics that shows the details of the landscape, buildings, vehicles, and wreckage
- Looking up to the bot players, who keep pwning me

What I would like to see:
- Multiplayer feature
- Pwning other noobs in multiplayer
- Teamworking with other noobs in multiplayer
- 6DoF head tracking and fully clickable cockpit
- Peripheral device support like joystick, rudder, wheel, etc.
- More DLC content, interface enhancements, and updates

A summary and list of Pros and Cons (previous Gamersgate player since 2012), review status March 2015:

Summary:
A hardcore tank simulator with many options, variety in maps, settings and assets, not much variety in controllable vehicles and a very steep learning curve. I suggest it for people that want a hardcore game and that do not shy away from spending some hours into getting used to the game and its interface. I do not recommend it for people that just want to drive around blowing stuff up, because the realistic engagement ranges and punishing difficulty make this kind of playstyle very hard to achieve.

Pro:
-Detailed simulation of vehicular warfare
-Detailed and realistic maps, vehicles, driving and damage physics
-Lots of control over your AI squad or own tanks crew in either direct commander mode or through the map interface
-Dynamic campaign, giving plenty of replayability
-Customizable difficulty and realism levels
-Detailed Encyclopedia of the game content and its properties

Mids:
-Decent messagebox tutorial that can be turned on or off with an interface button
-Graphics are aged, but still detailled. Texture quality has suffered somewhat though
-Slow paced gameplay is rewarded, because your tank is quite fragile when hit with anti tank weaponry
-After Action Reports give a detailed view what hit a tank, from where and what damage has been done, allowing for improving ones playstyle in the future

Cons:
-Very hard to learn controls, due to somewhat unintuitive keyboard shortcuts/layout
-Interface is a bit cluttered to allow every action to be done with the mouse
-Hard to learn game, steep learning curve and very punishing in case of strategic or tactical failure
-Texture quality is considered low now and makes some assets unpleasant to look at
-Eyestrain might be caused by using the rangefinder that overlays two images to the player. You have to find the non-blurry version of the object you want to shoot at to dial in the correct range (gunning/rangefinding can be done by the AI though)

Some more detailed comments:
Steel Armor: Blaze of War is a game that has been out for quite some time. It was released late 2011 and unfortunately had a rough launch with lots of dispute between the developer and publisher. Now that these things have been moved to the past, the developer has aquired the rights back to his own game and implemented all the fixes that they have been released so far inofficially as the official new version of the game in hope to be able to support and release more content, now that they own their IP.