What 9-Bit Armies is
9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far is a real-time strategy game from Petroglyph, the team behind Command & Conquer, Star Wars: Empire at War, Universe at War and Grey Goo. You build a base, unlock units and attack with a modern military force across land, sea and air. Battles take place on destructible maps where you can wipe out cities, blow bridges to deny ground troops access to islands, and rebuild crossings when you need a new route in. Superweapons and megastructures give your base heavy firepower, while a mobile HQ lets you expand your influence across a battlefield quickly. Fights range from the single-player campaign to survival waves, daily AI challenges and online skirmishes on maps four times larger than the ones in the original 8-Bit series.
Campaign and progression
The Sentinels campaign puts you in a war against the Overlords, with an unknown threat waiting beyond them. Side-missions pay extra bonuses, and the veterancy system means the more you build and destroy, the stronger your army becomes. Survival mode asks how long you can hold a base against waves of incoming enemies, unlocking harder levels the further you get. A new challenge mode offers a fresh test against the AI each day, scored on the leaderboards. The AI itself was rebuilt from the ground up, so expect tougher opposition than in the previous games in the series.
Playing together
Co-op supports two players working through the campaign together, including the tougher side-missions that carry extra bonuses. Skirmishes take on a wider scale, supporting up to 8 players across huge maps. The game is built around real-time base-building and unit control, so you can divide jobs — one player expanding the economy, the other pushing an assault or holding a choke point — and adapt as the battle shifts between land, sea and air. Full Steam Workshop integration lets you download new maps, missions and mods, or upload your own to share with friends and opponents alike, changing everything from balance to objectives.
Before you start
No previous RTS experience is required. Modern-military units and structures are easy to read, and the controls are simple enough to pick up on the first mission. Experienced players will find more to chew on in the fast-paced economy, unit abilities and the veterancy system. Expect the new AI to push back hard, and expect bridges, naval combat and destructible terrain to change how each map plays out. Bring a friend to co-op if a mission stalls you — that is what the two-player mode is for.