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| On November 15, 2001 Microsoft launched the Xbox Video Game System in North America. Many dismissed the system as the next 3DO, but they could not have been more wrong. The Xbox has taken the world by storm, offering game experiences that often blur the line between fantasy and reality. The true successor to the DreamCast is finally here. And it is the Xbox. |
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| REVIEW: Capcom's Nude Maker brings us the long awaited and unfairly criticized $200 mech simulator Tekki (Steel Battalion in the U.S.), and with it, games as we know them change forever. You see, the enormous and costly Sammy manufactured controller is just the beginning. If that controller were packaged with a standard, run of the mill robot game, perhaps the criticism of the expense would be warranted. But, Nude Maker wasn't content with just the controller (which is, as the story goes, the genesis of "Project X," as it was known a couple years ago). They instead chose to build a game so realistic in it's simulation, so classy and polished in its implementation, that I seriously doubt I will ever think of games in the same way again. GRAPHICS: Although I feel that the cockpit clutter takes up too much of the screen, I can forgive it because (for the most part) it offers up useful information (ammunition, speed, maps, etc.) Other than that, the graphics are truly breathtaking. Everything, from the raindrop effects on the windshield during battles, are rendered with ridiculous attention to detail and put ALL other games of this type to shame. The static effect overlaying the screen and replays looks 100 times better than similar effects in Silent Hill 2, and the replays are prettier and more entertaining than most of the crap Hollywood pumps out these days. Note: I'm tempted to knock a point off for the poorly drawn "Sarge" character who appears as either a cheesy 2-D rendering, or a faceless gray mass of polygons. |
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| The ultimate mech simulation for the ultimate videogame system |
| CONTROL: The controller offers you 37 buttons, one side-to-side lever, two analog sticks, a gear shifter, 3 pedals, and the unparalleled feel of actually piloting a robot. Most of the buttons are not used often. Actually, a total of 8 of them are used ONLY during the start up sequence each time you crawl into a robot. But the point of all the buttons is not their individual usefulness, but how their overall feel and what they contribute to the game's experience. My only complaint with the controller is that I had to rearrange my entire apartment and buy new furniture to accommodate it. This is more an anecdote than a complaint about the actual game though, and therefore doesn't affect the score. GAMEPLAY: This is a pure simulator, but doesn't suffer from the overly complex control scheme and ridiculously steep learning curve that usually comes with the simulator territory. This is not to say that it's "dumbed down" or simplistic. It's just intuitive. The game is, of course, mission based, and with 24 missions in 2 difficulty levels, there's plenty to do. I would have liked a training mode, but I can understand why there's not one. The lack of a pause button was a source of extreme frustration at first, but I've come to understand and accept that as well. Beware this game's difficulty though. When you don't eject in time, or run out of points to buy the necessary equipment from repeated failures, it's game over for your save file and back to Mission 0. STORY: Complex without being headache-inducing, the story is a WWII-esque tale of aggression from a renegade country called HAI SHI DAO, which has recently launched a series of sneak attacks on its surrounding countries, rallying the Pacific Rim armed forces to action and beginning the game's story arc of missions. OVERALL: As close to perfection as one is ever likely to experience in a game and well worth it if you actually have the money to spend and the time to invest. I'll leave you with a quote from the producer: "I don't care if we sell a lot of this game or not. I just wanted to make a game that I was satisfied with." Art over profit. The music and movie industries have seen this before, but it may be a first for the game industry. That is what truly makes this game revolutionary. |
| SOUND: If you have Surround Sound, and you've been waiting for a game that truly utilizes it to it's full extent, look no further. The sounds of buttons clicking during start up, helicopters whizzing by overhead, your own robot's enormous feet hitting the ground - all are well recorded, well timed, and add to the overall claustrophobic atmosphere of intense battle. The music in the opening demo alone would push this score to a 10 even if the rest of the game is silent. The in game music varies greatly from track to track and, provided you buy the captured enemy boombox form the shop, fully customizable for battle. |
| Screenshot courtesy of GameSpot (c) |
| - David Crislip (9/19/02) |
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| SUMMARY: Steel Battalion is an exciting battle-mech simulator that uses the most elaborate controller interface ever created. Take a seat inside the cockpit of a mechanized VT (Vertical Tank) and enter into futuristic military warfare, where you pilot 20 different mechs in a multinational task force operation in an effort over throw the government. Included with the game is an exclusive 40-button controller to completely maximize the gaming experience, making you feel as if you are actually piloting a mechanized Vertical Tank! |
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| Steel Battalion |
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| Publisher: Capcom Developer: Nude Maker Genre: Mech Sim Players: 1 U.S. Release: 11/21/02 |
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