From Software, creators of Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, 3D Dot Game Heroes, King's Field, Armored Core, annd...Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. What?
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor Review
Game Emblems
The Bad
This is not a game, this is an exercise regime and great software to get to know girls or boys(you fancy) again! REAL!
In the battle against the fickle controls, the obtuse mission design, and the squandered potential of Steel Battalion, everyone loses.
The Good
- Intriguing cockpit-based Kinect control schematic
- Some neat crew moments.
The Bad
- Controls do not work properly
- Missions are poorly laid out
- Battlefield intel is scarce
- Enemy AI is erratic.
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor is an exercise in trial, error, and exasperation. Unruly controls and vexing missions conspire to make this one of the most aggravating games in recent memory. Intrepid, foolhardy, and otherwise determined players will find some glittering beacons of hope here, the intriguing by-products of ambition gone astray. But alas, discovering these gems is but a fleeting delight, because Steel Battalion is always ready to topple you with another wave of frustration.
The first such wave crashes hard over your head during the very first mission. Fresh out of the tutorial, you storm a beach in your two-legged vertical tank and meet with a vicious barrage of enemy fire. You've just learned the basics of how to operate your VT in a controlled environment, and now you are called upon to pull all your knowledge together on the crucible of combat. Shells crash into you from all directions while radio chatter crackles with unclear orders. It's a brutal beginning, and one that is totally out of step with the missions to come. Many later levels offer shorter, simpler, and more accessible objectives, leaving you to wonder why Steel Battalion is so eager to separate the masochistic wheat from the impatient chaff.
Yours not to reason why, however; yours but to do and die. With the exception of movement (analog sticks) and firing (triggers), all of your actions are performed with hand motions, usually from a seated position. Steel Battalion and the Kinect want you to feel like you're in the cockpit of your VT, so you reach up to pull down the periscope, stretch your arm forward to press dashboard buttons, extend out to the side to pull out the map, and so on. This is a cool concept, and the moments when you feel a strong connection to your cockpit are rewarding. More often, however, the link between you and the action is tenuous at best.
A one-armed reach registers as a two-armed push. Grasping the top right quadrant registers as swiping to the right, and now you're watching your crew member choke instead of purging the smoke from the cabin. You lunge to close your shutter against enemy fire, only to watch your virtual arm hover indecisively. The imprecision is maddening, and it has deadly consequences in combat. Checkpoints are infrequent, so death can mean replaying lengthy stretches of the mission.
As you become more accustomed to your fickle machines (both the Kinect and the VT), you can mitigate the control flaws. Elements are highlighted when you reach for them (unless you've opted to remove such indicators), and as you play more, you get a better sense of the virtual space in front of you. But even with precision and practice, you can never avoid every problem. Even if you've successfully performed an action dozens of times, it might not work the next time. It's like you're an ornery mechanic who has somehow kept an old junker running for years after it should have been scrapped, only instead of cathartically bashing things with your fist when they don't work right, all you can do is flail impotently.
Fortunately, your VT is powerful, and the temperamental controls won't prevent you from blowing up a lot of enemies. Infantry, tanks, and enemy VTs are your main opposition, and all can pose a threat. Every VT has weak spots, so you can never be sure how much damage you or your enemies are able to sustain. A well-placed blast can send an enemy VT to the ground in a satisfying crumple, but you can also be on the receiving end of such lucky shots. A deadly hit may come from a VT or from a tiny enemy soldier with an RPG launcher, one of which is clearly more disheartening than the other.
By
Chris Watters, Editor
With his Apple IIGS as the spark and his neighbor's NES the fuel, Chris Watters' passion for gaming caught fire early. Years later, you can find him aiming down virtual sights, traipsing through fantastical lands, and striving to be grossly incandescent while desperately avoiding sunburns.
156 comments
I bought the Kinect largely for my kids when it came out and have personally been massively disappointed with it's laggy and imprecise controls. Furthermore there hasn't been one single "serious" game that's more than just a tech demo. Tonight I was bored so I thought I'd try the SBHA demo. As a huge MechWarrior fan I actually have a bias toward these types of games but I was expected to be massively disappointed by this one. Much to my surprize the game was fairly interesting. Yes, the Kinect controls were frustrating at times, and yes the mission was so chaotic that I was about to lose faith ... But I finally did complete the mission and felt some real satisfaction in doing so. And I enjoyed the experience enough to come here looking for the review. With such a low score across the web I doubt I'll get the full game but I must say the developer deserves credit for making the best of a lousy controller and putting out a game that could work. Shooters and fast paced games will never fit into Kinect but a slow methodical Mech game like this could have been decent.
2 Like I would like to know how many of you played the first Steel Battalion and have been in a war like scenario? This game sounds like its great! The way that you say it gives you unclear intel and it's hard to push the correct buttons quickly......duh! It's a war game and your in a tank being shot at! Things are not really easy in that set up. Sounds like they got real right! RPGs bumping you around and lucky shots hitting week points in your armor....real. Controls that you have been using for maybe 2 hours and your still pushing the wrong buttons...real. How long did it take you to learn to drive a car? Longer then 2 hours. If you played the first game wi a 36 button and 3 pedal set up this is probably the same. I think that you should not waist the time and money on this! Go play Mario in your PJs and drink your milk! This is too much game and too real for you! "Hardcore" HA! Games are getting more real and you can't handle them. Stay on the couch the real would my hurt you!
But using this to exercise while tried to impress the girls, while doing the same in return, is actually good!
1 Like @Ang3l17 How does this "war simulation" game real? Using a Kinect is the most unreal piece of gimmick junk I've ever known, you think you can actually interact the stupid walking tank? In a "simulated" game, the game is not even close to war simulation, a real simulation is to wait until B-52 Bombers done carpet bombing or nukes those shit to hell and you just roll your tank around asking people to raised the white flag. Think that you are driving a tank while have no actual contact with it, that's real??? C'mon tried to played it over and over again to really reflect what is real, or better, join your national army service like me, now that's real war simulation and training, now that's real "HARDCORE", no more couch potatoes, no more gaming.
Err........ it took me 1 and a half hour to learned to drive a manual car and less than half an hour to have complete control of Wii mode in half and hour playing monster hunter tri. So yeah, its not that difficult once you got confidence. And please, if this so called HARDCORE game, try playing a none-checkpoint game on the hardest difficulty without save, lets say Omnimusha III Demon Seige, and when I mean no saving is really not saving the game at all.
@WillyChong Oh and shows how much action you know about with fighting a war. We don't just bomb place and go in later and pick at the scraps. I see and know what planes we have in the air (because I put them there) and your wrong again. Next time pick a better plane not just a well known one.
@Ang3l17 @WillyChong Join the army they say, see the world they say, hah, I actually been to Australia through the Royal National Army Reserve Cadet :D
@Ang3l17 @WillyChong Nope, i never fought a war myself, why should I? But I was lucky enough be part of the national anti-piracy war simulation which involved all the Royal National Reserved cadet, my role at that time was not much though, just walk behind of the actual Royal Malaysia Army, but it was better than nothing. I'm happy to be a national guard reserve myself and keep it that way.
Why the US army risk casualty when carpet bombing/precision bombing, thermobaric bombing, nuke bombing risk less friendly casualty while inflict 80%, munition is a lot cheaper than another human lives, if not call in the warhog and strafe away those poor bastards to pieces. Besides, who could rival their might, I know my country won't so we wait for democracy rather then them come knocking to our front door :P
@WillyChong You said it simulation as in like real only not. And this is live from AUAB... I didn't just join I volunteered to deploy and that's why I haven't played this yet. And the Army Narional Guard... If that's what your in go active or get out! Back to the game it's the first one I was talking about learning to play. This one look about 3 times easier to learn. If they added checkpoints to it thats will take away from it to me but the idea is still sound. The original had no check points and if you didn't eject in time your pilot would die and your file would be erased. Also with playing it I'm not talking about easy or normal mode, or even veteran. I'm talking about the last few difficulties where even in the juggernaut fighting more the 2 of any mech could be death. You gave this a ten. What's with the hate when I'm on your side? And your comparing 2 different style games that have no like ground for discussion and because of that your hardcore suggestion and reference are thrown out for waiting my time reading it.
2 Like First this game is FUN (once you learn the controls). Fun as in I was up playing this game waaay past my bedtime- my girlfriend and my work are suffering as I am having so much fun that a chronic lack of sleep and loss of free time are beginning to take a toll. As someone who once spent a fair amount of time gaming, and am only recently flirting (again) with gaming and what I'm finding is video games have become, <em>dumber</em>. Case in point, Splinter Cell. On the original XBox, it was a masterful stealth game and title that required thought if you were to complete. Now, it is a mindless scoot and shoot- just like nearly every other tittle I am finging. I stopped playing video games around the time the original Assassins Creed came out. I could not believe the repetitive nature of that title, nor could I understand the overwhelming critical praise. I had no idea at the time that this was the harbinger of games to come. It seems the dumping down (numbing down) of the masses is in full swing but I digress. In a cookie cutter ?me too? gaming world, Steel Battalion stands out as something completely- <em>different</em>, but not just different for difference sake. Steel Battalion is a well balanced game that does an artful job of placing the gamer in a massive Vertical Tank. When you play Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor you actually feel like you are wielding a massive steel contraption in battle. You also feel a connection to your tank mates and when they die, you feel that too, like nothing else I?ve experienced in a sandbox video game before. As for the controls that seem to illicit such outrage from the main street press, once learned, they contribute to a sense of immersion that had the same command been tied to a button on your controller, never could or would. This is a game that must first be learned and then later, (hours later), you begin to master the art of piloting a VT (Vertical Tank) in battle; how to take cover while under fire, how to plan your shots to hit the most vulnerable parts of your opponents Vertical Tank (VT) and all while staying cool under fire. Along the way you have fun and frustration, but for me at least, the game consumes me in nothing else but what I am doing in that moment and that?s the point. Games should be fun, they would allow us to exist in the moment, and for some of us, (perhaps too few of us), this means games must challenge us and take us places we have never been before. In order to do this each new title cannot be a simplistic reinterpretation of countless games before. And this brings me to my opening point, if the evolution of video games I?ve witnessed can be taken as the true state of not only gaming, but also human intelligence, the dumbing down of the masses is not merely an interesting or novel comment, it is a reality in full swing and with the full support of the media.
3 Like I played the demo and the controls worked nearly flawlessly (didn't know what half of the buttons/levers even did, but still)...I might even go far as to say I enjoyed it.
Kinect has tons of potential but problem is that we can't still see the good use of this potential. I believe developers need more time to understand Kinect and then start making great games for it.
@hasancakir unfortunately by the time that happens kinect 2.0 will be out, and i'm afraid i won't be buying it this time around
1 Like @delakpanlaa No no, played with your friends, its one of the best Xbox 360 exerience I ever had, you must tried to play with a friend!
What they need is to figure out how to integrate the old controller with the kinect. 2 player local co-op is seriously not in this either? so much potential and so little execution...
@Pyrobolo You can play co-op, just that your co-op player shouldn't be the serious type, have fun move around to impress your friends so that he/she may fire the gun.
A 3.5 for a Kinect game? Congratulations From Software, this is one hell of a stupendous effort for Kinect.
heh ...the only places giving semi good scores for this are the official and dedicated Xbox sites and magazines.
Eh, the kinect has shown that unless you're playing a game where it's better to use your body (dancing game, workout type game) , then the game is bound to fail.
@missonrs Guess what, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor is a good work out game, better than Kinect Dance Central, cause your having fun without the need of competing. I hate game when you have to compete with each others in dancing, it hurts feelings and create misunderstanding, but games that makes you goof and workout around, its actually good! I highly recommended to those who wants to get social cause it may look serious but actually its great way to get to know people, even the shy! :D
5 Like Oh look, the guys that do nothing else that troll anything Kinect-related are back in action.
3 Like The 720 MUST launch with a killer game that shows core gamers what Kinect 2.0 can really do. Kinect expanded the user base for MS which makes it more of a success than Move (which works better in core games). Women and kids are using the 360 more now. Kinect integration in non-gaming apps has been great for the most part. Once MS decided to cut costs and remove the internal processor, Kinect has been about getting people used to having it there for the next iteration.
Kinect isn't the train wreck that Sony fanboys want you to think it is, but as a core gaming input it isn't precise enough to be a main controller. So, as I stated at the beginning, Microsoft MUST convince the disappointed core gamers that Kinect 2.0 can control a core gaming experience. If they do, they'll have a leg up on Sony next gen. If they don't, Kinect 2.0 will be DOA for core gamers.
@deathstreamSeriously next gen xbox is for core gamers??? just by looking at the road map produce by MS. Its turning it to a WII.
MS need new games not new hardware.
@y3ivan Agreed. There are few Xbox exclusives and even fewer good ones. And kinect seems like a gimmick.
1 Like There was another game that tried to use motion based combat, called LAIR. It got horrible reviews because of the control schemes alone. I passed on that. 2 years later I noticed they had a free add-on for FULL controller support. So I picked up the game and thought it was great. I think Steel Battalion falls under the same fate of "wait now, pick up later".
@RedStar i would be surprised. currently 90% of the controller buttons are not map with only the analog stick and RT been used. No voice recognization for changing ammo type rather than press a tiny ass button on the viewfinder. This is due to failure from devs on not properly designing the controls to suit the kinect.
From software did a very poor job on integrating hybrid controller scheme. I personally thought that all the minor controls (such as Ammo type, gear switching, viewfinder hatch, radar) are all map on controller but instead they flip it, making it totally dependent on kinect.
Yet another attempt to force the Kinect on the gaming public. And yet another fail because the Kinect technology isn't good enough yet to support games like this. Kinect was Microsoft's answer to the Wii and Playstation Move. Great ambitions but the tech isn't there yet unfortunately. Since the objective of publishers is to sell games, they obviously chose Kinect over profits. If you want profits, rework the game input to allow for full 360 controller support in addition to the Kinect. The game itself is beautiful and well done. Too bad Kinect is going to kill it. Trying to force gaming hardware on the public doesn't work anymore -- we have many other options and good games to choose from.
2 Like @WayneSikes49 "Yet another attempt to force the Kinect on the gaming public."
That's funny. I didn't think the game was worth it full price after the demo so I didn't get it. So far the 'Microsoft police force' hasn't breached my house guns blazing to make me buy and play it instead of whatever I'm playing at the moment.
Keep believing you're 'forced' to do something, pal. Guys like you are those who end up being manipulated the most.
When I said 'force' I meant the practice of developer / publishers such as Microsoft pushing new hardware on the consumer with enticements such as cool games. Their hope is that the game will entice you to buy the Kinect as in 'you cannot play this cool game without our hardware'. So you are forced to buy a piece of hardware - Kinect - if you wish to play the game. Now in this case, many think the game is bad so the basic scenario of selling more Kinects or increasing the hype of the Kinect didn't work. If anything, people are seeing that the Kinect isn't ready for prime-time usage in a game such as this. Give similar technology another 2-3 years and the whole motion-capture thing will work much better for gaming. I agree with you regarding the 'Microsoft police force' comment. I've developed and published videogames for over 25 years and I've made it a practice to minimize Microsoft control over whatever product I'm making at the time.
Microsoft should use the Kinect with a wii like control or at least something like the wii control holders to improve the accuracy of the controls. Like the time crisis acrcade machine but with the additional benefits of hand gestures and voice commands
1 Like I try hard to like this game but there is so much bad in the control of the game you are just mad you got the game in the frist place. So much could have been better in this game. WOW
Ouch. Kinect started as an interesting idea, and went to be a poor input device. It is best used as a peripheral like in Forza 4 for voice commands, or as a techdemo of what Kinect2 might be. As it is, only a few titles for it can be considered 'good', and unfortunately this core game is not among them.
@Rayrota Most of the dancing games and workout games are pretty good. My wife uses the Kinect mostly and I the "hardcore" gaming stuff. I use it with her occasionally.. A fun peripheral, but obviously hasn't been utilized. I think mostly b/c developers want to develop games that make the most money. i.e. "hardcore" games that are multiplatform and online competitve.. i.e. Call of Duty. It's a multi billion dollar franchise. Unless Microsoft can produce a Gears of war quality Kinect game with appeal to hardcore gamers, I think the Kinect may be chalked up to a failing idea in retrospect. It's fundamentals and tech will be carried forward, hopefully to something more fruitful. But I think we're stuck with sloppy work like this for now.. :: /
It's not a game, more like a tech demo...but the "Be a Superhero game".... something like that...is kinda cool. You shimmer in various colors and have elemental powers, you can record and playback too. Think SW guy, but with special efects. You can find it in kinect labs.
5 Like @Tae_One It was from a preview.... it's true, it is a hardcore game... when you compare it to the likes of Kinectimals and Dance Central and the like. It's not for casual gamers. The publisher did what most politicians do to one another, take a quote out of context so that your average person reads it and responds.
2 Like @Tae_OneLOL and people wonder why some people question integrity on this site. I don't care either way. Is still funny tho.
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Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor
Not Following
- Publisher(s): Capcom
- Developer(s): From Software
- Genre: Simulation
- Release:
- ESRB: M
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor Navigation
