Some games are tailor made for a specific audience. Take Dance Dance Revolution for example. You don’t see any heavy metal or polka songs in it. The songs included are going to appeal to those who play the game. Racing sims include real life tracks and automobile customization. Fans don’t want hood-mounted turrets or rocket boosters in a realistic racer (although admittedly that would be cool). The same goes with mech titles. Fans don’t want their hundred foot-tall robots mixed in with super sonic hedgehogs. In the same vein, fans of these genres love peripherals. DDR has a plethora of dance mats for people to buy, that range from $19 all the way to $300-plus. Racing fans can buy steering wheels with force feedback and other features. Mech fans haven’t had any special peripherals to enjoy their titles, until now. What else would lend itself so well to a controller with forty plus buttons and three pedals?
"Steel Battalion could be the answer mech fanatics are searching for… if they have the money."
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A complex controller to be sure, but a mech would in real life be a very complex machine to operate. Capcom knows this, and that’s why for the measly price of $200, you can have your very own mech simulator. Steel Battalion could be the answer mech fanatics are searching for… if they have the money. Enjoyment however, will depend on just how big a mech fanatic the person is.
Steel Battalion lives up to the description of simulator in almost every sense of the word. Controlling your mech, known in this title as a “Vertical Tank” (VT), is a learning experience like one you’ve never had in a video game before. It’s almost like learning how to drive a car, only your VT is 80 feet tall, and doesn’t drive on wheels; you’ll remember that the first time you take a turn too hard and tip over. Learning how to start up your VT is practically a game in it self. You have to perform a series of button presses and switch flips in order to even get moving, and the game doesn’t teach you how to do this- oh no, you’ll need to figure it out yourself, which is an awesome thing, because Steel Battalion always makes sure you get your $200 worth. Since the game is set in a first person cockpit view, you really feel like you’re driving the VT, especially with a three-foot long blinking controller board in front of you. After you figure out how to start it, you need to figure out how to drive it. With three pedals and two joysticks, you already know before your VT takes its first step this is something really special. And when you do take that first step, you can feel the weight of your VT slam into the earth, propelling you forward and on to adventure.
The attention to detail and depth put into this title is absurd considering the VT doesn’t really exist. Almost everything you can imagine that would happen when driving a mech is covered here, from ammunition amounts to windshield washing (yes, your windshield can get filthy at times, obscuring vision). Each of the controller’s forty buttons has a purpose, even if some are more meaningful than others, but it adds to the realism, and the illusion that you are in fact piloting this gargantuan machine. It takes a lot of experimentation since there isn’t a tutorial mode available to teach you the ropes. Whether you want to figure out how to change the view on your map, or change what weapon you have equipped, you’ll have to figure it all out on your own. The fact there’s no tutorial to speak of however, fits in with the story. You’re a new recruit in the Pacific Rim Organization, a coalition of many countries who defend the world against the armies of Hai Shi Dao, otherwise known as Mirage Island. Hai Shi Dao is a man-made island, who declared independence from, and ultimately war upon the Pacific Rim Organization, and started attacking their bases. You happen to be present during one of the attacks, and as a new recruit, have no experience whatsoever with the VT. When the recruiter is injured, it’s up to you to defend the base, and thus begins the game.
As I said before you’re thrust into the cockpit of the VT with no prior training, and don’t even know how to start it. The two joysticks by themselves are confusing. You’ll use one to move your mech, which has a thumbstick to adjust your view, and the other to target your gun. Maybe this doesn’t sound too confusing, but it can get pretty crazy if you don’t know what does what, especially when you consider you don’t know at first you don’t have to look in the direction you’re going. With all the information displayed on your HUD in the cockpit, you’re bound to get confused, but as the game goes on you start to realize what each dial, number set, and screen does. Don’t lose hope though; there is a manual that comes with the title that diagrams how to play. It lays out what each button does, and how they’re used in the title. It also lists the difference between the different generations of VT’s and how they’re controlled. It’s 60 pages long, and included diagrams of all the VT’s in the game. It’s definitely a worthy companion for a new person, but an in-game tutorial would have been very nice.
"... Steel Battalion always makes sure you get your $200 worth."
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If you’re playing this game on a smaller TV, you’re going to be unimpressed unless you sit very close, since the actual screen that displays gameplay is so small, due to the massive size of the HUD. Initially this was an annoyance for me, making it harder to see the action. It also makes it harder to play an already hard game. There’s no tutorial, the enemies are fairly intelligent, and the game is extremely realistic. Not to mention, if you die the game will erase your save from the memory, meaning you’ll have to start over. The screen starts flashing, fires break out in the cockpit… but you can always eject. If you choose to eject, you flip up the switch cover (yes, it’s got a cover to prevent an accidental pushing, and ultimately adds coolness) and push the button. You’ll then have the option to buy another mech (yes, buy one with money you earn in the game) and continue, or if you don’t have any money to buy a mech, restart totally. This game is vicious on the realism, and gets really irritating later on. It really demands mastery of the game, and those who aren’t committed to learning the complete ins and outs of a 40-button controller are going to be pretty upset, because this game is no walk in the park. If you’re not careful you can take major damage just from ground units, not to mention the other VT’s the Mirage Island forces employ. And don’t expect any help from the Pacific Rim forces either. Apparently all they teach at VT Boot Camp is how to block an ally (i.e. you) and the art of circle turning, so I guess you didn’t miss much. I don’t know how they’d win this war without you.
It’s super easy to play this game wrong. The mission briefings aren’t very well done, but they give you a general idea of what you’re supposed to do. They’re actually kind of boring, like how I would imagine a real mission briefing would be. And you have to pay attention, because if you don’t, you won’t know what to do since there’s no pause menu to list the instructions. It doesn’t help that the story is only passable as well. Characters are either non-existent or two-dimensional. Missions are usually of the “destroy a certain amount of enemies” type, which could get old, if you weren’t piloting a VT. What does get old is starting up your VT each time you play a mission. It’s not too bad, but starts to get a little tedious after the 50th time. There’s a wealth of VT’s to drive eventually, but they all pretty much play the same way. That’s not really a complaint though - I wouldn’t want to learn that many ways to use this controller.
"The attention to detail and depth put into this title is absurd..."
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On a sheer graphical level, this game fails to impress. The XBox is capable of a lot more than this title creates. While they get the job done, the environments lack style. The world is mainly comprised of the colors of gray, brown, and green, which doesn’t make for really exciting scenery, and cinemas are comprised of still screens. The controller might be big, but the XBox doesn’t really seem to be processing such a huge game that it needs to be careful with what it’s processing. The VT models themselves however are done nicely, and each one has a level of craftsmanship to it equal to the automobile industry. Aurally the game fails to impress as well. There is little to no voice acting, and what there is is usually poor, plus there isn’t music during missions. Maybe it adds to the realism, but it also adds to the boredom. The bullets have a satisfying firing sound, however, and explosions always sound nice. The VT makes a loud slamming sound as it walks, and each step really accentuates the weight nicely, especially if played in surround sound; this game will rock your ear drums.
Steel Battalion is a mech game for mech fans. It’s going to appeal in its purest form, to the purest fanatics. Collectors will snatch this one up just to own it, and it’s sure to become a cult classic. The game has its share of problems, and the asking price is a lot to ask from the general public, but this game isn’t about them. Anybody who’s a mech fan in the slightest needs to at least play Steel Battalion. There probably isn’t going to be another game like it for a long time (barring sequels, one already was released), and while the price is steep, the experience is richly original. Capcom and Microsoft should look into further uses for the controller. Gundam Wing would be a great license…
