WarTech Senko no Ronde Review (Xbox 360)

The traditional arcade-style fighter is nearly on the brink of extinction. Sure, there are companies still pushing the one-on-one fighter, but we’re not holding our breath for this genre to burgeon any time soon.

The near-death of the fighter is being brought about by technology for the most part. Console hardware is so powerful, that creating a fighter solely for home use (not affiliated with an arcade title) usually leads to a beautiful game using little processing juice. And few of us want that for our mega-dollar investments.

The demise of the U.S. arcade hasn’t helped the fighter genre either. Without port-worthy coin-ops, the console demand for fighting games has no choice but to plummet.

The arcade is far from washed-up in Japan and is still a major influence on the JDM console market. G.rev’s Senko no Ronde is a prime example of a Japanese arcade hit turned console wonder in the Eastern world. Recently released on the Xbox 360 in Japan, Senko no Ronde quickly tore up the charts, giving hardcore gamers from across the Pacific a reason to embrace MS’ beloved ivory tower.



It’s apparent in the international sales charts that Japanese and U.S. gamers are dichotomized on what they think is a “good” Xbox 360 title. Nevertheless, Senko no Ronde’s success in Japan made Ubisoft’s ears perk up, and eventually led to the release the same game under the WarTech name here in the states.

The easiest way to describe the unique genre that WarTech creates is fighter/flying. You’re always fighting one-on-one against humans or bots, but since you’re a mech, the action is going down in the weightlessness of space.

You’ll have to choose among various young mech pilots both male and female at the onset of a match. Each is rated on a basic scale which includes speed, firepower and defense, with variants of each character-or cartridges- affecting these ratings too. Besides general rating, each mech/pilot combo has different special attacks, each using specific button combos just like a normal fighting game (just a tad simpler). In addition, each character can enter B.O.S.S. mode, which is essentially a massive mech skeleton which is fitted over existing armor for increased firepower. Each B.O.S.S. mech has a specific lineup of attacks which can be used until a power-up gauge has been drained. More visually impressive and powerful B.O.S.S. mech attacks can be performed if one of these units is summoned when a player’s health gauge is depleted (known as Vanish State).

When not pulling off damaging and visually arousing combos as a B.O.S.S. mech, you’ll have to revert to basic fighting game tactics, albeit in a zero g atmosphere. Movement is handled with the left stick, but it’s not what you think; you can’t move along the Y axis as the backgrounds might suggest. Instead, you’re essentially involved in a 3D fighting game field taking place on the X axis, with the ability to rotate only within said axis (and therefore your opponent) with the left stick. Up/down on the stick will move you closer/further toward you opponent, while left/right inputs will commence the circling around a common axis point. This one-plane system keeps the fighting in WarTech much more manageable, less flying game-like and more fighter-like, as judging an enemy’s altitude is never an issue.

Platform:
Xbox 360
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Publisher:
Ubisoft Entertainment
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Developer:
G.rev
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Genre:
Fighting
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Release Date:
5/30/2007
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Game Features:
Offline Players: 1-2
EDTV 480p Support
HDTV 720p Support
HDTV 1080i Support
Widescreen 16:9
Dolby 5.1 Surround
Dolby 5.1 In-Game

Ratings :: 4
Average :: 7.3
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