1. Xborn74

   Jun 19, 2012

   8

   "Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor" is a Mech simulator in a wartime environment, developed by From Software (Chromehounds and Armored Core) and produced by Capcom, being a continuation of the original Xbox game (2003).
   
   The story takes place in 2082, in a world which since 2020 has lost all the latest technology and computers. In this shattered world, China has become a
   world power, and dominates much of the world on an iron fist, even having dominated the USA. In this future, the technology is based on mechanical elements only, and in battle armors called VT (Vertical Tanks), which are species of tanks with legs for locomotion. You assume the place of the protagonist, Lieutenant Powers, a war hero, and commands a VT in a battle for regain the USA - from the landing on the coast of NY where the game starts.
   
   The game has great graphics: the CG and openings are the standard of From Software, that is, stunning and realistic graphics that resemble photo realism and showing bloody and realistic battle scenes. The visual in-game is also excellent: the game goes on inside the **** and its crew of 3 men, and the control panels of the VT, and you can put your head out of it.
   
   The graphics and overall ambiance of the game are Retro, remembering movies and equipment of World War II. The details and movements are fluid and well realistic, and the game has strong colors with a filter that resembles the colors of the colored movies from WWII. The internal environment of the VT is well
   detailed, with multiple instruments, and damage to your TV are shown as having actually taken place.
   
   The look of the VT is old, resembling WWII tanks mounted on mechanical legs with rough textures and appearances. The same applies to soldier's uniforms, which resemble the past, not the future. The atmosphere inside the VT transmits the sensation of a claustrophobic environment, of a inside of a war tank, for example.
   
   Audio: The game has dialogue lines extremely well told and acted, conveying the sense of the crew, and the ambient sounds in battle are realistic and differentiated, with various effects like bullets whizzing by, the mechanical walking of the VT and realistic explosions.
   
   The gameplay is of a battle simulator within this retro Mech: everything happens in 1st person, being the controls a mixture of Kinect with the conventional controller. With the controller, you can move your VT, turn around, and can use weapons with left and right triggers. With Kinect, you commands the Mech, sitted: you slide the screen to the side to visualize your crew, and extending your arms at different points at the screen, on the various existing controls on the inside, that controls the functions of the VT, as to adjust the speed, type of ammunition, fire hatches and enter and exiting the scope, where you see the battlefield and commands the VT.
   
   If standing up, Powers put the body out of the VT (being an easy target), and can use his hand at eye level to use binoculars. Inside the VT, sited, you use the scope to move and fire in your targets. The missions have objectives, and you should try and achieve them, while trying to stay alive and avoid losing members of the crew: the structural damage to the VT are shown by points in various locations within a diagram of it on the screen, and shots located affect specific things, and may kill members of the VT. At the same time during some parts, you can interact with the crew, greeting them, or holding someone in despair.
   
   The battles are complex due to the variation of controls, but nothing that we don't get after playing a bit, and a nice tutorial shows the commands before the battle, in a training camp. But the games is not easy, being realistic and we must make strategic decisions, because the shots can destroy your VT quickly.
   
   The game also features an online mode on Xbox Live, where you and 3 friends over control a battalion of four VT, each commanding one, and that should make the campaign very interesting. In the main game screen, we can see a picture of his battalion showing the names and who is dead, and we customize the appearance and weapons of your VT.
   
   In short, the game became the 1st Hardcore game to use Kinect, which reacts very well to commands and have realistic visuals, making it the best Kinect game to this point, along with Rise of the Nightmares. The sum of Kinect and Xbox 360 controller works perfectly, I just missed some auxiliary functions for the remaining buttons.
   
   The game ends up being an excellent choice for people who like games of battles, near simulator style, having a gripping story, excellent graphics and gameplay that, although intuitive, is strategic and difficult at times. If you like serious war games and Mechs simulators, pick up this game - if you don't play the Demo before because this game style isn't for the average gamer.… Expand

   • 8 of 32 users found this helpful
2. TWD3

   Jun 29, 2012

   8

   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 in fact 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, what I'm finding is video games have become, , 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 it seems.… Expand

   • 1 of 10 users found this helpful
3. Zicoroen

   Jun 19, 2012

   7

   It´s not so bad. It is a hard game, not for children. A combination of joystick and motion control is another experience level that everyone should try. Kinect is far away from perfection, but with adequate space and calibration it works well.… Expand

   • 9 of 24 users found this helpful
4. Annoymous1

   Jan 7, 2013

   1

   This game is totally uncontrollable and no point of shooting at your enemies because as soon as you aim they start shooting. Call of Duty and Battlefield are 1000 times better than this waste of $30.… Expand

   • 2 of 3 users found this helpful
5. awesomeplayer

   Feb 8, 2013

   0

   Alright, I have to say, this game was terrible. I played the original Steel Battalion and liked it a bit. This game could have been better if it wasn't a KINECT game. Controlling a tank? Cool. Controlling it with the KINECT? Sucks. I give this game a 0. Sorry, but this game is a rip off.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. Equation

   Jul 7, 2012

   0

   As a PS3 owner I must say I am extremely jealous you guys have this exclusive, I loved the original and it's massive controller scheme... But who needs controllers/buttons anymore when we have the Amazing Kinect, the Kinect has proven time and time again that it is THE device to have, You are the controller and you will know this when playing this AAA amazing game, everything is perfect, the controls will blow your mind... I will be selling my PS3 so I can buy a 360/Kinect combo - Everyone buy this game and feel the power (buy Kinect StarWars too that's also amazing)… Expand

   • 2 of 4 users found this helpful
7. Kadeemluvmusic

   Jun 19, 2012

   0

   There's a reason why we don't want a Steel Battalion sequel on the horrible XBOX 360 Kinect. This is the first M-rated Steel Battalion game, seriously? Let's go way back to 2001, the same year that Devil May Cry flourished hardcore gamers everywhere, the original XBOX releases Steel Battalion and it is one of those tank games you've never played or haven't owned. But it's worth a try because it deserves cult status. The second sequel, Line of Contact, was somewhat decent with some minor mishaps of flawed gameplay and little easy on the combat systems. But why XBOX 360? For those of you who owns a Kinect must not buy this game because everything is a mess. The script is garbage, the gameplay looks nifty, the controls were... well, it's far from a bust, but what does "You Are the Controller" has to do anything with this bad flavor of a chocolate Call of Duty mud cake? This is quite possible not only the worst sequel of the year, but it's one of the worst games of 2012 so far. Avoid this crap just like Battleship.… Expand

   • 6 of 14 users found this helpful

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