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 Do
you like giant robots? Have you ever wanted to pilot one? Yes?
Well,
here’s your chance. Capcom’s Steel Battalion is the newest and
probably most in-depth mech simulator on the market today. While
recent games like Microsoft’s Mechassault hinge on a more
arcade-like feel -- relying on fast action and lots of explosions;
Capcom took mech piloting back to its roots and created what was to be
the ultimate giant robot simulator.
Starting with the
original Mechwarrior, the "mech simulator" genre has always been
about giving the player the chance to pilot futuristic machines of
destruction with as much attention to detail as possible. Focusing on
immersion and "realism" instead of intense speed and infinite
ammo, the genre is more about recreating the experience (or what we
would assume the experience would be like) of actually piloting a huge
lumbering "walking tank."
The simulation aspect
of mech piloting has never carried over well into the console arena.
Simply put, piloting giant
robots takes a lot of buttons. So aside from an abysmal version
of Mechwarrior for the SNES, mech simulators have been a PC genre.
Until now, that is.
 Capcom has managed to
solve the button problem with a rather elegant, if pricey,
solution. Included with the game is a massive 40 button, dual control
stick, and three-pedaled controller. It would probably be more
accurate to say that you’re buying the controller and the game comes
free. Either way, if there’s a heaven for wannabe mech pilots, this
is it.
Unlike a lot of games
where control can simply help or hinder a gameplay experience, Steel
Battalion is a case where the controller is the gameplay. The game is
impossible to play without it and, thus, neither is possible to
purchase without the other. The question then becomes, if the
controller makes the game, is the game actually worth playing?
Thankfully, Capcom saw fit to include a rather solid game with what
could have easily been a rather gimmicky controller.
It’s the near
future and humans are once again at war with each other. You’re a
rookie pilot for the Pacific Rim Forces and the start of the game
finds you thrust straight into battle without a single bit of
training. Steel Battalion’s plot is nothing new but if
you’re playing for the plot, you’re playing for the wrong reasons.
Each mission begins with a quick synopsis of your objectives in a
typical military briefing. After you’ve been briefed you choose your
mech (or Vertical Tank as they’re known in this universe), your
weapon load, and you’re off to do battle.
 Each battle has you
in sitting in your V-T waiting for you to start it up. At the start of
play, you have to go through the usual routine of closing your hatch,
starting your ignition, engaging your life support and fuel systems,
and finally pressing the conveniently labeled ‘start’ button on
your dashboard. Complete the sequence correctly (with the help of the
controller lighting up to guide you through it) and you’re all ready
to go. It’s a very cool sequence and doing it correctly has your
entire dashboard light up and flash in a rather impressive display.
The downside to this is of course you absolutely have to do it at the
start of every mission, there’s no way to skip it and those itching
for action will quickly find it annoying.
Piloting the V-T
takes a while to get used to. You have car-like gears to control your
speed (Reverse, Neutral, and Drive gears 1 through 5). You have a gas
pedal, a brake, a boost, a stick that turns your actual VT left and
right, an analog stick that changes where you look, and a control
stick that changes where you aim. Now take into consideration that all
that is just for aiming and moving and you can get an idea of how much
coordination this game requires. Steel Battalion is definitely not for
the faint of heart. The other buttons on your dashboard are for
firing, locking on targets, switching weapons, radioing your
teammates, and some more questionable functions like washing your
windshield.
Once you’ve got a
handle on moving and shooting, you can get to the actual game. Like
every other mech simulation, Steel Battalion is all about blowing
things up. Usually this entails simply taking out enemy V-Ts but
your objectives will range from simple ground artillery to enemy
battleships. V-T to V-T fighting usually involves locking-on to your
enemy and holding fire until they’re dead, taking the time to boost
left or right to dodge their incoming fire. It's not terribly deep
fighting but considering V-Ts are modeled after tanks, battles
should be expected to boil down to who has more armor and ammo.
 To enhance the
simulation aspect even more, Capcom has made some interesting and
ultimately ballsy gameplay choices. The one love-or-hate feature of
Steel Battalion is the fact that if you die on a mission but don’t
eject in time, the game will erase your pilot. No continues, no
retries, if you let your pilot die, you have to start the game over
again with a new pilot. Even a successful eject will find you without
a V-T and you have to have enough credits on you from earlier missions
to purchase a new one. If you can’t afford a new V-T, you’re
screwed. Mix these two factors together along with a slightly more
than average difficulty, and you’ll find yourself with a game
that’s refreshingly hard. A usual bout with Steel Battalion has you
trying a few missions, dying, swearing off the game forever, them
coming back five minutes later and trying again. Just be ready to die
a lot, and please, for the sake of anyone living with you, don’t
throw the controller.
The biggest complaint
about Steel Battalion’s core gameplay is its dirt poor AI and
questionable communication system. While Capcom was aiming for
immersion and realism, the illusion starts to fall apart if you spend
any time watching your wingmen. Having your AI wingmen suddenly get
caught on a building or a bush and walk aimlessly in place for five
minutes is a quick reminder that you’re still just dealing with a
piece of software. Likewise you have a ‘communication’ system that
you can use to radio your wingmen and ask for backup. All it does is
play off a set of two or three canned responses that usually don't
affect the outcome of the mission at all. Doing it yourself is the
only way to complete a mission with any sort of success.
Graphically, while
not the most technologically impressive game on the Xbox, Steel
Battalion looks pretty darn good.
Your cockpit (the cockpit changes depending on which V-T
you’re piloting) obstructs most of your screen, but the area that
you can see out of looks pretty convincing. A grain filter over the
image gives the game a dirtied gritty realistic feel and looks a lot
like Gulf War footage from CNN. The poly-counts are all adequate and
the explosions and particle effects are consistent. It's not Rogue
Leader, but it doesn’t look like a PSOne game either. All but the
snootiest of graphic whores will find the game's visuals verging from
average to slightly impressive just not mind blowing. The only real
complaint is against the game’s cut-scenes. The player is treated to
a host of horrible looking stills while they explain your mission
briefing. Thankfully, these don’t affect the gameplay at all.
 The one thing I can
say about the sound in Steel Battalion is that if you have a nice set of
headphones, use them. Playing the game with 5.1 sound is impressive
with loud booming explosions and the large crash and stomp of VT feet.
Playing with Headphones however cues you in to a much more refined
experience where you can hear every last gear move as your VT steps
and this does a lot to increase the immersion factor. All of the sound
effects in Steel Battalion are appropriate and well-recorded and sound
just like you’d expect them to. The voices are a mixed bag but,
thankfully, you don’t have to hear them often. The only thing I would
have like to have seen is a custom soundtrack option. You can purchase
a boom-box for your V-T which lets you select from pre-made tunes, but
it would have been better if you could put in your own.
Despite
a few flaws, it's clear that Capcom has taken the time to come out with
something special with Steel Battalion. With its
complex controller, adherence to realism, and above average
difficulty, Steel Battalion seems to be paying direct homage to no one but the
‘hardcore’ gamer. In recommending Steel Battalion, all I can say is
that if you love mech games, I mean really
love mech games, then look no further. If you absolutely have to have
the latest and the greatest, this is for you too. If Steel Battalion
seems interesting to you -- just not two hundred dollars
interesting -- I’d suggest putting your money elsewhere and finding a friend with
Steel Battalion to suck up to.
I’m
not sure what it’ll do to their quarterly results, but I applaud
Capcom for taking the time to actually make something special for fans
of the genre.
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