21 replies to this topic

[Harsin]

Remember when Kinect was revealed and all those sneering internet know-it-alls mocked that it looked like it would only ever offer cack-handed ultra-casual games with roughly the same functionality as a Tiger LCD handheld game from the Argos catalogue. Well, prepare to stop your grinning and drop your linen because Capcom and Microsoft have teamed up to show you the infinite possibilities of controller free gaming and that Kinect is just as much for the so-called 'hardcore' with Steel Battalion: Heavy Armour.

Set in 2082, Steel Battalion Heavy Armor depicts a world devoid of semiconductors, where war is waged with rudimentary weapons as new superpowers struggle for dominance. In a twist of fate, the U.S. army has been forced to begin major landing operations on what was once its own soil. In this low-tech era, there is one weapon class that will determine the course of the war -- the Vertical Tank (VT). Playing as pilot Lt. Powers, players control one such VT as he embarks on a mission that will see the action shift from North America to battlefields and war-torn streets across the globe.

Exciting stuff that should get the juices of any gamer flowing. But don't trust me - just look what respected videogame publications are saying about it!

Giant Bomb

...Steel Battalion rivals the work of Shakespeare...

Polygon

...more than a product. It’s an experience, crafted by artists...

IGN

...one of the best ideas on Xbox this year...

I assume there isn't already a thriving thread for the game because all you cats have already received your copies and are too busy playing it.

[PhilG]

In perhaps the most perverse misunderstanding, often while attempting to pull the lever to start my VT, I would instead pull out the panel that had the self-destruct button on it.

[Yix]

Reading the Edge Online review, I want to play this. Mirroring commentary from the sites you cite, it may well be a necessary computer game experience.

However, the Edge Online review also makes mention of some of the many shortcomings of Kinect that, were I to play it, utterly spoil any sense of immersion or enjoyment - due entirely to the shortcomings of the hardware.

As the thick of battle proves – with your hands shaking and waving at the camera like a frisky mime in a hurry – the awkward positioning of levers and buttons, plus some occasional lag issues, can lead to punishing errors. Gripping the wrong lever can cost you an entire mission, since letting go to air-fumble your way to the right one can simply take too much time and too many motions. It’s a hardware issue as much as a design flaw, but it’s undeniably a problem for a game that’s built on reactions and response times.

Six out of ten, and as a silent participant in mocking the "hardcore" capabilities of Kinect, I can only remain where I am, irritatingly smug.

[Rudderless]

Yeah, sounds like it would be a really good game if the controls were up to snuff. They should port it to Wii U - have you raise the GamePad to scan the environment and move the tank around from the external view, then hold it in your lap and use buttons/touchscreen for stuff inside the tank.

[Mr Retroid]

Give it a couple of months and I can see a patched version coming out where you can assign more things to the controller. Or atleast I really hope that happens.

[Meh]

Fucking Kinect, etc.

[Hello Goaty ♥]

Games where you use your hands only are complete shit.

At least with Playstation Move and the Wii you can feel what youre doing somewhat.

you know whats the absolute shittest thing about Kinect? in most ( or is that all ) cases you cannot utilise household items as a sword of baseball bat etc..

utter terribleness.

[Epcotman]

You mean you have to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy.

[Vulgar Monkey]

As someone who doesn't have kinect, I do feel a bit left out.

Surely can't be that big a hardship to code regular controls alongside the fancy kinect stuff?

[Rudderless]

As someone who doesn't have kinect, I do feel a bit left out.

Surely can't be that big a hardship to code regular controls alongside the fancy kinect stuff?

Seems all the controller's buttons are used up with various other commands - hence you use gestures AND controller.

[SPE]

Exciting stuff that should get the juices of any gamer flowing. But don't trust me - just look what respected videogame publications are saying about it!

Polygon

I'm usualy good at detecting sarcasm, but I'm not sure about Harsin's post. It does sound like he's suggesting that Steel Bataliion is a good game, but even the reviews he lists slate the game.And the game has been roundly criticised for controls that are appalling.

Polygon giving it a widely reported 1/10, with the review opening with "Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor's potential is sabotaged in the worst way possible by controls that just don't make the cut."

[toythatkills]

I'm usualy good at detecting sarcasm, but I'm not sure about Harsin's post. It does sound like he's suggesting that Steel Bataliion is a good game, but even the reviews he lists slate the game.

Wolfcastle.

The OP is disappointingly low in +1s

[SPE]

Having read the IGN and Giant Bomb links now... yeah.

[Meh]

As someone who doesn't have kinect, I do feel a bit left out.

Surely can't be that big a hardship to code regular controls alongside the fancy kinect stuff?

Even if it were remotely possible to map it all to the pad, it'd be completely missing the point of SB. 49-button controller or bust.

[Stanley]

Does it use voice commands?

[Napole0n]

Gosh, a hardcore Kinect game that fails because of shitty controls. WHAT A SURPRISE. Is there really anybody in the world, apart from Microsoft and their minions, who still think Kinect is a good idea?

[_Pow_]

do Edge have the only working Kinect in the world then?

[Karzee]

Seems all the controller's buttons are used up with various other commands - hence you use gestures AND controller.

The guy playing it in the Giant Bomb vid says, "There are eight unused buttons and an entire D-pad on the controller..."

[Sprite Machine]

Gosh, a hardcore Kinect game that fails because of shitty controls. WHAT A SURPRISE. Is there really anybody in the world, apart from Microsoft and their minions, who still think Kinect is a good idea?

It's good for certain types of games, much like the Eyetoy was good for certain types of games. They're not "bad ideas" in themselves. It's only a bad idea when they try to shoe-horn it into every genre imaginable, rather than those it's actually ideal for.

Still, there wouldn't be another Steel Battalion game at all if Kinect didn't exist, so it's not like it's ruined anybody's day.

[ravon]

has anybody tried the demo that up, im stuck at work ..

[RubberJohnny]

Yeah, sounds like it would be a really good game if the controls were up to snuff. They should port it to Wii U - have you raise the GamePad to scan the environment and move the tank around from the external view, then hold it in your lap and use buttons/touchscreen for stuff inside the tank.

The Giantbomb one actually says it wouldn't be a good game if the controls were up to snuff, citing repititive mission objectives, a complete absense of AI and the gameplay coming down to getting the drop on enemies to succeed.

It would be easy to blame the failure of this game entirely on the unreliability of Kinect, but Steel Battalion wouldn't even be a good game of this style even if it worked properly. All of the difficulty comes from how slowly you move around the environment and how limited your ability is to identify the threats around you and defend yourself from them. Enemy AI is virtually nonexistent in this game; the infantry stands there motionless and takes pot shots at you even when you're right up in their faces, ready to step on them, and enemy VTs act pretty much the same way aside from mindlessly sidling back and forth occasionally. If anything about your own VT were faster or more precise, you would steamroll over every bit of opposition in this game. The mission design is bland as hell, usually tasking you with merely killing everything in an area, killing as much as you can until the time runs out, or getting to a specific point on the map. Many of the levels are bafflingly short, often involving only a few seconds of meaningful combat in between the embarrassingly stereotypical characters jabbering in your ear.

[MW_Jimmy]

The guy playing it in the Giant Bomb vid says, "There are eight unused buttons and an entire D-pad on the controller..."

This has to to be one of the most ridiculous design-decisions I have ever heard of. Eight button go unused and actions are instead mapped to inane arm gestures. Oh Kinect!