Robotech Battlecry Review 
| Posted |
Feb 05 |
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Rick Hunter, Roy Fokker, and Max Sterling, these names are synonymous with the Robotech defense force. They are legends in their own rights. Over the years, Robotech has gained a sizeable and respected audience. It all started with the Macross Saga, then it spanned to Dana Sterling (daughter of Max Sterling) and the battle with the Robotech Masters, and finally the glorious Robotech series ended with the Invid invasion. I was a young child when I first saw Robotech, and from that moment I because a fan of the series. Robotech Battlecry focuses on the Macross Saga, where there is an ongoing struggle with the Zentraedi, a noble, and warrior race. Before the arrival of the Zentraedi, the world was at war. This is where the story’s protagonist makes his entrance. With his own personal issues, he took out his frustrating in the war. Being a fighter pilot, he became a mercenary for hire for any countries willing to pay his sums. You’ll be fighting this battle from the viewpoint of Jack Archer, our protagonist. As the war waged on, an unidentified flying object came rippling through space, and crash landing on an island in the Pacific called the Macross Island. Sovereign nations called a seize fire, in fear of an imminent attack by alien invaders. Every nation provided its own expert and renowned scientist to analyze and dissect the alien ship. What they foundd their eyes to a technology that they could only fathom. The scientist discovered an advance civilization with powerful weaponry. The ship was called the SDF-1, a powerful mecha that had devastating power. As they slowly build the ship back to its former glory, pilots were training in the newly developed veritecks to prepare themselves for an alien attack. Built with the enemy in mind, these fighting mechas can transform into 3 different stages. Powered by a rare fuel called protoculture, the aliens are determined to recapture the SDF-1 and claim the elusive and rare substance for themselves.
In Battlecry, the game starts off with a bang, and as a fan of the series, you will be pleased, but as it starts to sink in, you will realize the game is slowly but surely becoming tedium. Not to say the game isn’t fun because it is, but with the excessive and overdone repetition of some of the missions, it just starts to take its toll. Battlecry has an excessive amount of defending, rescuing, and escorting civilians or other routine patrol missions. While the game quickly starts off with a bang with massive aerial battles, and intense dogfights, it quickly dissipates. I mean c’mon where are all the humongous space fights that Robotech is famous for? Why throw the player in routine missions that should be left to lowly privates and not an ace like Jack? In the beginning missions, the player will be accompanied by various squadrons that make things very interesting, and for the most part these huge battles offered the most fun in the game. As you play the rescue and defend type missions, you will notice you’re mostly alone with a large number of enemies and having to constantly fight off wave after waves of enemies until you scream. Take for example, in chapter 2, the player must defend the civic center, which is a large building that was taking heavy fire from the Zentaedi, but with the massive waves of enemies and going from one corner to the other just holding down the fire button to mow them all down, the repetition starts to sink in. You think I’m kidding? I kid you not. This level that I am describing can be used to describe most of the levels. So now can you see where my gripe is coming from? Suffice it to say, the types of mission were horribly compared to the loveable storyline.
While there are numerous flaws to this game, it does have its bright moments. For one some of the dogfights are extremely intense. The early part of the game where it focuses on the Zentraedi war has plenty of aerial battles, which is the best part of the game. Like the anime series, there are plenty of chaotic dogfights, with tons of missiles flying everywhere. The controls for the most part are adequate, but at times, it feels a bit sluggish. When trying to maneuver your veritech for sharp turns in order to lock onto an enemy, the controls can leave a lot to be desired for.
There are three modes of transformation for your veritech. The first is the fighter, which is your basic fighter jet that is equipped with standard fire and missiles. The next mode is the guardian, which is a mix between a full-blown battloid and a fighter. The guardian isn’t quite as speedy as the fighter, but it is a lot more maneuverable. The battloid is the last transformation that has the veritech turning into a giant mecha that rivals the battlepods that you will be facing. What’s fun about these transformations is the ability to shift between them, and use each type of weaponry to fight. There were instances were, I used the fighter to get to my destination as fast as I could, and upon arrival, I would switch into battloid mode and start raining down shots from up top.
Another standing issue in the game is the camera. When in fighter mode, the camera is swift and effective, but in guardian and battloid mode, the camera on many occasions will become displaced. A lot of times, when firing your gun or shooting missiles, you can’t even see your enemy. However, since the missiles are locked onto your target, it still is quite effective. One thing that is quite peculiar is the fact that the gun at times seem to use the same lock on as the missiles, but at other points in the game, the aiming seems way off. This was probably due to the game’s lack of polish because there are simply a lot of these nuances.
The level designs itself isn’t bad. It could have been better, but generally speaking it reflected the material quite well. However, I want to reiterate again that despite the solid levels, the game will just hammer down that feeling of repetitiveness. The early aerial levels are quite good and offer plenty to do. But after that, while the level designs hold up fairly well, the repetition really makes the game a chore to play at times. Not to mention, in the beginning of chapter 3 where I encountered a glitch where I ended up in an area of space where the developers probably didn’t intend for me to go. After I finally got out, I was pushed to the top of the skies and I wasn’t allowed to come down. This is simply inexcusable for so called video game developers.
While the story is solid, the story itself still feels a bit erratic. For the simple fact that mission 2 and mission 3, sees you jumping a whole year and leaving a gaping hole in the storyline. Since the SDF-1 was out in space for a year, it would have made for more intense dogfights, but the developers chose to truncate this portion of the story, and decide to go with more search and rescuer missions. But even with that said, the story itself is still quite enjoyable. It reflects the material well, and really brought back plenty of memories about the series.
The cell-shaded graphics offer plenty of beautiful animation and ultimately does true justice to the anime series. The transformation looks slick, and reflects the material. The massive aerial battles, and dogfights occur with no dips in frame rate, which is quite impressive. The environments look good, and are enriched in lush and beautiful colors, and are filled with plenty of details. One thing that I didn’t like was the destructibility of some of the buildings. Some buildings wouldn’t get destroyed be weaponry, while others did. But my main problem was, when it did get destroyed, the effects look odd. It felt like it took a dozen missiles, before it would fall.
From theng musical intro, I felt a nostalgic flashback to the early 90s. The theme song of Robotech played, and a part of me wanted to cry. Yes, the Robotech series is that damn good. Anyways back to the point at hand, the developers did a great job by having the soundtrack consist of plenty of Robotech themes. They even added the theme that was synonymous with the Zentraedi and the defense force clashing. The voice acting for the most part was done extremely well. While there weren’t any familiar voice from the series, the original characters did a great job at conveying the whole Robotech feeling.
With five chapters, and each chapter having plenty of missions, Robotech Battlecry is a lengthy game. But the quantity is not matched by the quality because there are plenty of glaring flaws to this game. There are a few bright spots, but there aren’t any to redeem this game. I did enjoy this game, but it was probably due to the fact that this game is the first Robotech game made. Consequently I have a soft spot for it because I just love the series! But if you break it down, and view it from a non-biased point of view, Robotech Battlecry is a mediocre shooter at best. Its strong points are due to its license and the early stages of the game. Besides that, the game leaves a lot to be desired. Fans of the series should definitely check it out, but if you haven’t watched Robotech (shame on you) before, then this game is easily passable.
- Galactus21
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