Steel Battalion

"Greatest game ever?"

You may hear this from everybody, but the game is worth every cent. I see no flaws excpet that it has an ending.
As for the money issue...well, to me it is no issue. The amount of money to play possibly the best game ever will never be an issue for me. But if that doesnt convince, then hopefully this review will.

Sound 10/10

The sound is just fantastic. The machine gun blasts and explosions make you feel like you are in a real 2080 battlefeild with towering machines standing just above you. Definitley a game that you want to turn up the volume on. I just love putting the surround sound up and hearing the glasses in my kitchen rattling everytime a fire a cannon. Also, you can listen to some pretty cool soundtracks. You even get to pick what you want to listen to. It's great.

Graphics 9.99999999999999/10

The only reason this isn't a perfect 10 is that quite a bit I notice a flat tree or something else that is very minor. I couldn't take off a full point for something so small when everything else is so flawless. I also get the real feeling that everything is actually a real movie or something because it doesnt really have that animated look that most games have. Most of the people I tell that to don't see it, but I do and that's what counts. All the cities you see look great. Everything is there. And i do mean everything. You can even shoot them down, which looks great. First whatever floor you shot will blow then the top just comes down and demolishes anything left. The only bad thing about it is that sometimes after it goes down there will be nothing left no rubble or anything. But no biggie.

Controls 10/10

You may think I'm crazy, but the controls are great. With the exception that it takes a few missions to get the 40 button control panel down with precision. But it truly is easy to understand it after that. You'll be happy that most of the time the buttons will flash whenever you need to do something. With that and an extensive manual buy your side, you will be an unstoppable VT(Vertical Tank, for those of you who don't know) pilot in no time.

Gameplay 10/10

There is simply no word in my vocabulary at this time that can truly sum up the gameplay in one word. The best I can do is use fantastic and phenominal to make one word, phenomitastic. It really is that good. The game just has so many difficulties that it is just a bit short of endless. Along with the countless ranks you can acquire, you should have a few months of none-stop playing. Plus all the different VTs you get make the game so much funner. And I like arming my VT before every mission. There are so many different combinations of weapons you can have, and most missions will require a different one every time. Also, the controller, the only word I can use that says how much it makes the game better is once again phenomitastic. It takes about every limb you've got to avoid a cannon shell from going straight up your tail pipe(clever huh). But it really will keep you fully awake every second, and if not, you will die and you will die fast. And the replay value. It is just great. So many times I will buy a game and it will be over in 5 to 10 short and easy missions. Steel Battalion has 20+ missions that take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes to complete. And it actually is none-stop playing because of the pause button, or lack there of I should say. So you better commit yourself to staying there until it is over because you will loose all the supply points you used for that mission. I should add that after you use all of your supply points the game will be over, no continues, no turning the game off and starting from the last save. You will have to start the game completely over. Which is quite a fatal blow sometimes. Not that turning the game off will give you a game over too many times, but it really won't help.

Overall 11/10

What can I say the game is quite flawless. Capcom was going for perfection and they achieved. And I really do review pretty harshly, I'm a guy that gives Halo a 7. So when I say perfect there is no lying involved. If you are still worried about the money, I suggest getting a chance to actually play it, I'm sure you will change your mind. I've never known anyone that hasn't gotten the game beacuse of the money. So I hope this review was a help.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/13/03, Updated 02/13/03