SMASHING THE BATTLE

Smashing the Battle is a generic 3D beat-em-up that probably draws people in with the anime style, and the unusually large cleavage of the various characters showcased. I streamed this game on Steam during the first 2 hours of launch, and was informed that this was a port of a mobile smartphone game only available in Korea. Gameplay was pretty standard, I guess you could say this plays like a single player version of Dota 2. The game's limited skillset has a couple of cooldowns and SP requirements. You are unable to obtain new skills, only upgrade the stats of your available skills. Other things to mention about the game: [list] [*]Repetitive gameplay: You will be fighting the same monsters, using the same actions with very little to no variety of gameplay. [*]Keyboard controls: For those who are unable to use a controller, the default keyboard controls are pretty bad. The main problem being generic movement is mapped to arrow keys, and not WASD These controls can not be re-mapped. (Resolved as of 5/18/2016) [*]No quality options: The game will simply play in fullscreen, stretched to your monitor's resolution. No questions asked. (Resolved as of 5/18/2016) [*]Not many options for alternate costumes: Only about 5 total for the main character, including the starting armor. [/list] The game itself runs... pretty well for me. I haven't had any game crashes, noticed any strange bugs, and runs just fine at a locked 60fps. So I'd say this game is pretty average at best. Average, but worth the $12 asking price ($10.19 for the first week sale). Now maybe they can use the money they made from selling this game to... buy a license to use Unity?

[h1]Hour 1: A few first impressions from ground zero:[/h1] Pretty great, actually. I was sort of expecting a button masher, but the combat mechanics are in fact well developed. You got your dodges, invincibility frames, special attacks and situational skills, different modes that increase your damage output for a decrease in defense. Good stuff here. The AI is a bit brain dead so far but it's not like I've played very far into it yet. The challenge modes seem pretty brutal though, and there are a lot of them, which I appreciate. As a whole, Smashing The Battle reminds me a lot of Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae, a game which I really really like. And amongst many common traits, they also share the "virtue" of being well executed packages with fun gameplay. The camera can be a bit wonky, it tends to end up turning bird-eye view, but it's easy to correct, even in the middle of battle. Nonetheless, it could definitely have used some better tracking. But as I understand it, this is supposed to be played in VR? I don't own or have any interest in one of those so I wouldn't be able to tell you how that works, but apparently it's there if that matters to you. It may either resolve or exacerbate the camera problems, I have no idea. I wanted to leave this here as a "congratulations" to the developer, the game plays and runs great. He is also pretty on point with support, so that's definitely a plus. But also, I wanted to leave a word on the gameplay, since I bet a lot of people are going to see breasts and either immediately buy it or immediately dismiss it, which sometimes works but would be a shame here. This game deserves an honest shot. [h1]Hour 2: Some additional thoughts:[/h1] A few mechanics are not as well explained as they should be. I have yet to figure out what is the purpose of "Scrap", even though I got a bunch of it. [strike]I don't get the "point" (gameplay wise) of saving people. They don't seem to give tremendous resources and their Keys could be spent unlocking stuff, at least in the early game[/strike], [b]EDIT:[/b] Rescued workers have a really high chance of giving you another key when released. Always save them! The rating system is a bit weird, and easily exploitable. Getting "Massive Kills" sometimes feels like it just fails, I have no idea what a "killstreak" is in the context of this game, but this is the only star that I always get, and the dodge counter, while cool, is not particularly well implemented. You can farm environmental hazards for those, or leave just a few enemies alive and farm them. So far, the numbers are always the same as well, and it feels like a missed opportunity. Have a stage where the requirement was to dodge a bunch of attacks would have been interesting, or clearing a stage without getting hit. [strike]Or under a time limit[/strike]. The current system works fine enough as it is, but since the missions are already all pretty similar (as far as I can tell, which is not a lot) aside from the starting dialogue, not having more unique mission requirements feels odd. [b]EDIT:[/b] There are different missions types. Most seem to be just arena type scenarios, you go in and get locked until everyone is dead, but some are waves, which I had already encountered but had forgot about, and I just stumbled upon a timed mission, which was nice. Even though the timer was actually really lenient I appreciate the change of pace. Good stuff. I'm looking forward to unlocking the other character as well as the ability to get extra costumes. [h1]Hour 3: Other things I noticed after playing a bit more:[/h1] Very nice difficulty curve. You start off with very easy and passive enemies but before long you are getting swarmed and fired upon from every possible direction. Situational awareness and good dodging become key, as well as efficient crowd control. Environmental hazards that are first introduced as simple obstacles along your path show up in later encounters and even boss battles, sometimes combined. Having to dodge spinning lightning rods, while the field is on fire, while a bunch of robots fire a ton of projectiles at me gave the game a very interesting vibe, almost bullet-hell -ish, but the punishment is never as severe. I have died when I got careless though, it certainly proved to not be the cakewalk that I thought it would be. Of course, you could always grind stages and upgrade the ♥♥♥♥ out of your everything. Personally, I feel I've struck a nice balance. I think I'll let this review be for a while and continue further into the game. I will probably update yet again once more stuff opens up and I have a better picture of the game as a whole. It's been very fun so far though. Definitely recommended. [h1]Hour 9: Closing thoughts on the whole experience:[/h1] So... I've now cleared both campaigns, played for a while. It starts pretty easy and stupid, the difficulty ramps up quite nicely and the last stages had me locked in the zone of situational awareness that few games can pull off right. I was surprised and pleased that upwards until level 25 of the second campaign (which would make it level 55 in general) the game was still introducing new attack patterns or expanding on older ones. It was really refreshing and made the last stretch of the game feel very tense as the bullet count on screen rose considerably. I also came to really like the camera going bird's-eye view because that IS the best view to deal with multiples incoming shots from every possible direction. Since attacks are telegraphed mostly by patterns on the floor, having a top-down view can seriously save you. So, yes. Camera. Actually pretty great. The characters do play differently and required, at least in my experience and playstyle, different approaches to gameplay. With Sarah, I would usually gather enemies around with the magnets and try to clear them with the Great Spanner, her special attack, while evading anything I can for an SP boost, but her standard combo attack is pretty fast so I wasn't shy about getting in the face of enemies. I also never ever used her bombs. Mary's game for me was much more reliant on "hit 1" of her combo attack. Get in, hit, run. It was mostly an attrition game. I rarely used her "remote bot" with intents of exploding it, but as a means to get the surreal amount of fire off my back for a second so I could regroup. About dodging: I really like how it works. Dodging consumes a bit of SP every time you use it. It's mostly negligible, but if you are low on SP and can't use your special attacks or Heal, dodging is probably what you want to do to get some SP back, since performing an Evade Bonus nets you 20 SP. The thing is that if you just mash the button, you are going to cannibalize your own earnings. I really like this system. It's not strict enough to be really punitive and screw you over, but it also hampers you back just enough that you will try to do it better until you can pull it off consistently. "Massive Kills" still baffle me. Is it a number of enemies thing? Is it a cumulative damage dealt over HP total of enemies thing? I have no idea. I THINK it's damage related but I have no idea on how it actually works. I've farmed a few stages and consistently killed some mobs the exact same way every time, and I got the massive kill bonus about 50% of those times. It's pretty weird. In retrospect, I think the additional suits have always been available for purchase, that's what "scrap" is for, but I never noticed as I never "confirmed" on the character selection screen before getting Mary. They are recolors, sadly, but they do come with special abilities. Running faster, increase in attack or defense. Etc. The bonuses are not the same from character to character, which I appreciate. ...I wish there was some sort of "point refund" system so I could try different builds or challenge runs. All in all? Pretty good. Takes a while to warm up but it's worth it.

I am a simple gamer. I like bouncy boobs, and blowing things up. This game is cheap and has both. I have it on my Androids too, which I was also happy to pay for. So there.

It's kinda like Smash TV, but you have a wrench... 30 story levels, 80 challenge maps, unlockable outfits (with stat boosts) and characters, upgradeable stats, unlockable fan art, and missions/achievements that give in-game rewards. Repetitive, but fun. Incredible single-person development effort, and good use of Unity, um, assets.

SMASHING THE BATTLE Game Difficulty: 3-5/10 Story Completion: 1-2 hours per character story Story Rating: 2/10 Gameplay Rating: 3/10 Soundtrack: 2/10 Achievement Difficulty: 3/10 (Time Consuming) Estimated 100% Time: 15-20 hours Reccomended Play Experience: Play through the first story only Overall Rating: 3/10 Overall Impression: A nice looking but boring, repetitive and aggravating one button hack'n'slash that you should only buy if it becomes less than $5 solely because it contains that much worth of unique content PRO'S - Cool artstyle and great character artwork (if a little fanservicey) CONS: - Awful, repetitive, simple gameplay - Monotonous soundtrack - Useless and boring upgrade system - Time consuming, aggravating game modes + achievements - Boring story - Little enemy variety which in turn creates little difference in combat styles - Garbage rating system and alternate game modes SMASHING THE BATTLE (StB) is a third person hack'n'slash game where you play as one of two cute anime girls in the ultimate goal of commiting genocide on helpless robots. That isn't the real story but it may as well be considering it is all you really ever do. There are two things you should know about this game. The first is that this is a Chinese mobile port. StB was originally a mobile game so you can already imagine how simple the gameplay is being ported to PC. The second thing is, yes, the is as pleasant to look at as it is in the screenshots. For the first hour you'll probably love the art style. For the next 10 you'll probably want to throw your monitor out the window. It's been a while since I completed this game so apologies for forgetting the character names but you play as anime chick #1 who is involved in a situation where a hacker has hacked all the robots in her workplace and you're given a power suit and a giant wrench to try and discover the hackers whereabouts and stop them. It's not an interesting story and is told through visual novel-esque popups, but the artwork of the characters is great so they aren't much of a nuisance. The second character story is unlocked after finishing the first but it's essentially the same only she infiltrates the workplace from the outside. The gameplay is VERY simple. This is very much a one button masher. You mash one button to hammer out a combo (the same combo every time) but you're also equipped with a pretty powerful overhead slash and 2 unique abilities that are different for both characters. Enemy variety is uncommon as there are probably only 8-10 different enemy types with bosses being bigger versions of a certain enemy. Enemies are not randomized so particular level will always have the same set of robots. As i've already started getting into the problems I think i'm just going to continue talking about them for the rest of the review. I really could go on forever but i'll try and keep it as short as possible. First problem: Repetition. The game is AGONIZINGLY repetitive. If you've played one hour you've played the whole game. Each characters story mode has 20 missions with a ranking system put in place (factored on special attacks and time). If you manage to make your way through that there is also a challenge mode with an ABSURD 120 (I think, it could be more) challenges for BOTH characters. Both characters challenges are literally exactly the same from 1-120. Second problem: Diversity. The game has none. While also a part of the problem above, the game has no diversity in gameplay for either character (you'll be mashing one button for both), the environments and arenas are ALL part of the same area (your underground factory which is essentially a bunch of floating metal paltforms), enemies come in waves of all the same enemy (or 2 different enemies) and you'll spend so much time asking yourself "have I played this level already". The answer is yes. You probably have. Third problem: Literally everything else. The upgrade system is boring. Pay money for slight increases in damage or health. The story is boring. The "extra" challenges are boring (you can sometimes press X on a stranded worker for a key that unlocks artwork). The achievements are boring AND time consuming. You have to essentially 3 star every story mode and challenge mission which in doing so will probably get you every achievement. Are you willing to put up with 15 hours of mashing X? The game is frustrating. Enemy attack hitboxes are absurd, later bosses can kill you with a full screen arena shockwave that is almost impossible to see coming as there is so much ♥♥♥♥ on the screen you're too busy trying to focus on kicking your desktop than playing the game. The soundtrack is the same heavy metal track played over and over. Oh, you can also get perma stunlocked in later levels so essentially if you're hit even once it's time to start the mission again. The positives? The unlocks are kinda cool and the artwork is great. The graphics seem great for a mobile game port and I never had any frame drops.

SMASHING THE BATTLE is a [b]VERY[/b] simple, smash'em'up tittle. What you see is what you get, nothing special, but at the same time, it has its charms. If you love what you see, get it, can't go wrong with this. There is no skill trees, no different weapons, nor equipments drops. You smash through the stages, get coins (for upgrading your stats), and scraps (for buying 8 different skins/costumes). You also get keys for unlocking lores, and fanarts. You get to play as 2 different characters. 1 is unlocked after finish the first one. Each has 110 stages to complete. (30 story / 80 challenge) Each character has 2 unique skills, and 3 basic skills. 1 move-set, 1 rolling attack. However, they are different in playstyles. You can find several power-ups during stages from boxes or enemies. Controls are responsive enough to keep you alive during the heavy fights, combat animations flow really well, although they lack some dynamics to keep the whole things fresh. Gameplay gets repetitive quickly, but still a good fun to play. Here is something which might be useful for your playthrough. * The multiple attack bonus can be earned by any [u]kills[/u] occurred at the same time. Sometimes, you don't need a skill to do it, but normal attack should do the trick. * The dodge roll in SMASHING THE BATTLE uses iFrame. However, Sarrah, and Mary's iFrame kick in, and end at the different dodge frames. So, your roll is not invincible. * Dodge roll is not always a must. At times, moving around is much safer. (may not seem this way in story mode, but challenge mode is) * Smashing attack (rolling attack) is strong. * If in-game hints mentioned that something is important, it is important. * The collisions can be weird at times. You can roll into the invisible wall sometimes, however, you can walk through that area normally, and start rolling again. * Achievements can be earned [u]after[/u] you gets your reward in the missions menu (can be accessed from main menu), and [u]leave[/u] the game. (they sync after quit) Here is some gameplay, much better than words. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=685661284 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=687175478

Here is my Review: Pros: + Nice Brawling + Simple combo mechanics + Easy to understand story + nice gimmicks and modes Cons: - nothing really to mention A nice game for short brawling-fighting-combo action. I had my fun with it. sadly i was too lazy to finish 100% achievements. 82% fun for me....

A simple mobile game-like with fanservice (disclaimer: nothing is wrong with fanservice) that gets repetitive quickly. I'd spend my time on something more engaging.

PRO'S: Sexy character design. Very T&A-centric Combat feels fun and satisfying. Story is decent. I enjoyed upgrading my characters stats and unlocking new outfits. New players should start upgrading their character as soon as they beat their first level. The game is much easier with decent stats. Tons of levels to complete. Characters have some interesting abilities CON's: All levels look the same. I'd love to see some stage variety in a sequel (forests, beaches, snow, streets etc). Both characters play similarly. Graphics could be a little better. A higher poly count on the girls curves would be nice. Level structure remains the same throughout the game (beat 2-3 enemy zone/arenas and then move onto the levels final boss). story presentation is very simple. The characters are always in the same animation throughout it. OVERALL A simple and fun game with sexy girls, that will keep you occupied for 10-15 hours. Good stuff.

A very simple and repetitive game. One button to attack, one to dodge. Characters can play some what differently from each other. Some things were not explained like what to do with the scrap you collect, it unlocks outfits that can provide different stat bonuses which was nice instead of them being purely for the "art style". Lots of unlockables including back story documents and fan art which I didnt bother to unlock all. The game sets itself to entice you to replay as much as possible for whatever your reason may be but after 5 hours of trying everything the game had to offer I still didnt feel the want to play more. Its not a bad game but does have its small flaws. It wouldnt be a bad game to pick up if it was on sale like I did and you just wanted to take a break from other games like I do and play something simple.