It's a simple, fun, tiny RTS with components of Inventory Management and Random encounters.
Lovely little RNG based stat system. with a little fixing this could be a fantastic game.
Let me begin by saying, the $10 price tag is perfect. I would say I believe it's worth more, but I fear that once I do that, the price will go up. So if you were on the fence about it, the answer is "Yes, it's definitely worth every cent."
I know the class system is still a work in progress and it even states that in the game. However, I feel that until it is refined enough to utilize, I should at least not be notified, in game, that I have unused skill points; because they will remain unused until the system is activated. There was at the time of this initial review, no way to unlock new skills.
And I did get hit with 3 random encounters in a row early game, like barely out of the tutorial, which almost screwed my campaign over completely before even getting started. Even though I had a "Low" chance each and every time. My characters could barely recover.
CONS, because you deserve the bad news first:
-The stealth level, no tutorial, not even an explanation of how stealth works, would've been nice.
-Cutscene audio, is apparently not controlled by the in game audio settings, minor inconvenience, really.
-Medics, should be able to heal anyone bleeding out in combat, there's no clear mechanic for this.
-Backpacks, every one of my characters has a Backpack slot Modifier. The backpacks themselves have a base slot of +2. So, why does my stat modifier not modify my stat further, if I have someone who has +6 backpack slots, when they equip a backpack at +2 slots, it should be a total of +8 slots, instead it is only 6. Also, what kind of a backpack only has 2 inventory slots?
-Why does body armor make my character not run? This one is just dumb, there are no other words to describe this mechanic.
-Had a guy shoot me through an obstacle that my units could not. I know this because I sent one of my units around said obstacle and they met at the corner, either there was a small glitch on their side of the rock, but that was kind off-putting.
-Weapon maintenance: This is a bit weird, because my medic can heal others while in camp, but if I want to repair a weapon, I need to transfer it to someone with a Repair Kit and scrap metal. While this mechanic makes sense, it also means constantly having to fumble weapons an ammo around just in case you get stuck in one of those random encounters. There should be a mechanic for basic cleaning, which does not require parts, and typically can keep a firearm running functionally for, well, basically forever.
PROS:
-Gameplay itself is smooth
-The ability to speed the game up and slow it down is nice, especially when you have to run a scenario a few times, and are now stuck running you guys across the available map because you messed up. Or are trying to line up that perfect initial shot to start the scenario.
-I love the line of sight indicators. Extremely helpful getting people into position.
-I appreciate that the proficiency system makes my characters very effective with their firearms, something satisfying about having your character use a gun a few times and then be able to hit every shot.
-I know the class system is still a work in progress, but I didn't see a whole bunch of classes, but it was a nice sneak peak at how each one appears to improve. (I hope there'll be more!)
-Realistic weapon conditions. I know I addressed this as a con, but it's also a positive thing that most other games, mostly FPSs, don't address because it's simply not something to consider. But I will reiterate the Weapon Cleaning aspect here, too, because anyone can do it, even, basically just a quick rub down with a piece of cloth can prevent many, many problems.
-The "Sound waves" when moving and shooting are a fantastic touch, especially with every weapon I've encountered so far not being suppressed in any way. (Doubt there are any, but who knows)
-The "Field Manual" allows for refreshers on specific subjects very quickly, which can mean the difference between winning and losing that battle. Besides, have you ever had to go back to the instructions in another game and just been lost?
Finally, if you read down this far, just some tidbits that I would personally like to see:
-Weapon Cleaning (As if you didn't see this one coming.)
-The ability to rummage through an ally's backpack. (Especially for first aid kits, since every soldier should have their own.)
-The ability to vault over some terrain obstacles. (It just doesn't make sense for my guys to have to walk around a waist high or even chest high wall/downed column.)
-I noticed different ammo and weapon color indicators. Some appear to indicate the overall state, orange for "♥♥♥♥♥♥" (That's actually the in game word) weapons and Surplus ammo. While the blue (Ammo is the only thing I have found) appears to be for a specific purpose/better ammo. Is there a function that this plays in game? Does my surplus ammo degrade my gun faster? Does my ♥♥♥♥♥♥ gun degrade faster?
I think that's all for now. I can update this review as things come along.
