Every so often a good game is released that doesn't cause much of a ripple. For some reason it just never takes off with the gamers or it doesn't get the hype need to push it along. Battle Engine Aquila is one of those games. It was released early in 2003 and got a smattering of decent reviews and then dropped off the screen. It's now available new or used for under $30 and it's a game well worth considering for Xbox fans. It features a good combination shooting and strategy with some very nice graphics set in a sci-fi war on another planet.
Game Play
For purposes of game play, Battle Engine Aquila is walking mechanized unit that can transform itself into a jet. You are a one-man army that works with allied armed forces in a support role. As a player, your job in the Battle Engine is to assist ground troops in various tactical battle situations. While you can't command your troops, they know where to go. If you see a weakness in a line, blast a hole in and they'll follow through the gap. On the other hand, if a strong force of tanks is about to bust through your lines, you can go smash them before they get through. The action can get quite intense with lots of "pots on the stove" and things to do. In some instances you'll be called to knock out enemy guns, then ordered to stop various armored assaults or fend off a squadron of bombers. (My only complaint here is that these various assaults come at timed intervals each time you play a particular mission. Too bad they couldn't be random to give better replay value.)
The Battle Engine is loaded with weapons from pulse canons (which drain energy) to micro missiles and grenades. Control and selection is easy and based on the now familiar control scheme of Halo. You see the world in first person display through a targeting HUD. It's very easy to press a button and transform your mech into a jet, but this drains energy so you only have so much time to fly and fight before you will have to land, which regenerates power. (There are also power pads around to land on to restore power and armor.)
Battle Engine Aquila is mission based, with boatload of missions to complete. These include timed objectives, escort duty and specific targeted objectives, among many others. There are 50 missions altogether with increasing difficulty levels as you progress through the game. The balance is good and it never becomes either too easy or too difficult. You are graded after completing each one and you can go back and play it again for a higher score.
One thing I do like about this game play--although you are playing a one-man army, your fellow solders, with tanks and aircraft will help you out in the heat of battle. That seems to be a missing element in a lot of games of this genre and it's nice to get some help when it's needed. |
Graphics
The graphic design for a game like this is very good. Not ground breaking but not sub-generation either. Graphically the game reminds me of the first released Xbox mech game, Gun Metal (in fact the game play is reminiscent of it too), in the using of texturing and lighting
that gives a "self illuminated" look on some of the objects. The ground textures are nicely done with grass, dirt roads, fields and lots of foliage. Mostly everything is destructible from the buildings to the trees, which can be knocked over. When a building for unit is destroyed, it'll go up in flames and various piece of debris will fly about but then fade from view. Most of the action seems to take place on islands so naturally there is a lot of water about, which is nicely rendered with waves and ripples.
The frame rate is pretty good and it's really something to fly around a battlefield, see the dozens of troops, tanks and other vehicles moving and locked in combat, on the ground and in the air, with missile trails and explosions, with little slow down. Sometimes panning the view around will get a bit jumpy but that's a minor compliant compared to what all is going on around you.
The really nice thing about the graphics of this game is that it gives you the sense of a huge battle, taking place all around you. There are several different types of aircraft from fighters to bombers, many different ships from troop carriers to battleships, and all manner of vehicles from tanks and mechanized artillery to walking mech units. All of the units are moving about all around you, the good guys in blue and the bad guys in red.
Sound
The score is largely forgettable and the voice acting is decent. It goes get odd after a while to hear your commander call you "son" when giving you a mission assignment. Lets just say the sound effects, explosions and so forth, are good for a game like this and leave it at that.
Overall
Battle Engine Aquila is a much over looked game for the Xbox. While it may not be as great as Halo or graphically as impressive as Panzer Dragoon Orta, the game play is the big draw here. It has a lot of the game play mechanics seen in Gun Metal and Mech Assault, although this is a much better game with greater depth. It features multiplayer so you can go at it with friends. So by all means, give it a try. It's cheap so it won't put much of a dent in your wallet.
4/5 |
