We analyze the opera prima de RocketPunch, a 2D action title whose premise follows the guidelines set by the most popular series of wicks.
Many have been the anime series that over the years have marked a before and after in the genre of giant robots, offering plots that reflected the horrors of war, survival in extreme situations, self-improvement and Hope for a better future through the constant battles that its protagonists had to solve throughout the various episodes of which they consisted. Gundam, Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Macross, Full Metal Panic, Code Geass, Evangelion or Gunbuster are some of the reference names within the genre with more or less popularity within the landscape. In the world of videogames, on the other hand, both because of the adaptations that have been made of crossover series, such as the tactical role-playing franchise Super Robot Wars, as well as those of one of these series, some of them coming they to our homes as was the case of the Dynasty Warriors: Gundam or Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight, have been settling together with other original franchises that have tried to offer well differentiated proposals, the Zone of the Enders series being good examples from Konami, Armored Core from From Software or the Front Mission franchise from Square Enix.
On this occasion we have this new title, Hardcore Mecha, which intends to follow the guidelines set within the genre, especially in the development of its plot, while allowing the player to take control of a giant robot with which to wreak havoc between the enemies while fulfilling several objectives.
The plot of the game is located in a distant future where humanity has managed to colonize other planets, including Mars. The protagonist of the game is Tarethur O'Connell, pilot of the mechanized unit Thunderbolt S and member of the mercenary group Hardcore Mobile Task Force. This group is hired by the U.N.F. to rescue Lieutenant Aylatanya Kiruna, codename “A”, who has valuable information for and who, according to the information provided, is held by the renegade group of Steel Dawn mercenaries in the Mines 112 area of the Orcus colony of red planet, having slaughtered a good part of the staff and retaining those who have been left alive. Thus begins the adventure of Tarethur that will lead him to know the horrors of war while he will begin to question his priorities and confront the members of Steel Dawn who threaten to end peace on the planet.
The development of the game is carried out through several chapters divided in turn into phases in which the story will be developed: each of the phases will offer different playability style, ranging from piloting the Thunderbolt S to combat the enemy units, ranging from other wicks to assault vehicles and even foot units in certain cases, to the occasional one that will require controlling Tarethur using stealth and also fighting against various bosses, accumulating experience that will increase the character's level and also gain money with which to customize the mechanized unit and add new items and weapons.
Controlling the main wick of the game is extremely simple through the use of the left stick of the hand being able to press the X button to jump and stay in the air simply or with an accelerated movement using the impellers through the R1 button. The weapons available to the Thunderbolt S are of two types: fire, which is fired with the square button, and melee, with the triangle or circle button. The equipped fire armament can be exchanged for the different weapons that some of the demolished enemies are releasing, which translates into a wide variety of possibilities when facing enemies from rifles to flamethrowers through heavy machine guns or even grenade launchers . Using the R2 button the wick will stop and can be pointed more accurately using the right stick to set the direction of shooting, ideal in the case of targets that are far from normal reach. Finally, the final technique that is used by pressing the triangle and circle buttons together will vary and will vary depending on what is equipped, including variants such as the use of a bullet time or using an attack with a photon sword that will affect enemies that enters its range of action. As a prerequisite to use it, you will have to fill a bar at the bottom through attacks and defeating enemies until it is complete in its entirety, at which point it will shine.
In the inter-menu, at the end of each phase, you can access the development and configuration options of the Thunderbolt S to improve your combat performance. The first option will require having money, obtainable both by the enemies defeated in each phase and by destroying the different purple chests that will be in certain places of each of them, to invest in the available improvements. These are divided into three sections that include protection, to manufacture objects that improve the skills and parameters of the robot, arms, which will include improvements aimed at increasing the damage done and obtaining different final techniques, and finally additional weapons, which will allow them to be equipped as equipment extra but to unlock them will require as a previous step to find pieces that are hidden in certain phases of the game and also pay an amount of money. In the configuration section you can equip the unlocked improvements in five different categories: weapons, melee, final technique, items and finally the modifications. Throughout the game you can get the performance enhancement of the Thunderbolt S that will eventually allow you to equip more items in this menu.
Regarding the aforementioned items, they are elements that can be used to obtain support in combat, offering options such as restoring the robot's life bar until using remote control missiles or being able to place turrets that will shoot at the enemy when they are within reach. By equipping them there will be a minimum that can be used but as progress is made in each phase, additional ones can be obtained that will increase the amount when remaining in combat. On the other hand, to facilitate in part the progress in the game there will be repair units at certain points in each phase that will not only recover the robot's standard of living but also replenish the equipped objects.
On the other hand, in each phase a series of various secondary objectives will be offered when speaking with certain characters, which is done by pressing down on the digital crosshead, which will require certain conditions such as preventing civilians from being massacred by enemies. , do not eliminate any enemy unit when using stealth or finding a series of reports, which will be used to obtain additional money upon successful completion. Finally, at certain points Tarethur of the Thunderbolts S will have to be dismantled, by pressing the touch button on the remote control, in order to activate a computer with which to open access to other areas. At other points it will be necessary, on the other hand, to activate switches for the same purpose but with the difference that in some cases it will be necessary to play with certain factors, such as readiness or even aiming accurately, in order to move forward.
At the end of the game an additional mode called Simulation is unlocked in which the main objective will be to survive hordes of enemies without limits using a basic wick, which, in the first instance, will not have enough power to resist in combat. To do this, it will be necessary to improve its performance by accumulating combat experience which may be invested in increasing the parameters, including its resistance to shooting, firing power, physical attacks, reducing recharge time or carrying more ammunition among others. This in turn means improving the percentage of wick development in such a way that it will be possible, if the appropriate conditions are met, to unlock new additional units to pilot in this way, forming a total of more than 40 different ones, including the main ones seen in the story mode. Finally, in each wave different types of enemies will appear to each more powerful, including some special ones, denoted with a red icon on their head, which will be more difficult to defeat. For each wave completed, apart from accumulating experience, more if possible withstanding as much time as possible, a recovery object will be obtained and also the possibility of obtaining chests that will include new weapons to equip, although not immediately, and also additional parts .
The multiplayer mode of this title offers the possibility to face other players online, or in local mode, with up to four participants per game. Before starting to fight, you can choose, in principle, between five different units with different combat characteristics, such as the Thunderbolt S that specializes in assault, Crimson Flame whose strength is in melee attacks or the Viperid model that stands out for being a sniper-centered unit In turn you can select the type of pilot, among three possible variants, which can be deployed in combat by lowering your unit to attack the opponents. The goal of each game is to get the most points by defeating the rivals in all-against-all modes (Free for All) or team-to-death (Team Deathmatch). Experience points accumulate with each game that allow players to level up and unlock additional rewards, such as new piloting units or different color patterns.
In the playable aspect it is possible to say that the game is affordable and it does not take much effort to control the robot with ease when starting to play while mastering the combinations of weapons and techniques to face each phase and their respective bosses. Regarding the different styles of play, they do not pose a problem adapting to them and both fighting the different enemies that populate the areas of the game, such as passing through obstacles and activating switches to advance, stealth mechanics and cutting style Side scroll shoot'em up are implemented in such a way that it results in an experience that in the long run is addictive and entertaining.
Graphically the game boasts a 2D style section with a style similar to anime cut productions, capturing the development of the adventure through conversational sequences with portraits of characters on the one hand and animated illustrations at certain points of the plot by other. For their part, the characters have puppet movements that remind, in a certain way, of other titles such as Earth’s Dawn but with much more solid and better embodied animations. As for the design of the wicks, it can be said that some inspiration is noted in known anime series machines, taking as an example the Thunderbolt S that shows a clear inspiration in the classic Gundam robot. Regarding the characters, it should be said that it has an acceptable design and its development throughout the game, although not very deep, is interesting to follow.
Finally in the sound section, the game includes varied musical themes to accompany the game's action with different styles. They do not get to excel too much or stand out, but they do let themselves be heard. The only exception is in the main theme of the game, Dash & Strike, which is questioned by the well-known Japanese singer Hironobu Kageyama, known especially for his interpretation of the opening themes of Dragon Ball Z and also of other animated series, such as the case of Shin Getter Robo. With regard to voices, the game only includes dubbing in the Japanese language.
CONCLUSION
Hardcore Mecha is, in short, an interesting proposal both for lovers of the action genre with touches of the platform and for lovers of the series of fuses, offering some details that inspire them and also as a tribute to them. Both for its story mode and for the simulation mode, with enough hours of play ahead unlocking new robots, and the online game mode, the title offers a complete gaming experience that will give for many hours of play.
THE BEST
- The story mode, which takes references and inspiration from the traditional anime series of the genre of wicks.
- The simulation mode, which offers many hours of play ahead unlocking and improving each of the wicks.
- It is playably simple to play and master as well as being addictive.
- Very playable both for the story mode and for the simulation and multiplayer mode.
WORST
- Texts in English.
- Some difficulty peaks at certain moments of the game.
Very good
Remarkable game that we will enjoy and remember. A good purchase, highly recommended for lovers of the genre. It is well taken care of at all levels.
