When it came out on PC last year, the space combat title Strike Suit Zero didn’t do so well. This had a lot to do with the game’s seriously unbalanced difficulty, among other issues. But now, after making some much-needed changes, and with the help of a busy fan community, it looks like they’ve been able to turn this ambitious disappointment into a game worth playing after all.
The Battle for Earth, Version 2299
While the main plot in the “director’s cut” has been reworked a good deal compared to the PC version, it’s still nothing new. Planet Earth is once again involved in an interstellar conflict, this time in the year 2299. The game allows players to pilot various spacecraft, including the “Strike Suit”, a combat vehicle with the ability to transform into a robot, in order to fend off the threat posed by rebels in control of a powerful extraterrestrial artifact. Otherwise, the 13-mission single player campaign and the five extra missions in the Heroes of the Fleet DLC don’t really offer anything we haven’t already seen in countless other space games. Six to ten flight hours are broken up only by boring radio dialogues with characters as forgettable as they are emotionless, and it’s all tied together with an endless string of tired clichés. The storyline gives us a universe that’s even colder than it is in real life.
Flying mechas
On the other hand, the gameplay in Strike Suit Zero is a whole lot of fun, and will have your fingers busy. Perhaps the most important change since the original PC version is that they’ve toned down the difficulty, and you can tell. Still, the game is a real challenge, even on easy. This is no dull shoot-‘em-up where you’re facing off against wave after wave of enemies; rather, it has you using tactics and intelligence to make the most effective use of your weapons systems and abilities. Enemy forces even include huge battleships and star cruisers with formidable offensive and defensive systems you’ll have to disarm.
These engagements are a whole lot of fun – one situation has you in a massive battle defending your own fleet against incoming missiles while enemy fighters come at you firing everything they’ve got. Shooting down enemies gets you “flux”, which you can use to temporarily transform your ship into a robot, allowing you to deal significantly more damage (though your own defenses will be a good deal weaker). A good targeting system makes a pilot’s job a lot easier, and the one in Strike Suit Zero lets you switch back and forth between enemy targets with the push of a button. Also, make sure to keep an eye on your shields, armor, and energy, otherwise you’ll end up having to restart from one of the automatic save points. Missions are diverse, but for the most part they will have you either destroying something or defending something. Unfortunately, you’re not free to explore the environment, but are strictly bound to eliminating certain targets. You do have a choice of pulling off your precise maneuvers in third-person perspective or from a first-person cockpit view.
Technical Improvements
The graphics in this version have seen a good deal of improvement. Textures, ship models, lighting, and explosion effects all look a lot nicer than in the PC version. Unfortunately they haven’t added animated character portraits, and the dull radio conversations are still flatter and more lifeless than they should be. Every now and then there’s some jerkiness, but it doesn’t disturb the flow of the game much at all. As a side note, the robots were designed by Junji Okubo, who made his mark with 2002’s Steel Battalion. Developers who worked on 1999’s Homeworld are responsible for the game’s impressive soundtrack, which has just the right kind of atmospheric feel for a space game. Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut is available as a download only.
Official Strike Suit Zero: Director´s Cut Trailer
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