Navigation
Recently, I received my review copy of Battle Engine Aquila – a game that previously was only available on consoles. I wanted to try this game out for a while on PS2, but am glad I waited until now. So many games are out now, but none of them have the feeling of futuristic war like this one. You fight in a Jet/Spider walker that transforms into either type, and can choose a couple different variants that have new sets of weapons and different advantages.
I've never played many Arcade games on the PC in the past, but this is probably one of the best arcade simulations I will most likely ever have the chance of enjoying to the full extent. It has a ton of missions according to what I had experienced, split up across 7 chapters. The missions all vary in objectives, for example: in one mission you escort some boats, while in the next one you have to help invade an island. There are also secondary objectives, which (if completed) give you a better rank on the level, and open up plenty more goodies.
There are a lot of goodies in this game, concept art, seen in-game movies, unit descriptions, and yet more concept art. These make you want to play through all of the levels and get the master S rank on all of them. Ranks are assigned after you finish a mission, and based on how “elite” you did on it, gives you a better overall rank and more goodies. It's not particularly easy or extremely hard to get an S rank, you just can't stop for coffee in mid-battle or else you sacrifice an S or A rank. You also don't do missions alone; later in the game you can use different squad mates that have different advantages and disadvantages, which help a lot against the massive enemies. Not only do you get squadmates, but you fight along tanks, missile launchers, bombers, fighters, ground troops, and many more units in the fight against evil. The enemy has all of the same, plus Bosses, and newer technology. Among these weapons of war, I loved the swarm-rockets the most, they swarm out and attack multiple targets with deadly accuracy. I was really impressed at this fast paced gameplay while being backed up by an army.
If you stop to look at the scenery and units, then you're in for a beautiful surprise. The tanks and aircraft are extremely detailed, and the infantry are fluid in running and shooting. The water isn't reflective, but it does show sunlight shining on it, and it looks so fluid and gooey – it's awesome. The units gleam with a reflection of the sun, and so do the buildings. The geometry is also very well done, no glitches in the terrain as far as I've noticed, and the foliage doesn't mess anything up. Overall while the graphics are not stunning, they're more than decent for a console port.
I was amazed by how well my computer handled this game: barely any jerkiness or hiccups in framerate – all maxed out options, and it ran silky smooth. I also loved how it performed with two of these “Aquila” engines on the same screen in Multiplay. Speaking of which, there is no Internet play: only two people using the same system and different keys to move and attack, although I think it could've immensely benefited from Internet play support. Playing on one computer can be fun – or completely messed up, because two people playing on one keyboard is hard. Either way, it still rocks playing with two people on a computer, especially with an awesome arcade game like this.
Along with smooth compatibility, there is fluid sound. The sounds of War surround you in the later levels – explosions, war cries, and gunshots. Although most of the time you will be too busy to hear all of these, you can hear your own gunshots over them all. Mostly, all of your 'Aquila's' weapons' gunfire sounds, all sound generic. From Machine-Guns to Rail Guns, they just sound oddly put together. Although, with all of the time and focus on war, I didn't listen much to the weapon sounds. Could have been improved, but not bad overall.
Conclusion:
Overall, I think this game has a lot of replayability and very nice graphics; it could very well be Arcade Game of the Year, even if it isn't groundbreaking enough. I enjoyed Battle Engine Aquila very much, and I thank Encore for letting me review this unique experience of a game. I have found the one fast-paced game that has enough action and war going on to fill my hunger – and fighting with fellow troops makes me love this game so much more.
