2 years ago
I came into Zoids Assault with high hopes, based on two things. First it was based on an 80's cartoon which I actually remember watching as kid.
The cartoon was part of the robot revolution started by the Transformers, and followed up with asian imports like Voltron, and its knock off Zoids. Second it's a turn based strategy game, and I was hoping it would be a 360 version of Advance Wars for the DS.
So let me start by saying, the game is long, unrewarding, and left me disappointed, and if I had any fond feelings from the show stashed away in the Saturday mornings of my child hood this game smashed them.
Zoids Assault is the latest output from Atlus and combines traditional RPG and turn-based strategy elements with the Zoid's franchise. Zoids Assault follows human pilots in giant mechanized robots shaped like animals.
The world is at war as the game begins. A cease fire is called, but then a group of Zoids comes under attack from an unknown source. The story starts off with five minutes of voice over dialogue over a static screen. Then it continues over anime style stills.
Hopefully you enjoy looking at them because they will be reused in future cut scenes.
So the game starts with you in control of a group of five Zoids taking on opposing Zoids. Each of the Zoids have their own special abilities and types, which are pretty basic video game fare. There is a long range gunner who can fire from a distance, a close range gunner, and a medic, who can heal itself and others. While these Zoids can be powered up, and modified with additional power, weapons, and paint jobs, these three types really are the only ones in the game. You get no choice of what side of the war you want to be on, and no different types to choose from.
So when the first mission starts you are given the basics (barely) on what to do and how the grid operation system works. Enjoy the direction while it lasts later missions don't give you much direction at all. I found my self doing a lot of long and drawn out trial and error which really cut down on the 'fun' factor.
There is something to be said about finally destroying an enemy Zoid that you lured into a trap with a carefully planned strategy. Which is good since thinking ahead and figuring out what an enemy is going to do is critical to winning a mission. I admit it lost, a lot. Taking hard losses after a long time on the battle field when enemy reinforcements arrive - which they will in almost every single mission.
This isn't a game for everyone. Especially since there are no hints to guide you, and there is only one level of difficulty. This extends the play time since there are only 15 levels, but that's not really a good thing.
One last word on replay-ability - there is no side missions no multi-player so when you are done with the 15 missions that's it. So to wrap up this game isn't terrible but it's definitely not good. It's missing a lot of elements from your traditional turn based strategy game. With no multi-player limited type differences, and only 15 missions, there just isn't a lot of depth to the game.
If you really loved Zoids as a kid you may get a kick out of running around a landscape in a giant Zoid lion or bull, but that won't last very long. The un-skippable repetitive cut scenes and confusing story will tire out an average gamer after a while. Unless you love incredibly difficult turn based games or Zoids, stay away.
So my game guys grade is a D- .
News10/KXTV
