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    Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor

    Game » consists of 2 releases. Released Jun 19, 2012

    A reboot of the Steel Battalion series, bringing the series's complex cockpit control mechanics to the Xbox 360 using a combination of both the standard Xbox 360 controller and the Kinect's motion controls.

    Short summary describing this game.

    Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor last edited by Nes on 02/18/19 08:46AM View full history

    Overview

    Much of the game's focus is inside the cockpit of the VT
    Much of the game's focus is inside the cockpit of the VT

    Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor (known in Japan as Juutekki: Steel Battalion) is a Kinect-centric sci-fi mecha combat simulation game developed by FromSoftware and published by Capcom for the Xbox 360 in North America (on June 19, 2012), Japan (on June 21, 2012), and Europe (on June 22, 2012).

    A reboot of the Steel Battalion series, Heavy Armor brings the series complex controller mechanics and cockpit view to the Xbox 360 using a combination of the standard Xbox 360 controller (for general movement and firing) and the Kinect peripheral (for specific actions inside the cockpit using motion control). Unlike previous Steel Battalion games, each Vertical Tank (VT for short) now has a four-man crew to aid the pilot (reminiscent of World War II tanks), forcing players to coordinate with their crewmates and even filling in their duties (if they die or become injured).

    The game is set in the year 2083, six decades after a catastrophic event (due to a "silicon-eating microbe") destroyed all modern technology and reduced military technology to rudimentary weapons (reminiscent of World War II). After a major war (known as "World War III"), China becomes the world's newest superpower (after a major war known as "World War III") and uses the new United Nations to dominate the world. Players control VT crew leader Sgt. Winfield Powers as he is conscripted by the United States military to re-take the continental United States (and eventually liberate Europe).

    Gameplay

    Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor is played entirely from a first person perspective. The player controlled character spends most of the time inside a Vertical Tank, though there are some sequences outside the VT. While in the VT, basic movement, aiming, and weapon firing are controlled with a standard controller, using standard shooter controls. Everything else, however, is controlled with the Kinect. Everything from lowering a periscope, to changing ammunition types, to (supposedly) fist bumping people is controlled via the Kinect.

    Anatomy of a VT

    • "Juicer": The handle to the bottom right of the screen starts up the VT after the left loader (or, in some cases, the player) has hand cranked the engine to life.
    • Viewport: A tiny window in the center of the cockpit. Moving up to it is usually the best viewpoint from which to navigate and engage enemies at closer ranges. Lights on either side of the viewport alert the player to the status of their left and right weapons.
    • Armored Shutter: The glass on the viewport tends to break after some damage, leaving the player exposed to fire that could kill them instantly. Closing the shutter with the handle above the viewport will protect the player, but the viewport is useless with it on, rendering the mission almost impossible to complete with the player essentially blind thanks to this questionably thought-out mechanic.
    • Periscope: Grabbing the periscope above offers a zoomed-in view that lets you scope the scene from afar and target distant enemies. The periscope also has a tendency to become damaged as well. The glass can crack, obscuring your view, and the crosshair might become inaccurate for long range affairs if damaged enough.
    • High Speed Lever: Pulling this lever (at the bottom left of the screen) increases the movement speed at the expense of stable aiming. After some use, the engine might overheat, disabling high speed temporarily while smoke visibly comes off the front of the VT.
    • Main Cannon: Fires shells with the Right Trigger by default. The right loader handles loading the shells in the cannon; if he is incapacitated, the player has to load each shell themselves to keep using it.
    • Ammunition Buttons: Players use these two buttons placed in front of the viewport to select between Armor Piercing (AP) or HEAT (HE) rounds for their main cannon. AP rounds have a high payload for hitting heavily armored targets like other VTs. HE rounds have a smaller payload but a bigger explosion good for lightly armored vehicles or groups of infantry.
    • Autocannon: A heavy machine gun effective against infantry and lightly armored vehicles. The left loader handles the gun magazines to keep it loaded; if incapacitated, every time the magazine empties, the player has to manually removed the empty magazine and load in a new one to continue using it.
    • Monitor: Pulled out of the left side of the screen. Can be toggled to show either a map or four camera views representing each side of the VT. Can be a very desperate last resort for navigation if your viewport and periscope become unusable.
    • Bank Panel: Pulled out of the right side of the screen, the bank panel features a few miscellaneous functions. The switch up top toggles headlights (and some other special features like night vision for the periscope if equipped). The handle at the bottom vents smokes from the cockpit, preventing death by smoke asphyxiation. Lifting the plastic hatch and pressing the big red button on the left side triggers self-destruct, which acts essentially as a restart mission button.
    • Instrument Panel: Information available at the center and bottom of the screen include ammo counts, fuel, speed, engine temperature, and damage lights indicating the state of various sections of the VT.
    • Top Hatch: The player can stand up and out of the top of the VT to have a view of the battlefield unobstructed by the VT cockpit. The player can also lift a pair of binoculars to their face for a zoomed in view. Standing out of the top hatch is a very vulnerable position to be as a stray bullet can instantly kill a player. It's good to make sure it's safe before standing out of it.
    • And more...: Some of the parts of the VT can be changed and upgraded with parts earned through cooperative missions or DLC, such as camoflauge, platoon logos, leg joints for better turning rates, a higher quality monitor, or a pretty picture for inside your cockpit your crew to look at. Some specific equipment even add more controls to the cockpit. Rear equipped weapons add a fire button above the monitor and special ammo can be loaded with a button at the top of the bank panel.

    Multiplayer

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    Specific missions in each campaign are playable in a cooperative mode with 4 players. Missing players are replaced with AI. Scores are tallied up with kills while points can be lost when a player is destroyed. One player is designated as the team leader; if the team leader goes down, the mission is automatically aborted. The team is rewarded with a letter grade, and each mission has unlockable equipment to customize VTs with depending on what letter grade was received.

    Downloadable Content

    Emblem Pack (Free): Released at launch, it includes various emblems to customize the VT with including fan-made emblems as well as emblems for magazines or organizations like IGN and Game Informer.

    Map Pack 1 (240 MSP): Release on July 3, 2012, it includes two new missions playable in cooperative play: "Fuel Requisition" (a night time fuel depot raid) and "Mountain Sentinels" (an assault on heavy artillery in the mountains.) Each mission, like the cooperative missions in the main title, have three unlockable parts for use on a VT.

    Map Pack 2 (240 MSP): Release on July 17, 2012, it includes two new missions playable in cooperative play: "Ammo Dump Jump" (a desert raid on a spread out ammo depot) and "The Champ-de-Mars" (a strike on an array of spotlights underneath the Eiffel Tower.) For owners of Map Packs 1 and 2, a bonus mission is also unlocked called "Whiteout" (an train assault during a blizzard.) Each mission, like the cooperative missions in the main title, have three unlockable parts for use on a VT.

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