Rebelstar Tactical Command [GBA]

[Jealous Deva]

You must all go buy this game.

Now.

It's by the guys who did x-com.

Take Final Fantasy Tactics' graphics engine, put in a Fire Emblem like story campaign, then make the whole thing run on x-com's combat system lifted whole cloth, psionics and everything, with a fleshed out skill/leveling system (but still retaining X-Com's organic random stat gains, so your characters will be different each time through).  I got it today, it is quite nice.



Edit:  Bah, I don't know how but I accidently posted this to the wrong forum, can a mod please move it?

[schild]

I plan on getting it next week actually a couple days before Katamari 2 comes out. ^_^

[Trippy]

You must all go buy this game.

Now.

It's by the guys who did x-com.

WTF? X-Com on the GBA? I am so buying this game. Thanks!

Jeez, it's only $19.99 as well.

[Alkiera]

It'd be nice if people would post which system a game is for when they post about it.

GBA games, now, I'm definately interested in.  This looks pretty cool.

Alkiera

[Daydreamer]

Buy it just so that they make a DS sequel.

Imagine:  X-com with a permanent split Strat/Tac view.  Strat map running in slow real time on the top screen while you fight a turn based tac battle on the bottom screen.  Win the tac battle, take a minute to upgrade gear/skills, tweak your setup in the strat map and then speed up time until the next tac battle begins.  Trigger story sequences after certain bases are captured/convoys destoryed, perhaps timed events as well, each one opening up new areas/targets on the strat map.

Rinse.  Lather.  Repeat.  DROOL.

[Murgos]

Crap.  I need a GBA.  Why?  There is an X-Com shortcut on my desktop. 

[schild]

It'd be nice if people would post which system a game is for when they post about it.

Added a system tag to a couple recent threads. But really, you should have just looked at the news box in the upper-right - which I update every sunday.

[Ezdaar]

The only drawback to this is that it's tactical combat only. There is no planet screen like in X-Com. You go from site to site in a story arc.

[Yegolev]

The only drawback to this is that it's tactical combat only. There is no planet screen like in X-Com. You go from site to site in a story arc.

This is like saying there's no lettuce on your hamburger.

[Ezdaar]

Some of us found the strategic game in X-Com to be the best part. Leave that out entirely and you still have a good game but not nearly as good as it could be. So more like leaving everything off the burger but the patty and bun.

[Yegolev]

I agree more or less, but more importantly I don't know why the fuck those shiteating Gollops can't make that game for a real system.

[Margalis]

I am waiting for reviews, but I will probably get it unless they are really bad.

[Jain Zar]

I agree more or less, but more importantly I don't know why the fuck those shiteating Gollops can't make that game for a real system.

Some would say the GBA is the most real system out there.  Not being for the 3d whores certainly helps.  Being owned by a metric shitwad of people helps too.

I should be ordering this game next week.

[Ezdaar]

I think it mostly has to do with the cost of production. You can get away with nice looking 2D graphics on the GBA, you can't do so on the PC unfortunately.

[Margalis]

Exactly. If it was say a PC game they would have to spend ten times as much on art budget, and throw their programming behind shaders, 3D animations, etc. The fact is in most games the order is:

Production > technical features >> gameplay.

So often when you are on a system that gives you more room for production and features, the actual gameplay ends up being shortchanged. Whereas GBA games have a low ceiling on production value and techinical wizz-bang and thus must differentiate based on actual quality.

If they released this game on a console of PC basically unchanged, it would sell no copies. If they wanted it to sell they would have to hugely increase the budget, production time, etc.

[Descended]

Does it have reaction shots and terrain reveal only by line of sight?

[Ezdaar]

From the reviews I have read it definitely has overwatch fire so yes on the reaction shots. Also it hides enemies not in LOS, not sure about terrain though.

As soon as I can find an EBStop I'll pick it up and write up a bit more.

[Yegolev]

GBA Love

I suppose I'd be more optimistic if I was familiar with more games that have moved to the GBA that were improvements over the original.  FFTA?  I'll be very happy to be proven wrong, but someone already mentioned that they cut the planetary map in this version.  I also become somewhat irascible when someone tells me that a developer has to use the bells and whistles of a modern PC when programming a game for it, but from a marketing perspective I get it.  Doesn't mean I like it.

[Margalis]

Advance Wars on GBA is as good or better than the old similar games like Military Madness, Earthlight, etc. Same with Fire Emblem.

I doubt this game will be strictly better than XCom, but not many games are. It will probably be better than Fallout:Tactics though. (Hard to be worse)

[Murgos]

Watched the little video here: http://rebelstar.namco.com/screens.php

It, um, looks like X-Com.  Slight change in graphics but otherwise very, very similar.

[Moatman]

I took the plunge on this one on release day, looked like even if I didn't like the story or campaign, I could just have some skirmish battles for fun.

After about 10 or so missions(half of which were tutorial missions) I have to say it's pretty decent and enjoyable.  The main storyline is kind of so-so, the fact that the entire campaign is either some backgrounds with talking heads between tactical fights and the tactical fights themselves, that's it(so far at least.)

The game has overwatch, you can pick your attack type and see what your "intiiative" is in regards to the attack type you pick.   The line of sight is only for enemies(automatically pause movement on sighting an enemy) so the terrain is always visible.  There is also a pretty simplistic skill/leveling system and quite a variety of weapons.  You can loot the weapons from beaten enemies, trade items amongsts your troops, and rally the troops to boost morale(with some command skill) and even use smoke grenades to cover your movement, as some examples.  You can enter buildings, there are windows, and some of the of the terrain/buildings are destroyable, but buildings only have one level. 

Enjoying it quite a bit so far, it's a nice alternative to advance wars: dual strike(also in my ds, so I can play the style I want) and the tactics games.  Some people who needs the world-view and base building aspects may not enjoy it, or people put off by very simplistic graphics, but if you can get past those aspects you should have a fun time(based on my experiences so far at least, about 5 hours in all including restarting some failed missions...including tutorial ones, they aren't all easy)

[Yegolev]

Watched the little video here: http://rebelstar.namco.com/screens.php

It, um, looks like X-Com.  Slight change in graphics but otherwise very, very similar.

Looks like Dofus to me.  Graphical improvements are good.  I'll probably get it anyway and wonder why it is a subset of X-COM gameplay.  If it is a succulent subset, I will forgive.  Probably better than Apocalypse?

[Aenovae]

[Yegolev]

Mmmm... yaoi.

[Alkiera]

Huh?  The last 2 posts make no sense.

Alkiera

[Daydreamer]

Allow me to explain the nomenclature of the more explict side of anime

*Holds his hands out, palm down*

This is Hentai
*closes his hands into fists, one loose with the thumb in, one tight with the thumb out and pointed at the other hand*

This is Yuri
*closes both his hands into loose fists, with thumbs tucked in*

This is Yaoi
*Closes both his hands into tight fists, with thumbs point out towards the other hand*

Questions?

[Alkiera]

Yes.  My question is... what is homoerotic about a fully-dressed person lying in bed next to an open window, who dreams about aliens he's never seen?

I mean, I have enough of a mind for the twisted that I got Daydreamer's definitions, but don't see anything strange about that picture... Yeg, your definition for Hentai is wrong.  Hentai is not normal hetero sex... Hentai is all the kinky perverted stuff, tentacles, etc.... hence why we think it's so messed up.  The Japanese know this too, that's why it's called hentai.  Americans tend to refer to all Japanese animated porn as 'hentai', tho, 'cause we're a)prudes in general, and b)not well informed.

Alkiera

[Jain Zar]

And way too much of it is all freaky and FUBAR.

I have no problem with cartoon porn.  Its all the squicky freaky stuff that seems to be a prerequisite for Japanese porn, animated or live action that freaks me out.

Im sure there are some that involve sex between 2 consenting adults, but it doesn't exactly seem to be the majority..   

[Yegolev]

I was just being funny.  Thanks to my wife's library, whenever I see a certain art style I am reminded of Youka Nitta or some such yaoi artist.  It also helps that he looks like a uke.

Check the post names again.

[Kail]

Sorry to necro this, but I'm stuck...

I've beaten all the maps listed in the map selection for "Skirmish Mode," and got what I assume is the ending, but after that is a mission called "Sand Pit," which I can't figure out how to beat.  There's no intro to the mission, it just dumps you right into the equip screen, so I don't know what I'm doing there.  I've killed everyone on the map (as far as I can tell) but the mission won't end.  For objectives, I've got something like "Jorel must survive" and "Jorel must get to the south building before the final turn," but I've sat in every building with every squad member (including Jorel), but I'm never completing the mission.

Am I missing something?

[ahoythematey]

Not that far yet, what with other stuff, but are you sure you killed every enemy instead of one basically being missed as both you and it move around the map?

[Kail]

Fairly sure, yeah.  I have the game saved at turn 20 or so (time limit is 50 turns) and I've run down the clock from there three times, once with four of my guys sitting out in the open for the last thirty turns while Jorel jogged from building to building, and none of them saw anyone.  Also, I don't get the little "enemy turn" thing anymore, I just hit "End Turn" and it goes right to the next turn screen("Rebels, turn XX/50, press start").  I'm not sure about how stealth works, though, so maybe there's someone wearing a cloaking device or something, is what I'm thinking (I don't think I've come across one of those, nor do I know how to use the one I have).

[Margalis]

I looked at Gamefaqs briefly, there is a thread there about that level...nobody there can figure it out either. Apparently the game has a few bugs, people are theorizing the level is just bugged or is just a level you can experiment on.

[Strazos]

RE: Hentai

I thought Manga was the messed up stuff?

[Margalis]

Manga is just comic books. Hentai is porn comics/anime.