Customer Reviews

Robotech: Battlecry

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This game is one of the best action games I've played since Contra way back in the old days on the 8-bit NES. It's a good solid shooter with a great setting.

Gameplay: The game centers around piloting a transformable mech called a Veritech to protect the human race by blasting hundreds of alien Zentreadi into tiny bits. The controls are quite easy to get into and yet have a lot of depth (it will take many hours of playing before you feel like a master pilot).
All three forms, the fighter jet, the battloid (robot form), and guardian (hybrid of the two), handle very uniquely and make the game more interesting than a normal shooter. Strategy and some trial and error is required to be successful in many missions.

Graphics: The game uses cell-shading technology to make the game look like the actual Robotech anime, and in my opinion looks fantastic. Environments range from ground and air battles on a post-apocolyptic earth to massive dogfights in outer space (which are the best looking). Some backgrounds lack detail but overall the game looks great, especially the veritech itself.

Sound: The sound, while not entirely faithful to the sounds from the anime, are mediocre and neither enhance nor hurt the game. The engine and missile sounds are great but others like the gun cannon and enemy lasers sound generic. Probably the only real weak point of the game.

Value: While you could rent this game and probably beat it in a few days, there are good reasons to buy it. For one thing it features a cool award system where you gain access to special unique mechs and paint designes by completing specific tasks, such as killing 50 scout pods or finishing a certain boss mission 3 times. These will take some time to accomplish and extend the games lifespan, which is already 40 missions long.
After completing the story mode, the "versus" mode is also unlocked, allowing two players to go head to head in various maps.

All-together: It's hard to imagine anyone with two hands and 10 fingers who is capable of holding the controls not liking this game once they play it. Even watching it is entertaining enough. 5 Stars

I am a major Mech combat fan and love the idea of transforming mechs so I went out to buy the game as soon as possible and this is what I found dissapointed me.

The gameplay in this game is... Non consistant. You cant say weather its good or bad becuse it changes with eatch level. On one mission you are sent in to bombard enemy instalations, that is FUN. but on another you are told to basicaly fly around in a big circle with NO enemys for 30mns for 'recon' Its also pretty stupid how if you use any other mode then fighter in the air you will be picked apart just like if you use any other mode then the robot on the land.

The story and missions pretty much suck untill you get to the 5th chapter and, geuss what? YOUR ALMOST DONE WITH THE GAME. Untill then all the missions pretty much require you (alone by the way) to defend someone/something against about 300 guys on a level. Well this isnt impossible it dos get boring after about the second chapter.

The saveing grace for this game is the versus mode. once you unlock all the veritechs, super armor and ground armor it is one of the best 2p games ive seen. Each player choose there vertech, the menuverable armor or the 'I cant move but I dont need to' kind. Then you fly out into large worlds with full transformation features. get 2 skilled pilots together and this game rocks!

Closeing comments: I beat this game and unlocked all but 2 medals in a rental. The story pretty much sux but the veritechs are awsome. Get this game for the 2p version. Sorry to dissapoint you Robotech fans, buy the DVD.

As a Fan of Robotech since I was in the 6th grade (many, many years ago), I may be a little biased. However, I try to rate games from a objective point of view. That said, I'm absolutly addicted to this game. I wasn't overly impressed when I first opened it up last week. The targeting in battloid mode is automatic, and doesn't have the 1st person controls I've grown to expect from games like Halo. That said, I quickly got used to it, and its no longer a problem. That was my only gripe. Otherwise, the cell-shaded graphics are great, and the music is from the television series, also great.
Its pretty obvious that the creators of this game are big fans of the series. the majority of it takes place after the Zentradi battle that decimated the earth. Many of the fights take place in small townships or ruined cities...everything you'd expect from a world that has mostly been destroyed.
This being said, I believe someone who is new to the show will like the game once they get used to the controls (being able to change from fighter/guardian/battloid is great, though the small game boundries isn't), but anyone who knows the show will probably love this game. Its hard not to.
Really, If you've invesed in the DVDs, I strongly reccomend this game.

I have been waiting years for a Robotech themed game and this game does not disappoint. Like other shooter games, there are stages or chapters and missions to pass before getting new mechs and unlock new features.

One of things I loved about Robotech was Veritechs' ability to transform between the three modes and this game faithfully reproduced that and the special abilities each mode brings to the game.

The other thing I appreciate about this game is how the missiles fly in a pattern similar to the original cartoons and their fire-and-forget capability.

The difficulty level at normal is about right and the controls are easy to use.

If you've never heard of Robotech, this game will seem average at best. You'll be intrigued by the whole transformations thing, but you won't get it. You won't be amazed by the music or the new planes or the abilities of each new veritech, and you definintely won't get the paint schemes. Overall, you'll be like... decent plot, okay graphics, and okay gameplay. You just won't understand.

But...

If you are a robotech fan, this is a must have! Though you do not follow the Macross Saga timeline, they allow you to follow it enough to get you attached and then go off on a believable and interesting story. It does help account for the many Zentradi that survived the battle, since you fight so many in the game. The ability to switch modes on command is amazing. The cut scenes are not the best and some of the machinema, just plain sucks, but it doesn't matter, it's robotech. Every vertitech is in the game, and sometimes, you'll get surprised with a new one you didn't think was coming. All the paint schemes are there, from Rick's to Max's, to the infamous SKULL ONE!!! The Boss battles, seem like they would be monotonous, since there is a pattern to beating the enemy, but for some reason, it's more of an adrenaline rush. Everything about this game is fun... except the protection missions. These get old FAST. I viewed them as a challenege, but it really kinda sucks, protecting something that cannot protect itself. Multiplayer is also lacking in this game. There is only one on one, which can get boring pretty fast. And a flight ceiling in some levels sucks, but makes sense for the point of the level. With such a low flight ceiling, you'd be surprised by how big the space missions are. You can literally fly anywhere, practically. The graphics are perfect for the game, as it emulated the animation from the series. The music is good, and although the sound effects are repetative, they are the same sound from the series, so it works for a fan. You will love launching salvo after salvo of missles and targetting five guys at once and unleashing your payload. They created a realistic balance between the three different modes, giving each its own individual strength. The main point of the game is to play through and beat it, but striving for the different medals and promotions adds a new level of gameplay and causes you to increase your skill and proficiency in new and old areas.

For the Robotech fan, this game is a must. It has all that you could ever want in a robotech game, minus the better multiplayer.
I own it and love it.

The RDF (RoboTech Defense Force) has A-LOT of confidence in their Veritechs. Basically each level is done single handedly by you with one Veritech (There is minor support but insignificant as it really doesn't seem to make or break an outcome). Sometimes this soloing seems reasonable and other times just absurd. I recall the level "Cat Scan" were you're supposed to escort a recon unit doing her rounds amoungst 20,30...Zentradi. So it's basically you and a recon unit with minor defensive weapons VS a small army. When you fail the mission (and you will fail it, unless you happen on the "trick" right away) the game barks at you "What were you thinking", or something along those lines. It didn't take long for me to think "What was the RDF thinking putting only one Veritech out?", or at least "What were the programmers thinking when they assembled this level?"

That being said if you can get past the "One Man Army Syndrome" the game is pretty fun eventhough you have a very limited "arena" to play in. It has alot of neat visuals, good music (based on, but not the original North American Macross Series, and that is really too bad!) and good control(X-box)(once you get used to it!). One more thing, with the gameplay, music and cell-shading combined it began to feel like the cartoon after a while.

This game is crazy. Its one of the best games ive ever played. The only problems are the missions are severley repetetive and u cant fly very high, but other than that its awesome. Although there never is a mission where u have enough room to do maneuvers like firing a salvo of missiles and then changing into battloid mode to realy fight, or do some coolio spin move then fire some missiles and then fly upward and straight down again. But this game is 10x better than that ripoff Robotech Invasion.But its still one of the best games ever. (Xbox version is best).

Man - this game is phenomanally erratic. On the plus side - its really cool to watch as you play - it feels very authentic - and you can do some really fun stuff with the Veretech (swooping in on enemys - firing a bunch of missiles - and then transforming to finish them off with your gun) - but some of the missions are just absloutly horrible. It is not so much that they are too hard (althought there are a few) - its that there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to how exactly to get through some other than kill everything in site by seeing how fast you can fire your gun and how well you can aim. There were honestly a few levels where when I beat them i could see no difference in how I played vs the times i lost - in fact i would switch difficulty and sometimes end up lasting longer on hard than on medium. On the flip side there are a few missions that are unbearably easy - OK - the one with Minmei is fun just because it gives them an excuse to put her in it and it is kind of like comic relief - but sometimes - its like whatever. Also there are way way to many missions involving protecting something - a few are good - but you spend so much time tethered to something you are protecting - you rarely have time to really use the veretech as it can be used. And finally - the mission spaces are way to containing - why you can not fly up above a city- circle around and swoop in is beyond me. I know the game would be different - but limiting how high you can go in a VT to a few stories up is very unauthentic - and not very Robotechy - If the designers really wanted to incorporate missions where you were forced to stay close to the ground - they should have changed the story a bit - and have you transfered to the SDF-1 after bursting point - and have to fly missions in the city onboard the sdf-1 - then you would actually have a reason for a flight cieling (the roof)

Second - if you are a big fan of Robotech - you will realise there is a serious flaw in the time frame of the game vs what happens on the missions. Most of this game is supposed to take place after the war but before Kyhron goes after the SDF-1. The problem is you end up going on missions where you end up fighting 100's of battle pods. While that makes sense early on - it certainly is not at all appropriate when you consider there are only a few thousand Zentradi malcontents at this point (pre Malcontent uprisings for all you seriously die hards)and they have a very limited supply of mecha (and not much protoculture to use it.) I know this sounds really picky - but to be honest after the way the Matrix incorporated the plot of the game with the plot of the movie - I think the bar has been raised substantially for film and TV tie ins.

BUT BUT BUT!- I will say this for the feel of the STORY -it is very authentic - it - like everything Robotech is tragic. It has a great commander that is very Lisa Hayes. The appearances by the originals are great - the way they incorporate Roy's death is great as well. The vs environment Rocks - actually it is the best thing about the game - and with the price now under 20 bucks i would reconmend the game just for that. If you dont like the story - then just use a cheat code to unlock all the environments you can play in. (The only thing I whish they would have added was a MAX vs Myria level set inside the SDF-1 - where you and a friend (girlfriend whoose into Robotech?) could re enact the great battle.

I was eagerly awaiting this game to harken back to the joys of my youth. I remember, as a teenager, sitting down at 4 PM everyday in front of the TV to follow the exploits of Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, and Lin Minmei. This game completely reminds me of the show. It is pretty, but no matter how hard you yelled at another stupid choice of Rick's, you had to follow him through the story. So it is with the game.

The key to this game is staying in the box. Follow the plotline, do exactly what you are told, learn the controls given to you and you will do fine. Don' t, and you will regret your experience. The area fighting boundaries are irritating, forcing an immediate turn when you reach them. The objectives are exacting, limiting your options. Forget freeform transformation, each mission requieres a specific form to win. The difficult control set can't be changed. And a cooperative mode, ala Halo, is missing which would help less skilled gamers get through.

I enjoy Battlecry for what it is. A beautiful trip down memory lane. Unfortunately, at the end of the lane, I will quickly sell it.

Actually, I had a chance to play this game even further, and it is okay. The graphics are excellent, but the execution of the camera angles doesnt do enough to show off the detail. This game could have been a lot better with a little more tweaking on the gameplay, but it is still fun if you are willing to get past the first few stages, which are extremely boreing.