Slightly 'Mech'anical- Mytran Wars Review


In the beginning, there was only “Game.”  In time, Game begat Role Playing Game.   Role Playing Game begat Strategy Role Playing Game who, in turn, finally begat Giant Robot Role Playing Game.  In the family tree of video games, few branches are as esoteric as the “GRSRPG,” sporting only a few titles such as Front Mission and Super Robot Wars, and it is a sub-genre that has had very little success in the West.  Nevertheless, Stormregion has tried to break into this niche-within-a-niche in their new PSP title, Mytran Wars.

In Mytran Wars, a heartless corporation, called the Kondor Corporation, has discovered a valuable energy source on the distant planet of Pythar.  They invade Pythar, only to find that it is already inhabited by an advanced alien race called the Mytrans.  Rather than trying to communicate with the Mytrans or to even try to study them, the Kondor Corporation opts to shoot now and ask questions later.  The player takes control of a team of Kondor soldiers, piloting giant mechs, who have landed on Pythar to conquer the planet in the name of their corporation. 



Occasionally, members of your team will pipe up about how they feel that ethnic cleansing in the name of procuring an energy source is wrong, but they inevitably follow your orders to kill, possibly because they know that their digital existence is tied directly to the conflict between humans and aliens.   The story is told through a series of well-illustrated, comic-book-style cut scenes between missions.  Although the digital comics are nice to look at, the writing and voice-acting both fall flat, making it very difficult to follow or even care about the main characters or what is happening on the planet Pythar.

The battles are fairly straightforward: anyone familiar with SRPGs will be able to jump right in and start wiping the floor with conscientiously objecting alien scum, but the game paces itself slowly enough that a first time general can ease into the experience.  Between missions, you can upgrade your mechs and change your weapons load out to tackle the mission at hand.  There are a small variety of mission types ranging from capture-and-control to extermination, to keep the game from feeling stale.  The user-interface can look and feel a little cumbersome at times, it requires a few too many button presses to issue commands or survey your surroundings, but overall, the game is not difficult to control.  Also, the attack animations can be agonizingly slow.  After you aim, brace, fire and reset, the enemy takes a few seconds to reflect on his life before counter attacking in the same slow, calculated fashion.  This makes exchanging blow after blow with tougher enemies feel much more like a chore than a challenge.



I was initially shocked when I found out that there was no cartoon show or line of toys associated with Mytran Wars.  The character and vehicle designs are very colorful and detailed and evoke memories of pitting my Transformers against my ThunderCats.  The cell-shaded aliens and mechs really stand out against the lush environments, making the action is very easy to follow on a handheld screen.  The menus and HUDs look slightly over-designed, like they were made for a flash website, but they are legible and easy to navigate, and I try not to expect more from a menu.

Mytran Wars is very easy on the eyes, but the slow pace and cumbersome user interface can make it a frustrating game to finish.  Stormregion has a great look pinned down, but need to apply some spit-shine to the interface before this game can really stand out against Front Mission.  Still, SRPG fans that with a thirst that can only be quenched by giant robots will be refreshed.

 Stumbleupon  Digg 

Posted by SeanNOLA at 11/11/2009 9:00 AM
Categories: PSP,Reviews
 

What did you think of this article?




Trackbacks
Trackback specific URL for this entry
  • Trackbacks are closed for this entry.
Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

Leave a comment

 Enter the above security code (required)

 Name

 Email (will not be published)

 Website

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.