B.A.D Battle Armor Division
- August 18, 2015
- Crian Soft
Get on Steam"B.A.D Battle Armor Division" is a shoot 'em up game set in the 26th century, where you control humanoid robots in large scale conflicts between factions of Earth and Mars. After the discovery of the indestructible mineral Ixenio on Jupiter's moons, Mars became a superpower and the game's events take advantage of this setting. Experience fast-paced action and intense battles in this dramatic storyline.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a cool sci-fi setting with big robots and mechas, which many players find appealing.
- Gameplay can be fun and engaging, especially once players adapt to the controls and mechanics.
- The visuals and sound design, particularly during combat sequences, are praised for enhancing the overall experience.
- The control scheme is convoluted and frustrating, making it difficult to aim and move effectively, especially with keyboard input.
- Numerous bugs and glitches, including mission selection issues and unresponsive mechanics, significantly detract from the gameplay experience.
- The graphics are inconsistent, with some elements appearing poorly rendered, leading to a jarring visual experience.
- story34 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 82 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story in the game is described as serviceable but unremarkable, primarily conveyed through mission briefings and radio chatter, reminiscent of the Ace Combat series. Players noted that the lack of voice acting and a minimal soundtrack detracts from the narrative experience, while mission objectives often feel repetitive and disconnected from the storyline. Despite some missions having meaningful context, technical issues and bugs significantly hinder the overall enjoyment and progression through the story.
“The story is broken up through two chapters and primarily told between the briefing screens at the beginning of each mission and through onscreen radio chatter visualized like in the Ace Combat series.”
“Battle Armor Division is an action platform/shooter that features a sci-fi storyline where a new global war rages within mankind.”
“Missions are not thrown at the player as only excuses for action; they have some meaning and weight in the storyline.”
“The story is serviceable but absolutely nothing special.”
“There's no voice acting and no distinct sound effects to break through the constant audio clutter, and as such, most of the story is lost during gameplay.”
“Many missions are centered around 'run to the far end of the small map and blow up the required mission objective,' which, on paper, works well within the confines of other games in this genre.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this title is a mixed bag, with many players finding it both enjoyable and frustrating due to poor control mechanics, particularly with aiming and movement. While some appreciate the unique aspects and underlying fun of the gameplay, others criticize the uneven difficulty, lack of engaging elements, and frustrating platforming sections that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game struggles with design flaws that overshadow its potential, making it a challenging choice for players.
“Other than that, gameplay is actually really fun.”
“A load of fun if you're looking for that sort of style of gameplay.”
“The gameplay is pretty solid and the sprites are pretty average.”
“The gameplay is both extremely fun and annoying, with aiming on keyboard and mouse being terrible because you don't have a cursor and aim with your movement keys. When you try to aim up (with W), your gun just goes all the way up, and when you try to aim down (S), your gun just goes all the way down.”
“Poor game design, controls, and lackluster graphics make this 2D side-scrolling cybernator-clone shooter a very uneven gaming experience. It bounces between extreme difficulty spikes and uneven balancing between level and enemy designs, making this title a hard pass unless you are absolutely desperate for any Steam mech games and are a masochist for frustrating gameplay.”
“There are also far too many light platforming elements. The movement and controls are not designed in a way that makes these portions of the game fun or challenging, and the instant death mechanics force you to restart entire levels, which will only serve to frustrate you.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are inconsistent, featuring a mix of decently pixelated mechs and poorly rendered 3D environments, resulting in a jarring visual experience. While some players appreciate the simplistic art style, many criticize it as the weakest aspect of the game, with plain visuals and subpar animations detracting from the overall experience.
“Criansoft nails the tone with the visuals and music, delivering a fun if frustrating gameplay experience.”
“I found the graphics simplistic, but really cool; I like the art style of the Criansoft games.”
“The graphics are rather plain but doable.”
“Graphics have no consistent look or style and jump between decently pixelated mechs to very poorly rendered 3D environments and enemies, leading to a jarring and constantly unappealing look.”
“Weakest part: the artworks and some animations for the bigger objects.”
“The graphics are rather plain but doable; the music's not too memorable except for the main theme, and the sound effects feel like they're ripped from some other source.”
- music5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its alignment with visuals while others criticize its lack of presence and occasional abrupt cuts during gameplay. The soundtrack is described as mostly forgettable, with only the main theme standing out, and sound effects seem unoriginal. Overall, the music contributes to a fun yet frustrating experience.
“Criansoft nails the tone with the visuals and music, delivering a fun if frustrating gameplay experience.”
“The soundtrack is almost nonexistent, and at times the music will cut out completely in the middle of a mission as if the backing track wasn't set to repeat.”
“The graphics are rather plain but doable; the music's not too memorable except for the main theme, and the sound effects feel like they're ripped from some other source.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's variety of weapons and customizable controls, which enhance its replayability. Additionally, the game is noted as the best among similar side-scrolling titles on Steam, suggesting a strong incentive to revisit it, especially with a gamepad.
“There are enough different weapons to add replay value, and the controls can be completely adjusted to your liking in the Steam controller configuration. Of the side-scrolling old school Cybernator games available on Steam, this is the best.”
“The game may be more playable with a gamepad.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with users reporting occasional random slowdowns even on high-end machines. Additionally, the post-mission results screen, which ranks player performance, adds to the overall experience but does not mitigate the optimization issues.
“Optimization is lacking; there's some random slowdown even on very high-end machines.”
“After completing a mission, you get a results screen that ranks you based on your performance.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to uneven enemy balancing and unexpected spawns, leading to resource shortages that force repetitive gameplay mechanics. This imbalance disrupts pacing and makes completing objectives feel tedious and less enjoyable.
“The balancing between enemies and objectives is uneven, leading to situations where you may find yourself completely out of ammo in areas where the game didn't expect you to encounter enemies. This results in a tedious cycle of jump-melee-cooldown-repeat, causing major pacing issues as you struggle to balance resources against actually playing the game as intended.”
“Grinding becomes a chore when the game forces you to repeat the same actions over and over, making it feel less like gameplay and more like a tedious task.”
“The repetitive nature of grinding in this game detracts from the overall experience, as it often feels like you're just going through the motions rather than engaging with the content.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is generally well-received, with some tracks effectively enhancing the action, though certain menu effects are considered annoying.
“The atmosphere is immersive, drawing you into the world and enhancing the overall experience.”
“The sound design and visuals create a captivating atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
“Each environment feels alive, contributing to a rich and dynamic atmosphere that enhances gameplay.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for being buggy, which detracts from the overall experience and makes it less appealing compared to similar titles available on Steam.
“As for the rest of the game, if you can actually get through the buggy issues, I don't think the experience you get from this game matches other similar titles already on Steam, such as Gunhound and Gigantic Army.”
