Battle Engine Aquila
- September 4, 2020
- Lost Toys Ltd
Get on SteamIn " Battle Engine Aquila", pilot the advanced Battle Engine Aquila and lead your forces to victory in a flooded world's battle for land. Shape the direction of each engagement with tactical decision-making and harness the weaponry to destroy enemy units. Engage in split-screen multiplayer modes with friends, and face nearly 50 types of units across 43 missions.
PC
Windows
PlayStation
Playstation 2
Xbox
Reviews
- The game offers a nostalgic experience with engaging gameplay that combines mech and aerial combat, making players feel like they are piloting a powerful super-mech.
- Despite its age, the graphics can be enhanced using community guides, and the game runs smoothly with good controls, especially with mouse and keyboard.
- The missions are varied and provide a sense of scale and strategy, with independent AI units that create dynamic battle scenarios.
- The Steam version is plagued with bugs, including speed-up animations, crashes, and issues with multi-display setups, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The game suffers from a lack of clear mission objectives and difficulty spikes, leading to frustrating gameplay at times.
- Controller support is limited and often unreliable, making it difficult for players who prefer using gamepads to enjoy the game.
- story58 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story in the game is largely considered inconsequential, with many reviewers noting its absence and poor execution, including weak cutscenes and voice acting. While the missions themselves are engaging and present interesting challenges, they often revolve around escorting or defending allied units, leading to a repetitive experience. Despite the lack of a compelling narrative, the gameplay offers some replayability through mission rankings and branching objectives, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate the mechanics over the story.
“The story campaign will be your main focus in the game.”
“The campaign is highlighted by several exhilarating and creative boss fights, and, though it's nothing to write home about, there's also something of a branching storyline.”
“Such a classic mech game that makes you actually love your ally troopers because they actually help in the heat of battles and makes you want to save them.”
“The story is inconsequential; the gameplay, apart from slightly shaky controls, is excellent.”
“The voice acting is terrible, the story is corny, and the characters are cardboard.”
“Mission rankings are bonkers; the story is almost absent, but every mission is an interesting puzzle of battleground craziness, hard to navigate even when piloting a superweapon.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game, while considered outdated by some, can still look quite good when enhanced using community guides, particularly at 1080p on modern monitors. The world-building and art style are praised for their thoughtfulness and beauty, especially in the faction aesthetics, though cutscenes are limited to 25fps. Overall, the visuals may not be cutting-edge, but they contribute positively to the game's sci-fi action experience.
“Using the community guides, you can crank up the graphics fairly high, resulting in a game that still looks really good today.”
“This is a fun and sometimes challenging game with an amazing art style.”
“Also, the aesthetics of the faction the player plays as is beautiful, to say the least.”
“The graphics may seem outdated to some; to me, it still looks alright for the most part. It looks and runs pretty well at 1080p on my 240Hz monitor (except for the cutscenes, which are still locked at 25fps).”
“Overall, if you can overlook the dated graphics, I'd recommend this game to anyone who loves a good sci-fi action title.”
“The graphics may seem outdated to some; to me, it still looks alright for the most part. It looks and runs pretty well at 1080p on my 240Hz monitor (except for the cutscenes, which are still locked at 25fps).”
- gameplay14 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its fun, nostalgic feel, smooth controls, and satisfying mechanics, with a variety of loadout options and challenging segments. However, some players note that while the gameplay excels, the accompanying story, cutscenes, and voice acting are lacking, leading to a preference for more modern titles that have evolved the genre. Overall, the game offers a unique atmosphere and enjoyable action, making it a standout experience despite its shortcomings in narrative elements.
“Till this date, I cannot find a game with the same vibes, atmosphere, or gameplay; it is so much fun!”
“The nostalgia I feel combined with the superb gameplay for its era is what makes this game one of the most special games for me.”
“Satisfying gameplay, smooth controls, cool weapons to use, and a lot of action going on!”
“Without that, the choice often falls on rather playing something else, even similar games since those have simply evolved the genre in tech and gameplay.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features alternate mission routes influenced by player performance, enhancing replayability. However, the PC version is noted to require further optimization, though it remains a worthwhile purchase.
“Alternate routes for missions based on performance is nice.”
“The PC version could definitely use some optimization, but nonetheless, it's still a good buy.”
“Here, individual missions are graded based on your performance, so there's some form of replayability.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game to have a relatively high replayability factor, particularly due to its graded individual missions that encourage players to improve their performance. The campaign is described as fun and quick, making it enjoyable to revisit.
“A childhood game of mine on the PS2; I was so happy to see it on Steam and it's just as good as I remember. Fun, quick, and relatively replayable campaign.”
“Here, individual missions are graded based on your performance, so there's some form of replayability.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game, particularly on the Steam version, has been criticized for being buggy, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.
“I love this game, but sadly the Steam version is very buggy.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is uniquely captivating, offering a distinct vibe and engaging gameplay that players find unmatched in other titles. This combination contributes significantly to the overall enjoyment and fun factor of the experience.
“To this day, I cannot find a game with the same vibes, atmosphere, or gameplay; it is so much fun!”
- music2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received high praise, with users consistently rating the soundtrack a perfect 10/10.
“The soundtrack is a perfect 10/10.”
“The music in this game is absolutely phenomenal.”
“The game's soundtrack elevates the entire experience.”
