Review
We play Military Madness: Nectaris... (Xbox360)
Having a history that dates back to 1989, Hudson Soft has once again revived Military Madness – otherwise known as Nectaris in Japan – for the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. In 1998, Hudson Soft remade the title for the original PlayStation, but the attention spent on remaking the title wasn’t as well spent as it has been with the XBLA and PSN iterations. So without further ado, let’s take a close look at Military Madness: Nectaris, a title that originated on the TurboGrafx-16.
Military Madness is a turn-based strategy game that incorporates a science-fiction theme. The plot takes place on the Earth’s moon in 2089, as two fictional forces, the Allied-Union and Axis-Xenon, battle for control over the land. Of course, players take control of the Allied-Union and must have their wits about them as they strategically battle their opponents on a hexagonal grid. Each team takes their turn issuing orders to their units until all of the enemy’s units have been disposed of or whenever the other’s base camp has been taken over.
The depth of the title goes beyond simply eliminating the opposition. Each unit type has special abilities to take advantage of such as infantry squads capturing buildings that could spell the end of the match if players capture the enemy base. There are also beneficial attacks to use when players have the high ground on the terrain and factories to repair units. In the end though, if players are coming into Military Madness expecting the depth of Advance Wars or Final Fantasy Tactics, they may want to look elsewhere.
What Military Madness essentially boils down to is the same old core gameplay and cleaned up graphics. Sure, there’s an added multiplayer mode for up to four players to duke it out, but there won’t be many people playing Military Madness due to how dated the game feels. The multiplayer is based around the ability to be the last one standing or survive with the most points. The matches that I was able to play were competitive, but provided nothing out of the ordinary in terms of originality.
If players are new to Military Madness, they’ll be sad to hear that there’s no tutorial to become acquainted with the controls and practices of the battle. With the storyline being as dull as it was, players most likely won’t become attached to the single-player campaign if they are relatively new to the turn-based strategy genre. As repetitive as it becomes, I don’t see many people sticking around past the first few hours of Military Madness.
In comparison to the original, the graphics do look much improved. In relation to today’s standards, the graphics aren’t anything to write home about. The units do look better and the graphic effects do have certain flairs to them, but Military Madness is still lacking in art design.
The XBLA and PSN versions of Military Madness: Nectaris aren’t too much different from what players have experienced back in 1998 for the PS1 or in 1989 with the TurboGrafx-16. It’s essentially an enhanced remake of the original with new 3D graphics applied. There’ll be a certain feeling of monotony when playing through the title, so players shouldn’t expect a fantastical time that revolutionizes the genre.
Top Game Moment: When gamers finally find opponents to play with online. The sad thing is the search takes way too long and players may not have the patience to wait.
Military Madness is a turn-based strategy game that incorporates a science-fiction theme. The plot takes place on the Earth’s moon in 2089, as two fictional forces, the Allied-Union and Axis-Xenon, battle for control over the land. Of course, players take control of the Allied-Union and must have their wits about them as they strategically battle their opponents on a hexagonal grid. Each team takes their turn issuing orders to their units until all of the enemy’s units have been disposed of or whenever the other’s base camp has been taken over.
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| Having teammates by your side is helpful in battle. | Where will you stand? |
The depth of the title goes beyond simply eliminating the opposition. Each unit type has special abilities to take advantage of such as infantry squads capturing buildings that could spell the end of the match if players capture the enemy base. There are also beneficial attacks to use when players have the high ground on the terrain and factories to repair units. In the end though, if players are coming into Military Madness expecting the depth of Advance Wars or Final Fantasy Tactics, they may want to look elsewhere.
What Military Madness essentially boils down to is the same old core gameplay and cleaned up graphics. Sure, there’s an added multiplayer mode for up to four players to duke it out, but there won’t be many people playing Military Madness due to how dated the game feels. The multiplayer is based around the ability to be the last one standing or survive with the most points. The matches that I was able to play were competitive, but provided nothing out of the ordinary in terms of originality.
If players are new to Military Madness, they’ll be sad to hear that there’s no tutorial to become acquainted with the controls and practices of the battle. With the storyline being as dull as it was, players most likely won’t become attached to the single-player campaign if they are relatively new to the turn-based strategy genre. As repetitive as it becomes, I don’t see many people sticking around past the first few hours of Military Madness.
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| The hexagonal grid at its finest. | Watch and behold destruction. |
In comparison to the original, the graphics do look much improved. In relation to today’s standards, the graphics aren’t anything to write home about. The units do look better and the graphic effects do have certain flairs to them, but Military Madness is still lacking in art design.
The XBLA and PSN versions of Military Madness: Nectaris aren’t too much different from what players have experienced back in 1998 for the PS1 or in 1989 with the TurboGrafx-16. It’s essentially an enhanced remake of the original with new 3D graphics applied. There’ll be a certain feeling of monotony when playing through the title, so players shouldn’t expect a fantastical time that revolutionizes the genre.
Top Game Moment: When gamers finally find opponents to play with online. The sad thing is the search takes way too long and players may not have the patience to wait.
Videos
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Teaser Trailer
Length 00:41 | Views 512
