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I've never been much of a PC gamer. And there's no real reason for that, except that maybe I just always preferred the plug-n-play ease of use offered by a console or a handheld. I never wanted to spend time screwing around with plug-ins or updating drivers. However in the early 90's there were a handful of PC games that I did have; ones that seemed too awesome to ignore. One such game was
X-COM: Terror from the Deep. It was an extremely deep strategy game that focused on aliens in the ocean. The graphics were incredible and the battle system was complex. In fact it was too complex for the 14-year-old version of me. So I really never got very far with it. But it still always stuck in my mind as the sort of game I
would really enjoy.
When it was announced that the Together Retro game club over at
http://Racketboy.com would be playing the original
X-COM for the month of May, I thought to myself
now wouldn't it be awesome if there was an X-COM port or sequel for the Game Boy Advance? And as I started doing a little research it turned out that there sort of was.
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Rebelstar: Tactical Command was created by Julian Gallop, the creator of the
X-COM series. Even more interestingly, it's actually a sequel to the original
Rebelstar series, which was Gallop's line of games that predated and ultimately inspired the
X-COM games. This may all sound a bit confusing, but what you really need to know is that regardless of what the title is
Rebelstar: Tactical Command plays like a portable
X-COM. Which is great news for fans of the series.
The game tells the story of a breed of aliens called Arelians that are controlling humans through some kind of brain-implant. It's definitely b-movie fodder, but at the same time the story is really only there to get the ball rolling. All that matters is your rebel force and the aliens arranged on a grid and ready to outsmart each other.
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Graphically the game looks similar to other grid-based strategy games like
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The sprites and backgrounds are simple -- almost reminiscent of a 16-bit RPG, though with slightly more detailed animations. Generally it appears that the simple graphics are usually the biggest plight that people have with this game. As far as I'm concerned the graphics are perfect. The characters are simple, but manage to show emotion when need be.
As far as the audio goes, I almost can't judge fairly. As it turns out the Options Menu allows you to turn the music on and off. By the time I discovered this I had already logged quite a few hours with the music turned off without realizing this. I just assumed there was no music for whatever reason. The music that I did hear was subtle and mostly ambient and moody. It was nice, but nothing amazing. For the most part I've played with the music off which leaves you with just sound effects -- guns firing, explosions, screams when some one dies.
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The battle system is impressively deep. Not only is there the usual turn-point management necessary to a strategy game; there's also individual skill learning for members of your party, deployment based on characters' strengths and weaknesses, and even the possibility that a member of your party will panic if you don't keep the morale level high. In some ways the game is as intuitive as a game of chess, but in others it's amazingly complex. In a good way.
Luckily the first five missions are a rather in-depth training course that helps you learn all of the important battle and management techniques that will be needed in the following twenty missions. You'll find that as the game progresses the difficulty of each mission ramps rather steadily. Indeed I found that there were several missions that I had to replay several times. Because I really wanted to commit to this game without using a FAQ or guide, I even found that some missions I would have to save in the middle of and step back from for a while. I'd catch myself working on my strategy while driving the next day. That's certainly the sign of a compelling game.
When you really allow yourself the time to get sucked into this game, it definitely becomes amazing. I can honestly say that
Rebelstar: Tactical Command has become a favorite Turn-Based Strategy game for me. Because I wanted to go through the month playing it without a guide, I didn't get to finish it. But I still plan to.
