Posted on: August 8, 2020
Machinators
Verified ownerGames: Reviews: 75
Mediocre XCOM-lite with great potential
This game is neither bad nor good from a fun, technical and innovative perspective. The 60s setting, which I personally love, is a welcome sight but it has been done before. The game is fun at times, cumber sum at others and is let down mainly by the lack of a high budget and production values. I mean, there IS voice acting and nice effects here and there, but they are repetitively and incoherently used more as placeholders rather than for consistent value. So what're the XCOM elements? There are multiple "soldiers" you can choose from, equip them, use specific skills and have them fight in grid, square-based turn-based combat. There is a sort of base management aspect with running businesses, although it isn't as deep as you think it is. Additionally, police can show up on missions and loot and civilian/enemy placements are randomised, so there are similarities to XCOM but doesn't quite fulfill the same satisfaction. Ultimately, this game is low budget that tries to do more than it is, which is a good thing in my eyes as it shows the developers are ambitious. However, it means cheapening out on what IS IN the game as is. You aren't getting a complex, deeply-woven strategy game but neither a shallow, soulless cash-in and that's alright. I bought the game because the 60s aesthetics appeal to me and I love XCOM and I hope my money goes towards DLC that expands on the game. As for bugs, there are some; animation glitches are the most obvious. The game lacks polish too. What I'd like to see is character creation ala XCOM 2, playing dress up, unlocking cosmetics, that kind of thing. I can't say this is a must-buy and you'd best wait for a sale and a few patches before jumping in but the groundwork for a potentially amazing game is already there if you can put up with some flaws.
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