Space flight combat games are a genre that I don’t have extensive experience with. Strike Suit Zero prior to the Director’s Cut version was successfully kickstarted in 2012 and released on the PC, Mac and Linux in 2013. Additional content was created and it made its console debut in the form of a
director’s cut. Born Ready Games is also the first developer to release a game for the ID@Xbox program.
Strike Suit Zero Director’s Cut ** is about colonization, preservation of freedom and blowing stuff up. It is not a simulation by any stretch but the gameplay mechanics do require more than mere aiming and shooting. You have several weapons like a machine gun, plasma cannons and various types of missiles to destroy you enemies. Different characters will lead you through the levels and give you objectives. The voice acting is done pretty well, which is good because the text is incredibly small. I wished there were icons for the weapons selection because I often could not tell, based on the UI(user interface), what weapon I had selected.
I was not able to see as much of the game as I would have liked due to its difficulty and, to be fair, my lack of skill. The Strike Suit seemed really powerful during the tutorial section but I didn’t know when it would be advantageous to use in the campaign. Perhaps if I transformed into the suit more often I might have gotten further. The Strike Suit mech you turn into has some very powerful weapons but can only be used as long as your flux meter lasts in addition to its initial load-out being useful only in close proximity to enemy ships. One interesting touch was that there were missions where I didn’t fully complete my objectives but the story progressed anyway. Apparently the AI kept up the progression; I have no complaints as that’s better than restarting level.
Most of my issues with Strike Suit Zero Director’s Cut likely stem from long-running tropes of the genre. I found the levels to be repetitive but in a space flight combat game what else is there? Locking onto targets and blowing them up never got old but being bombarded by groups of enemies with impeccable aim did. I am hesitant to blame the game for fulfilling the expectations of the genre and I do suspect that fans of space flight combat games will be quite pleased with it. I’m just not ready to convert.
Recommendation*: Worth a buy on sale – for fans of the genre
Full Disclosure: This game was provided to GameEnthus by a PR firm on behalf of the developer.
Genre: space flight combat
Developer: Born Ready Games
Publisher: Born Ready Games
Platforms: Xbox One**, PS4, PC
Price: $19.99
http://strikesuitzero.com/
http://GameEnthus.com
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/gameenthus-podcast-video-games/id286435007?mt=2
Scale:*
Worth a buy – paying full price for fans of the series or genre makes sense – often includes a caveat
Worth a buy on sale – not quite full price worthy but close, – often includes a caveat
Rent – rent before buying
No – borrow it if you must play it
Please no – Don’t waste any time and/or money on it
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