Mech Platoon
- October 23, 2001 15:53 PM PST
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Nanotechnology runs rampant! Mine, gather, construct, command, and conquer in the first real-time strategy game to rear its cybernetic head on the Game Boy Advance.
Not too long ago, a little Game Boy Color game called Warlock?d was the proving ground that showed real-time strategy games could indeed work on the go?even with a handheld system?s notoriously limited control scheme, and an RTS?s notoriously high need for a keyboard and mouse setup. Unfortunately, it?s an experiment that was never really attempted again?until now, that is. Kemco?s Mech Platoon is a cybernetically-themed RTS, programmed to further prove that with a little ingenuity, the proper resources, and a well-trained A.I., tiny little nano-machines are perfectly capable of performing tasks previously suited only to their bulkier PC counterparts.Mech Platoon most closely resembles a pared-down cross between Dune and Starcraft, with three warring factions, a nice array of different resources to collect, and a nifty cannibalistic unit-upgrading system that involved sending robots out to rummage through your enemies? remains for parts. The controls in the preview copy worked remarkably well, with limited-but-still-quite-useful grouping and unit-selecting functions, and the pace of the battles quickly ramped up to pretty manic proportions. Time will tell how quickly these real-time robots turn to rust?but for now, at least, these miniature mechs seem to follow an efficient RTS algorithm.
