Battle Engine Aquila

Battle Engine Aquila is the kind of quietly good game that probably won?t find a wide audience, though it will be widely enjoyed by most gamers who stumble across it.

Set across the landscape of a war-torn distant planet, Aquila puts you behind the controls on an unusual mech-like vehicle that conducts both tank-style ground assaults and jet-like aerial maneuvers. A hearty lineup of one-player missions provides plenty of cannon fodder, but Aquila?s impressive multiplayer options also rock. The crown jewel is two-player cooperative action, but the game also supplies a sharp selection of deathmatches.

The coolest part of Aquila is that it stages epic, sprawling battles and places you right in the middle of them. You?re not an all-powerful hero but a vital cog that must perform its function, and your A.I. comrades handle their duties with surprising intelligence.

An array of creative weaponry and the tactics involved in switching between aerial and ground combat imbue the battles with an engaging feel. Make no mistake, though?about a third of the way through, Aquila starts to get seriously hard, and if you lack the patience for ?die, learn, repeat? cycles, you?ll get fed up in a hurry.

A Halo wannabe in the visual department, Aquila?s graphics lack originality but look pretty sharp overall. The sound is just sort of there, doing its job without being dazzling, and the controls, which slot smoothly into the first-person-shooter groove, are solid and responsive.

Aquila isn?t a must-play game, and many gamers can probably get their fix with a rental. But if your trigger finger?s itching for some challenging combat, it?s worth a tour of duty.

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