Rebelstar: Tactical Command
Score: 88% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: Namco Developer: Codo Games Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Strategy
Graphics & Sound: About a year or two ago, I had the privilege of reviewing UFO Aftermath for the PC, a title that more than a few gamers thought of as being the spiritual successor to the wildly popular X-Com: UFO Defense. Like its predecessor, UFO Aftermath offered a very deep tactic experience pitting humans against an occupying alien force. Flash forward to the present and yet another game is following in the footsteps, Rebelstar Tactical Command. While another game taking up the X-Com gameplay mantle is in itself surprising, its release on the GBA of all platforms is even more surprising. At first, and maybe even second glance, Rebelstar doesn't look like a good game, nor does it sound like one. The cartoony sprites, colorful backgrounds and simple sound effects really don't scream "deep tactical gameplay". In fact, the look kind of gives you the impression that you're playing a simple kid’s game where you get to blast aliens. I even had someone ask if the game was related to the old Halloween Harry series given the look of the human soldiers. It is not until you get into the game itself that you come to realize that the graphics are basically just there to facilitate understandable gameplay. In other words, you're playing the game for the game, not because of how it looks -- so the graphics are passable. Would I have liked a better-looking game? Sure, but sometimes personality overrides looks.
Gameplay: The events surrounding Rebelstar Tactical Command are your typical sci-fi story of enslavement and rebels fighting for freedom. A race of aliens called the Arelians have come to Earth and taken over. The main rule of law is commanded by the Zorn, a blood-thirsty race that have demanded that all humans be implanted with a special chip and, once they reach the age of thirty, they be "harvested". However, some chips don't take, allowing a few humans to escape. Eventually these survivors group together and are fighting to liberate all humans. You play as Jorel, a young man who has recently joined the rebel group. Rebelstar Tactical Command's gameplay should feel familiar to anyone who has played a turn-based tactical game before. Instead of controlling a massive army, you are in control of a small group of soldiers. At the start of each turn, characters have a set number of points that can be spent on performing actions. These include moving and attacking, as well as reloading guns and using special equipment. The trick to gameplay is figuring out how to squeeze every last action out of each character's point pool to maximum effectiveness. The allocation of action points is what makes Rebelstar different from something like Final Fantasy Tactics since you have to think out nearly every little detail rather than simply moving to a section and attacking. When used properly though, the system proves to be much more flexible given the number of options it allows for. Managing points is only half of Rebelstar's tactical depth. Line of sight also plays a major role in what goes on since you can only see what your squad is seeing. You can't see around corners, nor can you see what is behind you. This "fog of war" effect makes planning even more important and adds an increased level of tension to the game. It also forces you to adapt strategies that take the fight to the enemy without being caught off guard by surprise attacks. Using simple "attack everything" strategies are a one-way ticket to defeat. Outside the main story mode, Rebelstar also includes a Skirmish mode that allows you to set up quick battles. In Skirmish mode, you're able to play as any of the game's races and it even supports two player battles. The unfortunate downside is that multiplayer matches don't allow for either link or wireless link support and require players to pass a single GBA between them.
Difficulty: As stated before, Rebelstar Tactical Command is a more cerebral experience than even most strategy games. Gamers whose only notion of "tactical" is Final Fantasy Tactics are going to find it harder to get into Rebelstar because of the drastically different play mechanics involved. There are, however, a few aids that the developers threw in to help get players into the mindset required for the game. A series of colored grids are available to let you know everything that's going on at a glance. As you use points, the colors change to let you know if you have enough points to perform another action or if you're finished. If you can manage to stay within a certain color pattern, you'll find that you'll do much better and get more use out of your troops. Once you learn the system, Rebelstar is still a challenging game, but you'll find that just learning all the little rules is half the battle.
Game Mechanics: The more I played Rebelstar, the more I wished that the game was on the DS rather than the GBA. Not because the controls are particularly bad, but this is one of those games that would really benefit from a touch screen interface. Still, issuing orders and planning out attacks is pretty easy and doesn't take too much work. As if the already stated tactical considerations aren't enough for players to worry about, other Rebelstar issues also includes a number of little considerations you'll have to make before matches even start. One of the very first, and most difficult, challenges presented is building your troops up to get the most out of their ability point pool. In RPG fashion, soldiers can be upgraded between missions by allocating skill points to attributes. Your goal here is to make troops that are able to get the most out of each turn while also being flexible enough to be used in the ever-changing plans you'll have to use throughout the game. Rebelstar Tactical Command is one of those niche titles that is not going appeal to everyone. Even fans of the GBA’s current offering of strategy games will find the game a much different, and daunting, experience from what they’re used to. Fans of X-Com, or anyone looking for a deep strategy game should definitely give Rebelstar Tactical Command a look since games like this rarely come along these days.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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