XBLA's latest downloadable title, Military Madness: Nectaris, is essentially the third generation of an original game in Japan from the late 1980's. More than 20 years later, it would make perfect sense for the second remake to be clean of bugs, full of action-packed plot and gorgeous in both graphical detail and sound.
Sadly, it swings and misses three times.
In this turn-based strategy game, the Earth has become overpopulated in the 2100's. To save space, criminals have been sent to the moon to mine for a valuable resource. It isn't long before they create an army to overtake the moon's guards. It's up to you to defend the moon and Earth, as the criminal army plans on destroying the Earth with an enormous weapon. Move various vehicles around -- each consisting of various armies -- to defeat the criminals. Hexagons indicate where you can move with each vehicle, to get close enough to attack. Destroy every enemy and take over their moon base to win the round.
With the original story mode being kind of neat, it would seem the gameplay would back it up with intense action scenes. But you don't end up controlling the actual firing or killing whatsoever. Put your infrantry in front of theirs and tap A and it's all done for you. Yawn. Bleh. Whatever way you want to put it, it's incredibly boring.
While there is quite an in-depth tactical way to defeat enemies, as it gets very tough later on, the game is just hard to keep playing. There is virtually no motivation. Graphics have not developed enough to catch your eye and keep you hooked. There is no way to zoom in to see detail of the vehicles and base, and even if you could, you might not even want to. The moon is unbelievably gray and dull, as well as the rest of the terrain. You'll be unaware of sound effects really even being present in the game.
There is a four-person multiplayer mode, as well, that allows you to link up with friends or strangers and attempt to be the last army standing. Leaderboards are available, as you probably guessed, keeping track of your stats and ability to stay alive. But when the overall structure of the game isn't much, you and your friends won't have the most fun playing together either.
Military Madness: Nectaris needs better graphics. It needs more grab-you-and-suck-you-right-in sounds and background noise. It needs to brush up the controls as well. Everything put together equals a real stinker in the long run and with a $10 price tag, you'll be livid you didn't save the MS Points on something else, like five Guitar Hero songs or another title all together.
Pros: Backstory isn't bad, turn-based strategies can be fun
Cons: Boring graphics, sound and gameplay down the stretch
GamePro Score: 2.5
The Info - Platform: XBLA, Developer: Backbone Entertainment, Publisher: Hudson Soft, ESRB: E10+, Players: 1-4, Price: 800 MS Points ($10)
