There is
trouble brewing on the small tropical island of Palinero. Three factions are
embroiled in a conflict and mercenaries have been called in to swing the tide of
battle before the entire situation becomes a full-fledged civil war.
Advertised as a
tactical-strategy game, Brigade E5: New Jagged Union offers a mix of genres. The
Strategy First/IC/Apeiron title has six characters you can play as, or gamers
have the ability to create their own character. There are three factions that
you will have to choose from. But where the game starts to fall apart is in the
Smart Pause Mode. Because the game is a tactical-strategy program, the SPM kicks
in after you perform an action – as though it is, like chess, giving you the
opportunity to consider your next move. The result is a game that feels
disjointed, without a fluid dynamic.
The tutorial
mission sets up the game rather well and lets players know precisely what they
will be in store for. The AI is suspect and the game has some pathing problems
that lead to frustration.
The game
borrows from the role-playing genre in that as you use skills, you can improve
them, and – on the plus side – there are a lot of options available in terms of
weaponry. Weapons are graded out and can be customized to a small extent. The
overall AI is a bit suspect. Enemies can flank you, but will get rather dumb at
the oddest times.
There are
several paths to go down in this game and while you will start off as a solo
fighter, you will pick up squad members. Back to the SPM – each time you try to
get someone to do something, the game pauses – and not just for the main
character, but the squad members as well. But the idea is still a sound one –
you can work through dialogue and create an experience that is unique to some
extent.
Graphically
the game is below average. The lack of bump mapping gives everything a flat look
and though the game tries to pull off a three-dimensional look, it is just not
that good. When you see a palm tree, you may almost laugh at the way it looks
and the buildings look like boxes that have been piled together with the tops
cut off. The musical score is repetitive and can be annoying after a bit. Most
of the game is driven by text dialogue, but the tutorial accents leave something
to be desired. The camera does not follow and has to be manually directed, but
even then getting it to a place where you will see the action the way you need
to is a chore.
Brigade E5
obviously had the best of intentions, but the execution falters and the game
comes out feeling like something that would have been adequate 5-6 years ago,
rather than a game trying to compete with the likes of more modern looking and
playing shooters. This is a game that could have been more but seems to have
shipped in a rawer beta form.
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Gameplay:
4.0
Game paused – get
used to seeing that a lot. You can use the options to alleviate the plethora of
auto pauses that take place, but the game still is configured to pause more than
seems necessary. The camera, while rotatable, does not truly allow for you to
adequately follow your main character. The control scheme has a minor learning
curve.
Graphics:
5.0
The animations are
not all that great and the overall look is just below average.
Sound: 3.8
Bad accents and
forced dialogue. The music can also get annoying.
Difficulty:
Medium
Oops, there is a
target somewhere behind that wall that can’t quite be seen even though the
controlled character is in the same room. Come to think of it, the controlled
character is barely visible because the camera does not swing around that well.
There are three settings, though.
Concept: 5.0
There are different
mercenaries you can play as, as well as experiencing the action from the
perspective of three different factions. In this regard the game does well. It’s
just too bad that it stumbles with some of the other ideas – like the movement
and inventory screens.
Multiplayer:
N/A
The game sports
multiplayer game modes (deathmatch, assault styles) through either TCP/IP (host
or find a server) or modem. No one was online to play with.
Overall: 4.0
There is hardly a
flow to the game and with the poor camera controls and poor animations this is a
title that is better off passed on.
