‘Mecho Wars’ Review – Once More Unto The Breach
Mecho Wars is what comes out of a dream machine that’s rusted and warped but fueled on good intentions and lovingly implemented. It’s playful but cruel and very shy when it comes to expressing itself. By the time I had completed it, the “wars” had taken their toll.
Set in the same world as one of creator Luc Bernard’s previous games, the ill-received Eternity’s Child, Mecho Wars is a turn-based strategy game that relies more on puzzle solving than tactical maneuvering. The game centers on a conflict between the Winged Crusade and the Landians; two separate races that have been at war ever since a great flood when the former flew to higher ground, leaving the latter to fend for themselves. Recently ported to PSN as a Mini, the game first launched on iOS in 2009 and borrows several core gameplay mechanics from earlier entries in the genre like Advance Wars.
Battles are fought on square grids with terrain effects and the passage of time both influencing the way units must navigate the map. The completion of each round, composed of a player phase and an enemy phase, pushes the clock forward an hour with bodies of water freezing over and thus becoming traversable by land units for a short period each night. In addition, mountains provide cover for units that are defending – greatly hampering mobility as expected.
But the major component of Mecho Wars’ strategic gameplay comes from its resource and unit management. At the start of every battle each side controls a primary base. Then, over the course of the level, units are sent to capture factories and cities, with the former providing fresh units while the latter supplies the funds to purchase them. Like any competent turn-based strategy game, Mecho Wars is about managing resources.
However, none of this is revolutionary. Even the freezing water effect has only a minimal impact on the actual gameplay. With time changing as slowly as it does, it can sometimes take ten to twelve turns until the freeze over goes into effect. With the need to gain an advantage early on, battles that last this long are almost always hopeless by that point, making the day and night cycle interesting but ultimately irrelevant.
Mecho Wars is, at its core, about rolling out the right units in the right order at the right time to most effectively counter the opposing army. There are three basic unit types: infantry, air, and heavy. Each has a strength and weakness based on the principle behind Rock, Paper, Scissors. In other words, make even one or two miscalculations and the players can get caught in drawn out conflict where neither side gains much ground. Units do an extensive amount of damage with most being destroyed in one encounter if the right counter-unit is being employed.
Which leaves Mecho Wars with only two speeds: exceedingly fast or exceptionally slow. Make the right combination of moves early on and a battle can end in ten turns. Make the wrong ones and it could instead last up to an hour. At which point the game’s disarming art style and haunting soundtrack over stay their welcome. Bernard Luc’s character designs fall somewhere between Roger Rabbit and Dr. Seuss and composer Sean Beeson’s melodies help ground the world of Mecho Wars, if only monetarily. Like a strange dream pleasantly recalled, Mecho Wars will provide a vague experience that is best enjoyed quickly and superficially. Stay too long in Divination Deserts where the game takes place and the game loses its charm, with no deep strategy or addictive gameplay to offer in its place.
More information on Mecho Wars can be found on the official website. Mecho Wars can be purchased on the App Store, GamersGate and on the PS Mini Store.
