Deep Silver 09: Hands-on: Mytran Wars - News

by VGChartz Staff , posted on 11 August 2009 / 2,737 Views

Mytran Wars is a turned based strategy game coming exclusively to the PSP. The story takes place in the 23rd century after nearly all of the Earth’s resources have been depleted. Fiver major corporations have total control of the government and military. One in particular, Kondor Corp., has stepped up to the vanguard of space conquest. As a result, Kondor Corp. leads a full assault on planet Mytra, which is believed to be too primitive to provide strong opposition. Of course, they're wrong, and that is where the player comes in.

The first characters you meet and control are Rachael and Eli Koch, two mech engineers fighting for Kondor. Playing the tutorial I was introduced to a third character, Loki who acts as your commanding officer. The tutorial mission takes place on Mytra’s moon and introduces the basic mechanics of the gameplay. Mytran Wars is strategy at its simplest. Players will have a turn to move and command their units, then any computer allies will have a turn, and then the enemy will go in this same order until the mission is over. You command your units to move and attack just as you would in most turn based strategy titles. The range at which you can attack varies and sometimes come as a surprise. Both enemy mechs and my own were attacking when they were several units away and diagonal from each other. Once you attack, your opponent automatically fires back at you. When they initiate the assault themselves, you have the choice of of course your opponent responds automatically but when they attack you, you are given a choice on what to do next, including a different attack or not attacking at all. After your turn is over, you are given the option to change the direction your mech is facing, which is important to note because a hit from the side or behind will result in critical damage being dealt. The tutorial tasked me with destroying four enemy mechs - two with the game's assistance, and then two on my own - and was pretty straightforward.

After completing the tutorial, the assault on Mytra begins. More important than simply defeating the enemy forces is completing the mission objectives, which in the case of the first mission was defeating a few Mytran troops and taking control of their energy gate. The terrain varies and as it does so too does the amount of movements your mech can make. The enemies on Mytra differed from the mobile mechs you encounter in the tutorial. Instead, everything on Mytra seems to be a blend of biological alien technology and creatures. On my first playthrough, I failed because I mistakenly destroyed the energy wall instead of capturing it as you would any enemy building, a process that bolsters your power and resources at the expense of the enemy.

The game sports a colorful cel-shaded visual style that suits it well. The maps I played were well detailed and as interesting to play on as to look at. The story is told through comic book cutscenes and seems interesting early on, as do the characters. There is full voice acting, and from what I’ve heard the sound design seems spot on with good effects, music, and voice actors. Controls and interface came instinctively and did not bother me at all during my playtime. Throughout your campaign you can upgrade your arsenal using credits earned based on your performance.

From what I’ve played, Mytran Wars seems to be strategy at its enjoyable core. Nothing in particular jumped out and grabbed me but everything looked promising. Look for Mytran Wars when it invades your PSP sometime this year.