REVIEW: Battle Engine Aquila (PS2/XBOX)

[@ElMarcoHoJ]

Holy fucking shit. I have been trying to find and remember this fucking game for well over a decade, and never could. After once again searching "ps2 mech games", this video popped up. Saw the thumbnail and instantly recognised the cover art.

[@playbabethebookshelf6249]

kinda half disagree on "you are not required to think about your approach to certain battle scenarios" damn man this game just need a little bit tweak and it would be an awesome game. I tried to get a bonus mission so I had to finish almost every mission with S rank including Hard version of them. Gotta said can't really mindlessly go rampage, I have to think where I will go first, what objective I will prioritize next or more in order to get the S rank. Can't get too far those bomber gonna pop up and destroy the whole base in a minute, there is an escaping carrier ship I have to destroy that so far away. sum-up the game would be more fun and engage if these rank will affect us in the future mission. it gives us a task that will put you on the edge but they fail to execute it right :< anyway, this is my favourite game my childhood, good to see some people talking about it in 2019 edit: oh hey bmx7596 said exactly like me XD

[@mikechrys4044]

Ohh the memories, i loved this game more than any other

[@maulord4]

Playing this game. Amazing. Similar to star wars Clone wars

[@ViciousAlienKlown]

It's a fun game but I think it could've used more development time. I own it and play once in a great while. The concept is great but the execution doesn't quite live up to it.

[@Math_0027]

Awful review. Disagree with absolutely everything. This game is an amazing underrated gem, it's not perfect by any means, but something you probably don't know is it was made in just over 12 months. For starters I think the ambience and art design is just unique, I haven't seen anything remotely similar that came before or after this. Forseti and Muspell are at war because global warming caused the artic to melt and the world became flooded, making every available piece of land invaluable. About not having to "think your approach to any mission" you probably didn't complete secondary objectives or got higher grades in any of the missions, because some of them require quite a bit of skill and knowledge of where the enemies are coming from and how to efficiently beat them, especially the later levels, (eg: Battle for Yenya). I'm kinda gutted this game never got a remake, because it has a LOT of potential, but we never got to see it due to technical limitations of the time.

[@RetroGameRater]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@BotBruh448]

I remember playing the demo of this over and over again just seeing how much destruction I could cause or how much of a high rank I would get. Kind of disappointed that you'd rate it so low, I had a blast playing it when I was younger

[@RetroGameRater]

I wish I liked this game more, sadly, time hasn't been too kind to it.

[@straightoutta6045]

Same! It took me years to remember the name 🤣 now I just gotta find it

[@BotBruh448]

@@straightoutta6045 PCSX2 ;))

[@bmx7596]

Disagree overall. I think where this game shines is attempting to get better mission ratings, this really opens up a new branch of gameplay that it was designed around, hence the reason "Evo" missions are part of the dynamic. This game is pretty bad if you play it like a typical "do the missions" experience. It's super easy that way and unfulfilling. Learning the Battle Engine's quirks really feels awesome when you finally get all those "S" ratings. My six year old can complete the campaign otherwise, with modest ratings, but you really have to use strategy in order to get top scores. The AI is actually very impressive for the time. Destroy the fighter carriers and it allows friendly bombers to destroy ground forces etc. You have to think of it like an RTS in the FPS so to speak. Just from watching your gameplay I noticed all sorts of signs that you were just breezing through it, even the way you handled the weaponry. I'd give it a 3/10 in traditional gaming style(complete the missions), and an 8/10 using strategy to get better scores. IGN even labeled this game on of the top 100 titles of that generation. One fault is that its not clear you need to play it a certain way to really get what it's trying to accomplish, and I think most people play it the way you did. I honestly think the game was much harder in the middle of development, but to cater to a more casual fanbase they allowed for players to progress without accomplishing tasks by eliminating many of the objectives that give you the S ratings. I think this was a mistake.

[@RetroGameRater]

Some very good points, I'm sure there is a way to get more of the experience by aiming for better scores, but as you said, the game doesn't do a great job at communicating that to you.

[@mikechrys4044]

Also the game has some "boss" missions that truly require a special approach and not being Rambo killer. For example in the last mission taking cover is very important and pilot mode is a big no no xd . In the end i did like your review because in my mind it was a perfect game and i didn't know any other opinions about it :)

[@stanbury4740]

Honestly for a ps2 game I thought that it was ahead of its time. You had the freedom of grand theft auto and the fire power of the future. Is there anything more satisfying than your double cannon tanks firing over you when blue firebombs and air fighters and bombers flew over to destroy an enemy with a huge army??? I played with my army, and it made me feel a part of it, like I belonged.

[@TsakuraWataame]

This is a new one for me. To what it sounds like, It'd be a great addition to my collection! Thanks for the review!

[@robarmstrong5404]

Great game but it took me a full playthrough to understand that I needed to concentrate on higher ratings. Never got the S rating for every map.

[@RetroGameRater]

S rating on every map sounds like a real task.

[@robarmstrong5404]

@@RetroGameRater yes. I might have gotten 70% and that's really putting in the effort.

[@Steadysphere]

Honestly never heard of this game before, but it sounds like I wasn't missing much. Still nice to learn of these through your reviews, great stuff :)

[@RetroGameRater]

This one passed me by too back in the day. I can see why I never picked it up, was never really into mech based stuff.

[@bmx7596]

I honestly still play it to this day, the fun comes in something not discussed in this review at all. Using strategy to achieve better ratings. One of the top 100 games of that generation per IGN, which I actually trusted in those days.

[@followerofteaandspice1815]

I played this game non stop back in the day Until my dad used the disc as a scare crow And like 5 other discs of games that i didn't know of and never even played

[@dmannouch]

I bought this game not knowing anything about it. I loved it! I always wished there were more co op missions; I think there were only 3 or 4

[@ShaunTheCHB]

Hawk Winter........who the hell comes up with these names? Does look nice, quite colorful and a simple sort of game. Not degrees in maths required to play it. Shame that it's so bland. Looks like a budget title for sure. I never heard of this game till now, always like it when you review these unheard of titles.

[@RetroGameRater]

Showing people game's they'd never heard of is the main reason I started my channel, so I'm glad I'm doing my job correctly.

[@danielvandusen5724]

I must be doing something wrong because I really enjoyed this game, and the later levels became increasingly difficult. If you're at all a fan of these types of games, then I would really recommend this game. I always thought of it as hidden gem and going by most of the comments below, I'm not the only one.

[@GoldenGateNum9]

The poor persons Metroid 😢

[@Jaxtar25]

Damn, I was looking for this game yesterday and couldn't find anything but now I stumble upon your channel and recognized it right away. I loved playing the multiplayer as a kid. Good review.

[@rainmanslim4611]

God I loved this game so much

[@klarekante3363]

I had to re-do a lot of the missions several times because I hat to find out which enemy to attac first. So I also disagree about some of the things said. I like the game, feeling pretty close to Star Wars Starfighter.

[@crabbuckets7506]

First 😂 excellent as always.

[@RetroGameRater]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@crabbuckets7506]

@@RetroGameRater Thanks for the great content, this generation is not talked about enough.

[@GeekGamerGui]

"I'll pass." like Ryo would say.

[@RetroGameRater]

Smart choice.

[@Stoni41]

The fuq is this, looks dope thoe

[@TheArtOfTechSupport]

I bet he doesn’t kiss ya