Str: Titan Assault [by GoldBolt Software]

Game Review: Titan Assault
Release Date: May 15, 2005
Developer: GoldBolt Software
Genre: Strategy > RTS (Action)
System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, Pentium II 500 MHz, 64 RAM, 8 MB graphics card, Direct X 8.1+
Players: 1
Price: $19.95
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“War is hell.” General Sherman made this statement during one of the bloodiest conflicts of our nation’s history. If the Civil War general had known that we would one day fight wars as entertainment, he might have changed his mind. Strategy games have prospered on the PC but until last year the genre had grown stale. Mainstream game such as War Hammer 40k: Dawn of War and Act of War Direct Action have helped open up the real time strategy game to people not traditionally interested in the genre.

GoldBolt Software’s Titan Assault continues this new trend of making RTS games more accessible to the casual player. The game is a unique hybrid of action and strategy. There are no complicated tech trees or resource management systems here. Titan Assault streamlines the base and technology processes. The focus of this game is action. The game plays like a “What You See is What you Get” Version of an RTS. Like any other real time strategy game, you build units and throw them at your enemy’s lines. And like any other strategy game, you have to upgrade your units and buildings to keep up with the enemy general. Unlike most RTS’s however, Titan Assault lets you take direct control over any of your units at any time. This changes the value of units from cannon fodder to actual prized members of the team. The “assault” itself involves Humans against an evil alien race though the story doesn’t seem to add much to the game play.

The game starts out with a briefing screen explaining the situation that we earthlings have found ourselves in. This road has been tread before. Aliens have a chip on their shoulder; they’ve come to blow up earth. Again it is up to you as commander of the earth’s armies to stop them. Humans vs. Aliens seems to be the modern equivalent of Humans Vs. Orcs. The story is told in short mission briefings. The briefings narrate what you have to do in that level and that’s about it. The story in the game is merely a means to an end.

The units of any strategy game generally make or break a title. Luckily, in Titan Assault you’re given plenty of unit types in your fight against the alien horde. The humans fight with everyday standard military fare. There are helicopters, tanks and variety of missile units at your disposal. The only problem is that some units seem to serve the same purpose. You will buy the same units over and over again as you play this game. To get new units you simply have to order reinforcements. A drop ship usually completes your order in a few seconds. You will appreciate the quickness of these reinforcements during those later frantic battles where every unit counts. Most of the units are weak enough to be destroyed in three or four hits. In groups, however your units become deadly. You can also control a unit or group of units at any time by holding down the ‘control’ key. With direct control the game plays more like an action game than a strategy game. You will need to take direct control of your units at several points in the game. In some levels you are only given one unit and if you lose that unit it is game over so mastering this game’s action controls is of the utmost importance.

The war itself takes place all over earth. You will fight in the frozen tundra and the blistering deserts to repel the aliens from our little ball of blue. The levels themselves work for the most part, but the graphics are less than they could be. Once the lead starts flying though, you won’t care too much about the presentation. The sound itself adds tremendously to the atmosphere of the game and helps draw you in to the frantic firefights that you will encounter.

The game features a story mode and that’s about it. The developers missed a great chance for a multiplayer game. In this day and age, multiplayer in strategy games isn’t an option it’s a requirement. Although the game is missing multiplayer you still get a solid single player game for your 20 bucks. At a hefty 80+ levels the single player story mode of this game should keep you busy for a while.

Graphics: 6/10
The graphics definitely work against Titan Assault here. Although the gameplay itself is enjoyable, the presentation is somewhat lacking. The game goes for a retro 2d top down look but features 3d effects. While this particular style has worked for shooters, it seems to detract from Titan Assault, though it does have some nice particle and laser effects. The levels in which the game takes place are muddied at best. It is also difficult to tell which types of units you are controlling. (Only after watching them attack can you tell which unit is which.)

Graphical aesthetics aside, the graphics do not provide you with the information you need. There is no standard control panel like those found in most strategy games. The radar is also small and virtually useless. These Interface absences lead to a lot of guesswork, which will lead to a lot of restarted levels.

Sound: 7/10
In stark contrast to Titan Assault’s graphics, the sound in this game is well done. The gunfire and explosions sound crisp and perfect. When a battle starts, you will be privy to hearing stuff ‘blow up real good’. The unit responses are not as good as the other sound effects. In fact, every unit responds with the same four speeches. After a while this will grate on you, and eventually you will simply tune these sounds out. There is also no music score to speak of. A few more sounds would have added tremendously to Titan Assault’s atmosphere. As it stands, the sounds that are present are well done, while the ones that are absent could have only helped the games otherwise great sound effects.

Game Play: 8/10
The gameplay in Titan Assault is by no means revolutionary, but it is well done. The solid blend of equal parts action and strategy make the game extremely easy to pick up and play. After playing through a few of the opening levels you will be fairly well acclimated to the gameplay. At any time, you can take control of any of your mobile units. This helps keep the game from becoming a boring cycle of building and attacking. The action mode also helps you keep your units from being slaughtered by the alien weapons. Many of the games 80 levels are fairly short plays. These bite-sized levels further increase Titan Assault’s pick-up-and-play appeal. One problem though, is your ability to save during a mission. When you load a game it starts from the beginning of whatever level you save on. This leads to some frustrating restarts should you make a tactical blunder.

Value: 8/10
For the 20 bucks you do get a solid single player game that has 80+ levels. The lack of multiplayer modes hurts Titan Assault’s replay value here, but the story mode should keep you busy for at least a month or two, and you can always test your skills on the higher difficulty settings.

Concept: 6/10
The concept of Aliens Vs. Humans is nothing new. It is almost a conflict as old as time itself, but if you need a new alien-human war fix, Titan Assault does the concept fairly well. The presentation of the story could definitely use some improvement. Since the game only has a story mode, more time should have spent polishing the story itself. Titan Assault’s story is told in a very linear manner with no grand plot twists and no surprises. The story doesn’t compel you to find out what happens next. You merely go from mission to mission blowing up aliens.

Fun: 7/10
What Titan Assault lacks in presentation, it makes with its fun pick-up-and-play factor. This game is extremely accessible to even the most casual players. Both hardcore strategy fans and casual gamers will find fun in Titan Assault.

Overall: 8/10
While Titan Assault could have been great with a bit more polish. The game concept is not terribly original but it is well done and the gameplay is fast and fun. Had it been combined with a stronger presentation, this game would be a definite must have. Still, the game is easy to pick up and play and if players are willing to look past the graphics, they will find an exciting RTS.
Added: September 24th 2005
Reviewer: Marvin Hawkins
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