HardCore Mecha
First of all, thank you for today's headlines for allowing Shark Brother to play the super-flammable domestic masterpiece of "Hardcore Mech" in the first time!
"Hardcore Mech" is a domestic 2D horizontal version of the mecha combat action game developed and released by Rocket Fist Technology, the following will be brought by me to the personal evaluation of this work, the content is slightly subjective, but also hope that all readers Haihan. If you want to save time to take a look, you can directly read the "general review" at the end of the article.
<h1>Foreword: Super Robot Wars</h1>
Speaking of Hardcore Mechs, we have to talk about the Super Robot Wars series, because there is a lot of connection between the two.
Brother Shark is a loyal strategy wargame enthusiast, and one of the best battle flag game series he came into contact with as a child is Super Robot Wars. I remember that the first time I played the series was when I borrowed a classmate's GBA game console as a child, and it was said to be the first work in the series. Although I played it around 2002, many years after its release, it still made me have a lot of fun.
Later, the Super Robot Wars series released various sequels to the series on various platforms, and they adhered to the hardcore gameplay, handsome mechs, and explosive BGM, all of which were talked about. "Machine warfare is a game for hot-blooded boys" became the most popular evaluation of the machine warfare series by players at that time.
Figure 0-1: Super Robot Wars Z on the PS2 platform, the battle animation is very exquisitely made
Such a manly romantic work has certainly attracted many hot-blooded men, including a man named Mu Fei.
<h1>I. Mu Fei and Codename: Hardcore</h1>
Mu Fei is a loyal Fan of Super Robot Wars, and he is also a hot-blooded boy. He has a dream to turn the wonderful battle screens in Super Robot Wars into real-time operations, so that players can enjoy the fun of controlling mechs and have a good time! Now, that dream has come true, and Hardcore Mechs are finally on sale. In fact, as early as three years ago, the predecessor of "Hardcore Mech", "Codename: Hardcore", has long appeared, let's first look at the birth process of "Codename: Hardcore".
Mu Fei graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, majoring in game design, and he began working for major game companies in his sophomore year. After eight years of continuous struggle, Mu Fei finally left with his three ideas and founded Rocket Fist Technology with two other partners. Later, for his three ideas, Mu Fei killed two less feasible solutions after considering thousands of ideas, and the one that was finally left and deeply cultivated was "Codename: Hardcore".
In September 2016, Codename: Hardcore landed on the famous overseas crowdfunding website Kickstarter, and completed the miracle of raising $107,000 in just about 10 days; of course, the domestic crowdfunding website Modian also raised 390,000 yuan. Both of these data reached the peak of domestic game crowdfunding data at that time. After three years of careful polishing of Rocket Fist Technology, "Hardcore Mecha" arrived as promised.
So what makes Hardcore Mech so glamorous? Brother Shark will take you to find out below.
Figure 1-1: Founder of Rocket Boxing Technology with the temperament of Richard Ayod (British director): Mu Fei
<h1>Second, the main interface: bloody and concise</h1>
1. The theme song of the explosion
As soon as you open the main interface of the game, a burning heavy metal rock style theme song hits your ears, instantly igniting the author's small universe! Most importantly, it is not only bloody, but also gives people a special sense of familiarity!
The singer of the theme song "Dash & Strike" turned out to be the famous hot-blooded singer Shadow Mountain Hiroshi! Shadow Mountain's singing voice can be said to have accompanied the author's entire childhood - the theme song of "Dragon Ball", "Saint Seiya", "Ultraman" and other bloody animations, all have his presence. Intense notes on the dynamic beat, stimulating the player's blood and passion, ready to do a big job!
It is worth mentioning that in the Weibo of Rocket Fist Technology, you can see the interview with Shadow Mountain Haoxuan, the Aquarius uncle born in 61 years, who still brings us countless blood and pride, paying tribute to him!
Figure 2-1: Shouting "Fighting" to the audience! "Shadow Mountain Hiroshi
2. Operating system
Shark Brother is playing the PC version, the main interface has a total of four buttons, very concise: single-player mode, multiplayer mode, settings, exit.
As can be seen in the settings of the main interface, the game provides two sets of operating systems, one is the key and mouse operation, the other is the gamepad, and the two sets of operations can be switched instantly, which is very convenient. But personally feel that these two sets of operating systems have their own advantages and disadvantages, the overall experience is not particularly satisfactory, may be because of my personal hand damage, some places are not very comfortable, I will talk about the problems encountered in the operation below:
(1) The gamepad's shooting is only 0°, 45°, 90°, and you must stand in place and hold down RT (the button below the upper right of the controller) to aim;
(2) When the gamepad is moving, the arrow keys will make the body turn at the same time, and it is impossible to shoot forward at the same time when retreating; (Figure 2-2)
(3) There are similar problems when the key and mouse operation: when controlling people instead of the body, if you press shift to roll to the left, it is easy to roll to the right, because the cursor must slide to the left of the character to ensure that the person is rolling to the left.
In summary, I personally think that in the PC version, it is more reasonable to play mecha with keyboard and mouse operation, and play character operation with a gamepad.
Figure 2-2: The keyboard and mouse operation can attack backwards while attacking forward
3. Game mode
The most prominent on the main interface are two very different game modes - single-player mode and multiplayer mode.
Of course, the types of experience and fun that the two game modes bring to us are also very different, and I will elaborate on the two modes in the following content.
Figure 2-3: Concise main interface
<h1>3. Single-player mode: a wonderful game journey</h1>
It was this single-player model that delayed the release date of Hardcore Mech for three years. So what does it feel like to actually experience it?
1. A bloody king story without nonsense
In the game, we play a mercenary who acts only for the sake of profit, and sets foot on Mars because he receives a mission to find important non-commissioned officers, but in this war, he encounters various things and changes, and finally finds his heart and fights for his heart.
The simple plot setting contains a lot of special classic and bloody bridges, and Brother Shark simply said a few:
(1) Integration
Speaking of mecha genre works, how can they not fit? This has become the most important part of the mechwarm: up to the "Thunder King of the Six Gods", down to the "God of War King Kong Hundred Beasts King", "composed of me to form the head" has become an obsession of mecha fans. But please rest assured, Rocket Fist Technology will certainly not disappoint us! As shown in GIF 3-1:
Figure 3-1: Fit!!
(2) Main ship, main gun
In any cosmic mecha work, the base camp of the protagonist side must be a main ship, and this game is certainly no exception, but it is surprising that the player can not only control the ship in the later stages, but also experience the majesty of the main ship firing the main gun! As shown in GIF 3-2:
Figure 3-2: Ambitious main gun launch! (Shocking in every sense)
(3) Old enemies
Traditional settings such as "Destined Nemesis" are undoubtedly the standard for the story of The King of Blood – such as Vegeta to Monkey King (Dragon Ball), Wren to Alvin (Dream Simulator 2), Sasuke to Naruto (Naruto), and the protagonist of this game also has a good rival Vophis who is everywhere.
The red-haired Wolfis is cool and arrogant when he first appears, but as the plot progresses, you will find that this person full of conscience and faith is something you can't hate. The enemy full of personality charm makes the plot of the whole game more full, and the difference in the choice between the two leads to the difference in fate, but men will not think so much when they encounter difficulties, and fighting is our language!
As for the ending of the two of them, I will not spoil it here, let's go to the game to find the answer!
Figure 3-3: Two people who love and kill each other (mistaken)
2. Pure 2D exquisite mech and battle screen
Pure 2D side-scrolling gameplay and graphics give people the illusion of dreaming back to the arcade era, but whether it is the intense interplay of guns, the effect of bombs and flash bombs, the heavy mecha collision, or the super gorgeous must-kill close-up screen, people have to admire the conscience of the game's production - I really feel that I am operating a hardcore mecha, not a paper character.
And all this excellent sense of experience to create, are polished by the 2D effect, you know, now the cost of doing 2D effects is much higher than the cost of 3D effects, rocket boxing technology such an ingenious attitude, is really like the game of mecha combat, fist to flesh directly poke my heart.
Figure 3-4: Wonderful battle screen
3. Colorful ways to play
In the single-player mode, it's not just a static horizontal battle, it incorporates lurking, water battles, and even a horizontal bullet screen game similar to Saraman Snake. The colorful way of playing and the various game plots interspersed with it make the author feel fresh all the time during the entire playing process, don't say let me "don't stop", I want to stop it!
Author's note: "Don't Stop" is a meme from episode 48 of Mobile Suit Gundam: Predator Olfense, and interested friends can check it out for themselves. This achievement is also achieved in this work, which shows the degree of love of the production team for mecha.
The following is a screenshot of Brother Shark in the game to share these bloody gameplay methods (figure 3-5~3-9):
Figure 3-5: Infiltration mode of not killing a single person to complete the level
Figure 3-6: Add bosses to both the water and underwater areas
Figure 3-7: An aerial area that will be destroyed if it falls
Figure 3-8: Regions of the universe with a strong sense of weightlessness
Fig. 3-9: Sharoman Snake-style barrage level
4. Detailed teaching with the Gospel of the Handicapped Party
Shark Brother is actually a little mildly hand-disabled, but there is no pressure to get started when playing "Hardcore Mech", because the pre-game process of single-player mode is full of a lot of teaching, step by step to teach players how to control the body, a little familiarity can be a galloping mech on the battlefield.
Unlike a strategy game like Super Robot Wars, Hardcore Mechs don't require much thought, just fly around with thrusters and fight for your life. And the only boss with difficulty, with a hand crippled like me, can easily find out the enemy's routine and pass the level after being killed several times.
It is no secret that Brother Shark is relying on a passion for blood, with the background music of the explosion, adhering to the mentality of "a fierce operation is like a tiger, and the enemy is all two hundred and five". Even if you lose, you can resurrect the current level with full blood, and between the level and the level, there are many times a repair device that can restore full blood, which further reduces the difficulty of the game. Passionately experienced, I can only tell you: enjoying fast-paced combat with a passion is the right way to experience this game.
Figure 3-10: When encountering a ranged enemy, rush up to the melee combat
Of course, our various skills have their own CD (cooldown), if you are a master of fighting games or action games, you can achieve the rhythm of your own battle through the study and operation of the skill CD, so that the whole battle process is full of your own combat beauty!
But what if you're really a severe hand-wrecked player and want to watch the single-player story? Don't be afraid, the production team has prepared a game plug-in for our players very carefully (see Figure 3-11), as long as you equip it, it will greatly increase the performance of our mech! The only consequence is that each level is fixed at D. As long as you can enjoy the unparalleled sense of confidence in the world, this prop plug-in believes that many handicapped parties can definitely get a lot of fun when they use it!
Figure 3-11: The game comes with a D evaluation exclusive plug-in prop
5. True stand-alone
This single-player mode is a true "stand-alone" mode, because from start to finish we can only manipulate a single type of mech, Thunderstorm. However, as the story progresses, our level will get higher and higher, and we will also get a lot of upgraded equipment, and we can also strengthen our mechs with the money we usually get. The same is a thunderstorm, whether it is more shooting or more fighting, or full of mechanical power, depending on the player's own choice, very free.
Figure 3-12: Brother Shark is partially defensive because of his hand cripple, improving survivability
However, Brother Shark personally believes that introducing more models in the single-player mode, or allowing the protagonist to jump out of the thunderstorm for other enemy models, may increase the player's fun of multi-weekly. After all, after a week, I didn't have the motivation to do the two-week goal except to acquire an ultimate skill called "Bullet Time" (shown in Figures 3-12 for the introduction).
<h1>4. Multiplayer mode: the joy of returning to the original heart</h1>
Of course, after the single-player mode, a better option than the two weeks is to play multiplayer mode. Playing multiplayer seems to be a new continent, as it has more elements than single-player mode does.
1. A variety of body selection
Unlike the stand-alone mode, in the multiplayer mode, we can choose from a variety of models. There are balanced and highly maneuverable thunderstorms, there are also fighting models used by the old enemy Vophis in the plot, such as the red flames, the sniper viper, the siege cannon round hammer, and so on (as shown in Figure 4-1). More models will be unlocked as we level up in multiplayer mode.
Figure 4-1: Choose from a variety of models
Each model has its own unique mode of operation and characteristics, if you need to practice, you can enter the "driving range" mode, if you know its skills, you can watch it in the ESC pause menu.
2. Four times more happy
Brother Shark has been raised by games since he was a child, but to ask which part of the game makes me happiest, of course, is to share - there is nothing more enjoyable than a few friends playing together.
Whether it is the "Contra" and "Blood Soccer" in the FC period, or the various fighting games and horizontal-version game in the arcade, or the "Monopoly" series in PC, they are all must-play projects for friends when they were young. Not only is the game fun, but it also enhances the feelings between friends.
Fig. 4-2: Local battles are presented on 4 small screens
In the multiplayer mode of "Hardcore Mech", in addition to network battles, it also provides the option of "local battle", as long as you have enough gamepads, you can open 2 to 4 people of local battles. Embarrassingly, regardless of whether the number of players is 2 or 4, the game screen is 4 partitions. (As shown in Figure 4-2)
The author once watched four big guys in the game industry play "Hardcore Mecha" on the Internet, and they usually showed a childlike innocent and cute smile. (As shown in Figure 4-3)
Figure 4-3: The four big guys of the core are happily fighting, and the smiles on their faces make people feel the pleasure that the game brings to them
3. Hand Slaughter Mech?
If you are a person who dares to challenge yourself, you can occasionally consider jumping out of the mech and using the human body against the enemy mech. People's weaknesses and strengths are prominent: attack and defense are very low, easy to kill violently, but the target point is small, and the other party is not easy to aim at you. So the normal usage is to press C to escape from the cabin to the safe house (only the human form can escape back) when the mech is about to break down, and the dream of the hand slaughter mech will be handed over to the real master player!
Fig. 4-4: Although he tried to slaughter the mech by hand, his attack power was too weak
4. Summary
The multiplayer mode controls the battle for 5 minutes, and the simple and fast combat is addictive, fully meeting the needs of modern people who like fast-paced entertainment. If you call two or three friends and play together on a big screen, the happiness will be multiplied, and the shock of the game's guns and mech collisions can release the pressure of people in a short period of time.
<h1>Overall: Truly hardcore! </h1>
First, the advantages
It can be said that whether it is single-player mode or multiplayer mode, "Hardcore Mecha" is worthy of its name, because he really embodies the word hardcore:
1. The whole process of the single-player mode is about 10 hours (depending on the degree of your hand damage, the shark brother's mild hand cripple played for 12 hours to pass the level), the colorful gameplay and the plot of the Blood King Road make people enjoy playing with relish, and the occasional machine battle terrier is even more heart-to-heart. As the experience continues to transform the thunderstorm to upgrade, it also makes people feel that they grow up with the protagonist, and the sense of substitution is full.
2. The operation of the mech is not easy to get started, but once it is used, it is addictive, the weight and texture of the mech are very vivid and natural under the rendering of the picture, action and sound effects, and the player can fully feel that he is operating a mech. Gradually adapting to the operation mode will make people more immersed in the game and enjoy the battle.
Figure 5-1: Boss battles that require high operational and observational powers
3. The difficulty of the single-player mode is medium, the early stage is relatively simple and the later stage is more difficult. However, the most difficult BOSS battle as long as you master the boss moves can easily pass the level, really can not be equipped with official props to reduce the difficulty, the game not only meets the hardcore players on the pursuit of difficulty, but also very friendly to novices. (Figure 5-1)
4. There are many single-player mode gameplay: horizontal version, underwater, air, cosmic weightlessness, lurking, bullet screen, let people play a game to have six different experiences, very valuable.
5. The simple and refreshing battle of the multiplayer mode is addictive: the CD (cooldown time) of the skill makes people have to pay attention to the rhythm of the battle, the variety of models and multiple skills make people not study enough, and the switching between people and mechs also brings more possibilities to the battlefield, which makes people find the fun of the game.
Figure 5-2: Fun unlimited multiplayer mode
Second, disadvantages
Of course, the game can not be perfect, personally believe that "hardcore mecha" also has the following shortcomings:
1. Reload ammunition:
This does make Brother Shark a bit puzzling, and sometimes combat techniques need to be filled with ammo in order to meet the next battle. At this time, only after the remaining bullets can be automatically reloaded, if you can manually reload I believe it will be more convenient. However, in the single-player mode, the last weapon unlocked has the performance of auto-reloading, which is very convenient.
2. Credit operation:
As mentioned earlier, the handle operation is slightly uncomfortable, especially the fact that shooting at a specific angle is very inconvenient. And the cruelest thing is that the key position of the handle cannot be customized and modified. Again, it is highly recommended that you use your mouse and keyboard to manipulate thunderstorms. A fighting-style model like the Crimson Flame that has a two-stage jump will be more comfortable to experience with the handle.
Figure 5-3: Snipers who need to aim, it is more convenient to use key and mouse operation
3. Single-player mode multi-week view:
The fun of multi-week in single-player mode is very low, and basically you don't want to play single-player mode after one week.
3. Summary
Finally, I have to say what makes me feel the hardcore of this game the most — that is, the original intention of the makers. After playing "Hardcore Mecha", the biggest impression on me is that the producer is really designing this game with his heart, and the various details in the game perfectly reflect the essence of his fighter fans, full of love.
Figure 5-4: Official early morning is still working
After the release of the game, the official received a lot of players' opinions, Figure 5-4 is rocket fist technology official reply to players' questions Weibo. The time you can see is 3:55 a.m. So dedicated to improve their own products and do a good job in after-sales service, such a hard-core working attitude, it is difficult to succeed.
I hope that more and more companies like Rocket Fist Technology will make games with their hearts, and we look forward to playing more masterpieces from them in the future!
Figure 5-5: In the nuclear fusion activity of the rocket fist technology team, the two bazookas in the hands of Mu Fei are the shark brother himself
A one-sentence brief comment: In addition to the problem of ammunition and handles, "Hardcore Mech" brought me an extremely hardcore mech combat experience, very cool and hot!
Personal Rating: 8.8 out of 10
(This article is original by today's headlines @ comic shark brother game, plagiarism is strictly prohibited.) ）