![]() ![]() This was a personal touch that I enjoyed, especially given that most of the RTS titles that I’ve played online in the past forced the player to pick sides in order to lock down their desired unit types. Further adding to the fun is the ability to mix and match the unit types from every faction, into a single super squad of units. Though it doesn’t feature any sort of matchmaking, players have the option to join any number of different lobbies, in search of their desired map and match type. The smeary style helps take some of the edge off of each sprite, which provides a slightly different permutation than gamers might be accustomed to.Ĭompleting this surprisingly stout offering is the inclusion of full multiplayer functionality. This is more meant to somewhat explain how unique the aesthetic is, and how different it’s from anything else out there. ![]() That last statement isn’t meant as an insult by any stretch of the imagination. Though I would be inclined to say that it leans more towards an 8-bit aesthetic, the argument could also be made that the presentation itself could be closer to 16-bit, with a bit of Vaseline smeared over the camera lens. The amazingly creative setting, storyline, and characters are further complimented by the pixelated art style featured throughout. This is made all the more impressive when considering the very constricted control scheme. When you consider all of the different units at play and the expansive maps, the game’s shocking amount of depth suddenly becomes evident. ![]() Additionally, there are basic on-screen prompts associated with capturing windmills, queuing up the planting of land, and choosing what types of units to generate in a given bunker. AI troops tend to be temporarily rendered aimless without the aid of a leader. It’s fairly easy to lose sight of this in the heat of battle, which rarely works out in the player’s favor. While pushing the battle forward, it’s very important to keep an eye on the leader’s health. Using the triggers on the controller, there are a series of hot-mapped commands such as attack, regroup, or fall back, which will impact all units that have currently been grouped around the leader character. Shifting focus back to the front lines of the conflict, all of the units on the map are led by a central commander type unit, which the player controls. Wait too long to pull the sales trigger and the land will wither and die. Also, it’s critical to keep a close eye on the output of resource fields, because as you begin to drain land of its effectiveness, you have the option to sell the turf and move on. The dilemma is that the same materials are used create troops, capture these windmills and seed resource fields. Players establish settlements around defunct windmills, which are then used to legitimately plant and harvest crops until the land is either depleted or destroyed by invading forces. In this case, the term farming could not be more literal. The most important aspect of damn near all of the missions is the constant back and forth pull between generating new units and “farming” for more materials. Additionally, once you’ve had the chance to see the conflict from each side of the battlefield, it’s hard to not begin to see the merits (both comical or otherwise) of each faction. These staged battles do a fantastic job of showing all of the different tactical styles and their core mechanics, while never making you feel like you are playing the same thing on repeat. Over the course of the campaign players end up taking control of all of the game’s primary teams in a rather comprehensive set of missions. The stakes are especially high, given that the life of each faction quite literally hangs in the balance. ![]() The core storyline of Tooth and Tail revolves around the onset of turf warfare once resources become limited in a region. And call me crazy, but there’s something about the dissonance between the most low-tech creatures imaginable and an arsenal that would bring a twinkle to Patton’s eye that is oddly satisfying. Take any creature that you could imagine appearing in the wilderness and now arm them to the teeth. Who knew that the circle of life could be so friggin’ violent? Survival of the fittest be damned, because the moment that woodland creatures start toting rocket launchers and flamethrowers, all bets are very much off. ![]()
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