For those who don't know, Trenched can be found on the XBLA for 1200 points. It's from the same group of people that brought you Psychonauts and Brutal Legend (Double Fine) and it is one of few mech games for the XBox.
The level of customization is quite extraordinary for this game. From being able to choose between different weapons, stationary defenses, mech types, mech legs and paint jobs, even outfits for your marine, this game will definitely have you playing for hours earning money for completed missions and getting those items! The overall art and graphics of the game is presented well, as you traverse 3 areas in your quest to stop Vladimir Farnsworth and his army of "tubes". Before each mission begins, you will be briefed on what to expect for enemy types as well as what loadouts, weapons and mechs are preferred. Although this might seem like it makes the game easier, the map variations, enemy path and types will keep you on your mechanized toes. In addition, each mech type carries with it a specific loadout: some give you more turret slots, some have more weapon slots and some give you a balanced plate, giving you hundreds of ways to approach how you handle each given mission. Stationary defenses, which are Light Turrets, Heavy Turrets and Support Turrets, will also aid in your quest to vanquish the tubes. These can be deployed to the battlefield when you possess the necessary amount of "scrap". Scrap can be earned by defeating enemies and collecting it by either walking over it or using your mech's magnet to draw it in. You can also upgrade your turrets for increased performance, making strategy all the more challenging while being fun in the process. You can replay any mission you've completed, so you can continue to earn gear, cash and experience if you find yourself stuck on a particular mission. Also, the comedy found in the game is on par with what Double Fine usually provides for an added bonus. There's also a multiplayer function you can use to play with other on-line Trenchers, though I haven't had the opportunity to play this game with any of my friends on-line.
However, for what the game is worth, it is somewhat short. There's only 15 missions total and you can reach a maximum level of 10. Though your level dictates what you can buy at the in-game shop, it seems rather unnecessary as you tend to find better gear dropped on the battlefield by the game's boss-type enemies and sometimes by the regular enemies (unless you're buying paint jobs or marine related items). Also, there are personal and regiment challenges for kills with different weapons, turrets deployed, turret kills and mission successes. Although good in theory, the rewards you earn in these challenges are either useless by the time you earn them, or just thrown in there for the hell of it. Your mech comes equipped with a health meter that upon depletion propmts you for a QTE mashing of a random button. The QTE by itself isn't frustrating - your mech comes back to life with half health when the game deems your mashing satisfactory - but if your mech's health bar gets depleted again, you go through the QTE again, and this can happen multiple times (infinitely in theory, as I have yet to have my mech totally die). There's not much for a story here, either, though as short as the game is it comes as little surprise. Also, the mech legs have different abilities by pressing the A button. The main ones are Sprint and Fortify (when used, fortify makes your mech a stationary target but with greater defense) with Smash and Quickload being thrown in. Quickload is a passive ability meaning you don't have to press A for it to be active, but other than this ability it's hard to justify the others. You can't fire or reload while sprinting and you can only sprint in one direction. Smash seems to have little effect on enemies and it greatly slows you down (something you don't want to do in the heat of battle) while Fortify gets very little use except perhaps on the game's area end bosses (you reload faster while fortified, so having Quickload on top of this makes it somewhat viable).
Is the game worth your 1200 points (or $15 dollars, however you want to call it) in the end? If your a fan of mech games, this is one that is worth your money. Even as short as it is, you will have fun and the game provides many edge-of-your-seat moments when the tubes hit the fan, especially late in the game. It isn't a great game, they could have done more with it, but for what it's worth: it's decent enough to keep you occupied until Skyrim (or any other game you like) comes along.
Capn's Grade: B- (Better than average game, has more strengths than flaws.)
The level of customization is quite extraordinary for this game. From being able to choose between different weapons, stationary defenses, mech types, mech legs and paint jobs, even outfits for your marine, this game will definitely have you playing for hours earning money for completed missions and getting those items! The overall art and graphics of the game is presented well, as you traverse 3 areas in your quest to stop Vladimir Farnsworth and his army of "tubes". Before each mission begins, you will be briefed on what to expect for enemy types as well as what loadouts, weapons and mechs are preferred. Although this might seem like it makes the game easier, the map variations, enemy path and types will keep you on your mechanized toes. In addition, each mech type carries with it a specific loadout: some give you more turret slots, some have more weapon slots and some give you a balanced plate, giving you hundreds of ways to approach how you handle each given mission. Stationary defenses, which are Light Turrets, Heavy Turrets and Support Turrets, will also aid in your quest to vanquish the tubes. These can be deployed to the battlefield when you possess the necessary amount of "scrap". Scrap can be earned by defeating enemies and collecting it by either walking over it or using your mech's magnet to draw it in. You can also upgrade your turrets for increased performance, making strategy all the more challenging while being fun in the process. You can replay any mission you've completed, so you can continue to earn gear, cash and experience if you find yourself stuck on a particular mission. Also, the comedy found in the game is on par with what Double Fine usually provides for an added bonus. There's also a multiplayer function you can use to play with other on-line Trenchers, though I haven't had the opportunity to play this game with any of my friends on-line.
However, for what the game is worth, it is somewhat short. There's only 15 missions total and you can reach a maximum level of 10. Though your level dictates what you can buy at the in-game shop, it seems rather unnecessary as you tend to find better gear dropped on the battlefield by the game's boss-type enemies and sometimes by the regular enemies (unless you're buying paint jobs or marine related items). Also, there are personal and regiment challenges for kills with different weapons, turrets deployed, turret kills and mission successes. Although good in theory, the rewards you earn in these challenges are either useless by the time you earn them, or just thrown in there for the hell of it. Your mech comes equipped with a health meter that upon depletion propmts you for a QTE mashing of a random button. The QTE by itself isn't frustrating - your mech comes back to life with half health when the game deems your mashing satisfactory - but if your mech's health bar gets depleted again, you go through the QTE again, and this can happen multiple times (infinitely in theory, as I have yet to have my mech totally die). There's not much for a story here, either, though as short as the game is it comes as little surprise. Also, the mech legs have different abilities by pressing the A button. The main ones are Sprint and Fortify (when used, fortify makes your mech a stationary target but with greater defense) with Smash and Quickload being thrown in. Quickload is a passive ability meaning you don't have to press A for it to be active, but other than this ability it's hard to justify the others. You can't fire or reload while sprinting and you can only sprint in one direction. Smash seems to have little effect on enemies and it greatly slows you down (something you don't want to do in the heat of battle) while Fortify gets very little use except perhaps on the game's area end bosses (you reload faster while fortified, so having Quickload on top of this makes it somewhat viable).
Is the game worth your 1200 points (or $15 dollars, however you want to call it) in the end? If your a fan of mech games, this is one that is worth your money. Even as short as it is, you will have fun and the game provides many edge-of-your-seat moments when the tubes hit the fan, especially late in the game. It isn't a great game, they could have done more with it, but for what it's worth: it's decent enough to keep you occupied until Skyrim (or any other game you like) comes along.
Capn's Grade: B- (Better than average game, has more strengths than flaws.)