bit-tech Shopping: Capcom Steel Battalion: Line of Contact Xbox

Rating: 2

Time with product: 3

Strengths: Online play, system link play

Weaknesses: Capcom just shut down the servers, have to have the original Steel Battalion to play

Summary: Steel Battalion: Line Of Contact brings a online multiplayer content to the original Steel Battalion. Although it is a stand alone game, there is no single player and the only way to play the game is either online or by linking up multiple Xbox's. Unfortunately, Capcom just shut down the servers for this game so I'm not even sure if you can play it online anymore. This basically makes this game almost worthless now. When it was up and running it was an enjoyable multiplayer game that utilized the giant 40-button Steel Battalion controller. There seemed to always be some connection issues though. As of right now, I really can't recommend anyone buying this game.

Rating: 2

Time with product: 1 Year

Strengths: XBOX Live Steel Battalion and XBOX Link cable support.

Weaknesses: No single player mode, can't unlock new VT's unless playing on Live, and can't get a 5vs5 game going on Live if you live in the US or Europe.

Summary: Steel Battalion: Line of Contact is a first person mech simulation online shooter for XBOX. The online experience is fun after you get the hang of the game. People online are nice as well. Not many scammer or cheaters online since the overall package is a bit pricey for them. The main gripe I have with the game is that it feels like the other half of Steel Battalion the first one. I also felt jipped that I couldn't get a 5vs5 match going and rarely ever got a 4vs4 match going. Also, if you don't have Live you are stuck with a set number of VTs through system link. Give the game 1 star overall for being half a game that doesn't even function to its potential.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 5 Months

Strengths: Great add-on to a great game.

Weaknesses: Low installed base means you can't always get a full Live game.

Summary: You know Steel Battalion, that game that comes with a huge controller and sells for three figures. Well, if you have that, you owe it to yourself to upgrade to Line of Contact, the Xbox Live expansion. This lets you have large-scale battles with others, and everyone's using that huge honking controller. Since the price of entry is so high, this game doesn't exactly have a huge number of people playing, but when you do find a game, it's great.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 4 Months

Strengths: Diverse modes of play online, fun if you own the first game!

Weaknesses: LAG! Must have original Steel Battalion to play, Online only.

Summary: * - You must own the original Steel Battalion and have online access via Xbox Live to play this game!Having said that, the features of this game are great. You pilot a mech through different territories controlling it with the Battalion controller (with over 40 buttons and 3 pedals), which gives the the feel of actually piloting a mech. There are 4 basic modes to this game: conquest, capture the flag, battle royale, and different mission based competitions. Overall, the game is terrific if you own the first game packaged with the controller. The graphics are pretty good and the gameplay is easy, if you are already familiar with the controls from the first one. The sound is average, not very spectacular. It's a shame the developers did not actually include this version with the original. It's basically just the online add-on pack. However, if you paid the expensive price tag for the first ($199 MSRP), then you might as well buy the $50 add on for it.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: Numerous modes of online play, diverse XBL features

Weaknesses: Needs Steel Battalion to play, laggy gameplay, no single player game

Summary: Steel Battalion: Lines of Contact is the Steel Battalion game upgraded with new system link and XBL gameplay features. The graphics and sound are tweaked a little bit, though the massive upgrade is with the system link and XBL gameplay. There's no single gameplay, the only gameplay is multiplayer, with lots of mission types to pick from. With system link, there's no issues with laggy gameplay, though on XBL, there are apparent issues with more players than 6. It's not a standalone game, so the initial purchase of Steel Battalion is needed for Lines of Contact. It's a very good game with some interesting gameplay, though the cost of entry is a bit high and the gameplay aspects without single player are a little annoying. The laggy gameplay with large groups of people are a little bit discouraging as well. For Steel Battalion players who want something new and different, it's worth picking up.