STRACO Episode 1 (XBLIG): "A Retro Tower Defense Game With Shmup Action"

It has become quite obvious to me over the past few years that the newer generations of video games are only bringing with them more problems. Things like annoying online gameplay, and poor presentation overshadow the possibility of any fun to be had. As a result I often find myself thinking about the times when games were actually fun, and worthwhile. Those days of course are long gone, but thanks to some classic XBLIG game developers they are not entirely lost. NVO (Not Very Original) for example has taken their time to develop a well balanced tower defense game that harkens back to the days when games were actually fun, and challenging. This game I speak of is none other than STRACO Episode 1.

In STRACO Episode 1 we, the gamers are presented with a simple sci-fi story that is accented by tower defense, and shmup style elements. This game has three modes of play (Mission, Tower Defense, Survival), and plenty of settings options for the gamer to tweak. To start things off properly though you will need to learn about how the game works through a basic, or advanced tutorial. I highly suggest that you take the opportunity to go through at least the basic tutorial as it will definitely help in future playthroughs. Within the given tutorial you will learn about the different things involved in building a proper defense as well as thing like how to place towers/weapons as you complete a list of assigned tasks. You will also become more familiar with the control setup once you go complete the game's tutorial.

After completing the checklist of tasks in the tutorial you will have the chance to play an actual mode in the game. The only mode that is unlocked to begin with is "Mission". In order to unlock the remaining two modes of play you will need to do a full playthrough of 'Mission' on one of the selectable difficulty settings. In Straco Episode 1 the mission mode is just as it sounds. You get to play through missions that detail your current situation as the game's hero/protagonist in turn giving you insight on the game's plot. The plot for this particular game, while simplistic in presentation involves three warring races of beings. On one side you have a good robot army while on the other side there is an evil robot army governed by an equally evil alien overlord. Your role however lies somewhat in the middle of the two warring factions. As the game's hero, or protagonist (whichever you prefer) you have been deemed the "Chosen One", and must lead your military force to victory against the invading army. This is where the actual mission portion of 'Mission' mode comes in.

Each mission in 'Mission' mode has a list of objectives to complete in order for you to advance to the next checkpoint, or mission. Most of these missions involve building towers, creating weapons, and fighting of the enemy as they advance toward certain locations on the map. Using a variety of tower, and weapon building tools at your disposal will help you keep enemies from destroying your base, or other points/subjects that need protecting. The game offers plenty in the way of tower defense options, but does not only rely on them as a means of goal completion. You'll find that the protagonist wields a gun, and can also operate a weapon firing helicopter, tower weapons, and other weapon firing vehicles that are made available as you advance. The need for towers is still very much a necessity though.

As the "Chosen One" you are able to use, create, and repair the defense towers that you place on a large overhead collection of continents. Using your command based capabilities you can pilot various vehicles throughout the missions including a helicopter that allows you to build tower defenses as well as man the actual towers that you create. If need be you can also walk around as a gun totting soldier. In order to create, and take advantage of these defense features though you must place purchased harvest towers near resource areas in order to gather the resources/cash necessary to build your structures. You'll find that even repairing things comes at a cost. The only difference with repairs, and weapon upgrades though is that it uses an energy resource as it's cost. Energy, and armor power-ups can be picked up from fallen foes giving you some additional resources for use. Using these tools, and resources at hand will allow you to complete each list of objectives that is provided by your guide. Once the objectives are all complete the mission will advance, and you will move on to your next checkpoint/mission until you are finished with the mode.

When you finally complete 'Mission' the two other previously locked modes will be made available to you, and will be accessible via the main menu. 'Survival', and 'Tower Defense' modes both have their similarities to the main 'Mission' mode, but the goals are very different in nature. In 'Survival' you have to survive wave after wave incoming of enemies using the tower defense methods that were made known to you in the 'Mission'/'Tutorial' mode. 'Tower Defense' on the other hand is a lot like 'Mission' except that the enemies are always approaching, and that there are no mission objectives except to survive for as long as you can. Mission objectives are not included in either of these bonus modes, so they are truly unique regardless of their similarities.

In whatever mode you choose to play you will be rewarded a score for your efforts. Like a shmup your points will be tallied up according to a wide variety of end result standings. Things like enemy kills, deaths, time, and things destroyed will all count towards your final score. This score can be found in a scoreboard/leaderboard menu which is available in one of the game's main menus. As a shmup fanatic I always love to see a scoreboard/leaderboard, so I think NVO did an awesome job by including them.

In closing I found this game to have a good balance to it. It was challenging at times, but it was not overly complicated. The graphics were impressive for what they were, and offered a simple yet new age look for the gamer to experience. Even the soundtrack was noteworthy. If I had any complaints at all though it would be about the in-game dialogue. It offered only a peek into the conflict that was taking place. I could understand the humor that the developer was trying to get across to the gamers, but a more well versed plot would have been nice. If you can look past that though as I have you'll find a pretty cool tower defense/shmup hybrid. Now for the million dollar question. Do I think it's worth the 80 msp? I'd have to say yes. With all the successful work that was put into making this title fun, and understandable I definitely think it's worth 80 msp ($1). While it may not appeal to all of my readers I think you should at least give the trial version a try.