As the least strategic gamer alive, I’ve never been a fan of real-time strategy games. No matter how much I tried with iconic classics likeCommand and ConquerandStarcraft, I could never get into all of the micromanagement, on-the-fly tactics, and mechanical depth the genre requires. Even IP havens likeHalo WarsandDune: Spice Warsweren’t enough to stop my brain from becoming a cymbal-smashing monkey whenever I desperately tried to learn their mechanics and see what all the fuss was about.
With that in mind, you’d think thatBattle Aces’ promise of trimming the genre’s infamously chewy fat and going all-in on action and a quick pace without losing the element of strategy would be right up my alley.When it was first shown off during Summer Game Fest’s presentation, though, I was a little confused about the whole thing.
While it’s true that the incredibly long matches and complexity of most RTS games are part of what puts me off, it’s also a key part of the genre’s DNA and a big reason why so many fall in love with it in the first place. If Battle Aces was going to take all of that away, would it still be providing an RTS experience? Could it hope to appeal to more hardcore fans? If I was so confused about it, how was it going to grab general audiences?
Real Time Strategy For Beginners
The first thing to know about Battle Aces is that it’s incredibly beginner-friendly. It’s been so long since I’ve attempted an RTS game that I was nervous about not knowing what to do and ruining my gamer cred, but a brief tutorial got me up to speed. For anyone else who needs reminding, real-time strategy games generally feature two teams building up an army with grunts, battling over zones that let you gather more resources that are used to call in more powerful troops, and then taking the fight to the other team’s base to win the match for good.
Battle Aces takes that gameplay loop and ramps up the pace. Most of the resource-farming grunt work is automatically completed for you (as is the placement of resource-generating Nodes), leaving all of the battle strategy and combat up to the player. I immediately realised that my first focus should be to place as many of these Nodes as possible so I could maximise my spending and get access to the best units.
The first thing to know about Battle Aces is that it’s notably beginner-friendly. It’s been so long since I’ve attempted an RTS game that I was nervous about not knowing what to do and ruining my gamer cred, but a brief tutorial got me up to speed. For anyone else who needs reminding, real-time strategy games generally feature two teams building up an army with grunts, battling over zones that let you gather more resources that are used to call in more powerful troops, and then taking the fight to the other team’s base to win the match for good.
A Truly Streamlined RTS Experience
That same flow is present in Battle Aces, albeit with a much speedier pace. Most of the resource-farming grunt work is automatically completed for you (as is the placement of resource-generating Nodes), leaving all of the battle strategy and combat up to the player.
Since resource-gathering was already being handled for me, all I had to do in the early stages of the match was prevent my opponent from doing the same thing by siccing my army of weak troops on them as a distraction. This tactic proved effective and resulted in me having all of my Nodes available within minutes and letting me use the subsequent flow of resources to upgrade my main base and spawn in a seemingly infinite number of powerful bots to keep me in the fight.
It only took me around five minutes to trounce the other team and take over their base, which I was chuffed about considering my lack of experience with RTS games. Matches in Battle Aces only last ten minutes anyway, so I figure more skilled players could probably do it in less time, but if the main goal is to roll out the welcome mat to newbies like myself, then I’d say it’s a success.
Can Battle Aces Grab A Hardcore Audience?
As proud as I was of my victory, I quickly realised that I’d barely scratched the surface of what can be done in Battle Aces. Many of the robots have special abilities or perks that make them suited for specific situations, something I hadn’t bothered to do as I just spawned as many units as possible to swarm the other team. I was a little worried at how simplistic the whole thing felt, but it’s clear that there’s going to be more depth in real matches against human players for those who take the time to learn the mechanics properly.
Although my time with Battle Aces was a little too brief to get a proper handle on that potential strategic depth, it was enough to capture my interest in the full game. I still have my concerns about how it’s going to gel with more experienced players who don’t want half the RTS experience shaved off, but I can say that it’s shaping up to be a great entry point for anyone who isn’t already deep into the genre.
