Bellum: Tactics
Chris J. | Jul 28, 2009 Games
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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It’s nice to play a game that doesn’t look like a clone of some other popular game out there. I wouldn’t say that Bellum: Tactics is the most well-executed game I’ve come across, but it plays well and it doesn’t quite fit into the standard turn-based strategy mold. That is something in itself.
In Bellum: Tactics you command three units of soldiers through urban warfare settings. Enemy soldiers lurk around corners and in fortified positions, waiting for you to cross their sights. Eliminate the enemy to achieve your objective, and try to keep your soldiers alive in the process.While the turn-based system of Bellum lacks a lot of the thrill of most war games, the creators have included one feature to keep things interesting. When attacking the enemy you have the option of using the dice for determining a hit, or taking control in first-person perspective and putting down a bad guy yourself. You are limited to five seconds, which is more than enough time to put a couple of holes in your chosen enemy with a little practice. Aiming is via accelerometer, which works pretty well with a little practice.
Unfortunately Bellum really didn’t provide enough content to keep me interested for long. By following the same strategy I was able to walk through every level without difficulty. Increasing the difficulty gave the enemies more hit points, but otherwise made no noticeable difference in the game play. Enemies are fairly predictable and of only one type. Since I have snipers in my squad I had thought I might run into some during the game, but no luck. There are also bosses that must be killed to pass certain levels, but they are no different from any other enemy.
In order to draw in players, Bellum: Tactics needs more variety in the game play. The varying level objectives help, but don’t add too much to the experience. What Bellum really needs are more variety in enemy types and more customization. Facing off against snipers, patroling units, or perhaps bosses equipped with body armor would make tactics more a part of the game. Being able to customize your squad further would really help players to own their game. With the new peer-to-peer capabilities of software update 3.0, it would certainly be beneficial to develop some versus levels into the game.
There is certainly nothing seriously wrong with Bellum. I’m sure there are people out there who will get an hour or two of enjoyment from it as I did, but most players are looking for something a little more from a game. I’m hoping the creators will craft a few more updates and make Bellum into more than just an interesting side-note in the iTunes Store.
iTunes Link
App Version: 1.1
Reviewed On: iPod Touch (2nd gen)
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- Your choice of three pre-formed squad configurations. I prefer recon.
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- The biggest advantage of snipers is that they see the enemy long before they see you.
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- I found the 3d view to be impressive-looking, but not generally useful.
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- This guy is about to have a very bad day.
(3.92 out of 5)