Steel Battalion Controller - Videogame History #110 - Retro Review

in #gaming7 years ago


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Since the inception of the invention of video games hardware developers have always tried to create different ways to play any game, guns, small or medium controls, flyers, among others, when it comes to simulation these should be as realistic as possible to have an experience close to reality, for example, if we play Flight Simulator, it was best to have a Joystck plus a PC keyboard, trying as much as possible to "simulate" flying an airplane.

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In the Arcades is where we can commonly see these simulators, because their cabins are made in such a way that allows you to convey that sense of reality, however, there was a company that wanted to take this to another level in the consoles, creating an expectation very surprising to the gamer who could enjoy that game, Capcom development company veteran launches in 2002 a video game called "Steel Battalion" which would be a simulator of vertical tanks (they look more like robots) exclusively for the Xbox Classic, but this would include one of the most bizarre controls in the gamer world, it was the Steel Battalion controller.

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This control is the largest created to date for a desktop console, at first glance it looks really fabulous and attractive, it is composed of 4 peripherals which have totally individual functions for the game, it really looks like a fusion of a control for cars with one of planes, as you can imagine at first it will seem a little complicated, but you must take into account that you will learn to pilot a war robot, it may seem difficult, but with a little practice driving a car in real life will seem like a game of children.

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When tested by different videogame critics, it seemed totally fascinating, to learn optimally how to use the command did not take a minute off the TV, this resulted in excellent scores in many reviews both in magazines and web pages at that time , however this product did not reach many gamers, first the Xbox was a totally new console (although for me it is a disguised PC) and the PlayStation 2 was the one that more advertising covered, this brought as a consequence the few sales of the product besides, it was not completely cheap, its cost was 250 dollars.


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Over time it became a rare item among collectors, because at the time almost no one paid the attention deserved, today many people want to feel that great experience of handling a robot with this great device, if you want to enjoy an extraordinary gameplay you should buy the Steel Battalion controller for an amount that includes between 300 and 600 dollars, its price is so high because there are not so many units available worldwide.

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After the release of the Xbox 360 Capcom released a sequel to this videogame called Steel Battalion: Line of Contact, if you thought they would develop a similar control the answer is "no", for this game they used the Kinect device that working in conjunction with the control of the Xbox 360 "simulated" the handling of a tank, but as you know, it does not come close to the experience your predecessor gave you.

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It's a pity that this controller is so rare and expensive, also that it only works with one game. I'd love to play newer mech games with this best :D

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I'm pretty sure that without a doubt, this is the coolest controller I've ever played around with. I remember building a cockpit out of cardboard around a smaller tv to fully immerse ourselves in the fantasy of piloting a mech. So dorky, but man, so awesome.