Hands-onRobotech: Battlecry

We recently received a build of TDK Mediactive and Vicious Cycle's Robotech: Battlecry, a shooter that's currently in development for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. As you've probably heard by now, the game chronicles the events of the Macross Saga portion of the popular Robotech animated TV series, which originally aired in North America in the late 1980s.

The build we have is the latest version, and from what we can tell, all the levels that will be in the final game are in this version, though not all of them seem to be complete yet. Battlecry is split up into several chapters, and each of these chapters will contain up to numerous individual missions. Some of the missions, like Boobytrap, Countdown, Bursting Point, and Force of Arms, are modeled after specific episodes from the TV show, but most seem to be completely unique. There are a total of 40 levels in all, and the ones that are modeled after the TV series seem to do a good job of capturing their respective episodes' look and feel. For instance, Boobytrap takes place above the skies of Macross island, and it pits your character, Jack Archer, and the rest of the Robotech Defense Force (it's not called UN Spacey in the game, for some reason) against a seemingly insurmountable number of Zentraedi battle pods. Bubbly explosions streak across the sky, and the series' signature "lazy" missiles worm their way from one ship to the next. In Bursting Point, you'll do combat with a similar force of Zentraedi against the backdrop of the SDF-1, your mothership, whose shields are rapidly overheating.

As Jack Archer, you can choose between a VF-1A or a VF-1D Veritech fighter, each of which has four different paint schemes. You can transform between the Veritech's three forms at any during any of Battlecry's missions, and each of these variants--battloid, guardian, and fighter--has a primary and secondary mode of fire. The battloid's primary method of attack is with its automatic laser rifle, which can track enemies and adjust for their trajectories automatically. Its secondary mode of fire is a faster form of this laser rifle, though using it causes your gun to overheat quickly. The guardian and fighter have similar primary and secondary modes of fire, though they vary slightly. Both use the autorifle as the primary mode of fire, though the fighter fires it in a straight line and doesn't attempt to lock on to its targets like the guardian and battloid do. Likewise, both of their secondary modes of fire are the cluster missiles, though the battloid's are notably slower but do more damage, while the guardian's are more maneuverable but slightly weaker.

A new feature that's been implemented in this build is the game's multiplayer component. Though only one level--the Train Depot--has been added, it gave us an opportunity to check out the head-to-head fighting in Battlecry. As you'd expect, this mode is a straightforward split-screen deathmatch game. There are no AI-controlled bots, Veritechs, Zentraedi, or other mecha in this level--just you and your friend. You can set up a few parameters before starting each game, like victory conditions, double damage, and so on.

It's interesting to note that many of the voice actors who lent their talents to the TV show have reprised their roles in Battlecry. When last we saw the game, we told you that the actors were, at the time, in the process of recording their lines. It seems that that process is now complete, because most of the dialogue in the game is spoken by recognizable voices. Specifically, Lisa Hayes is voiced by Melanie MacQueen, Roy Fokker by Dan Woren, and Jack Archer by Cam Clarke, who provided the notable voice of Max Sterling and whose work appears in the Metal Gear Solid series and in animated works like Akira, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Gargoyles. Missing from the current game are the massive beam cannons that are supposed to be fired by the SDF-1 and the Zentraedi cruisers, as well as distinct touches like the Daedalus Maneuver, though only the most ardent fans of the Robotech universe will miss them. The game is littered with other mainstays of the Robotech canon, however, like several appearances from the series' hero, Rick Hunter himself.

We'll have more on Robotech: Battlecry as its release date approaches. In the meantime, take a look at the 60 new screenshots we've taken from this build.