Phantom Brigade, the Front-Mission inspired tactical mech combat game, received a monumental update, boasting new visual features and gameplay mechanics. The game was first seen at the PAX Rising Booth at PAX EAST in Boston, Massachusetts this past March. A full preview of the game can be found by clicking here.
Over the past 6 months, the enthusiastic and extremely talented developers at Tetragon Works have given Phantom Brigade a significant overhaul in gameplay, interface, and visual designs. The developers demonstrated a suburban environment, with a few tall buildings and more open space, compared to the urban city of the first demo. The first noticeable change is the incredibly rich visual detail now present in the graphics. Players can now see fine details in their mechs, from whirring gears to armor plating. This visual update also translates to the environment. A representative attacked a unit through a building. Some of those rounds penetrated the building and made their way to the target, but some were stopped by the building. Zooming in, you could see sharp detail within the room, with floors, staircases, and steel beams exposed.
Additionally, the movement and targeting have been greatly improved. In the first build, players needed a direct line of sight to initiate an attack. During the new build, players can actually select where their attack can go anywhere on the grid. The range of this attack entirely depends on their weapon of choice, but regardless, the entire battlefield is now an option for where players want to direct their firepower.
This feature was demonstrated with the use of the launcher, weapons that fire multiple rockets into a large area. Each rocket is not guaranteed to hit the target. Firing on a distant enemy mech, the rockets flew across a large swath of the battlefield, striking multiple structures, with only two directly hitting the mech. Finally, the user-interface looked to have a significant overhaul as well. Status and conditions of friendly forces looked sharper and more detailed, along with detecting and engaging enemy forces.
With the release of Phantom Brigade expected next year, the game is looking sharper, meaner, and better with each update. The game is looking to be the mech strategy game many have been waiting for. Look for more updates by Tetragon Works as Phantom Brigade nears completion.
Phantom Brigade is slated for release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2018.