Dual Gear

It’s been a while since gamers got a new Front Mission mech title or even another Armored Core, well, at least a decent one. Real-time tactics game, Dual Gear, seeks to change that drought. Currently in pre-Alpha and coming to Steam, Playstation 4 and Xbox One early next year, this futuristic war already shows the base of a rather interesting mechanism set. Additionally, the visuals made in Unreal Engine 4 already look as sharp as their major release counterparts; the Zone of the Enders of its time.

Dual Gear takes command of a few giant mechanized robots, stocked with weapons wherever they can be stored; arms, shoulders, chest and so on. These behemoths can stomp their way across a battlefield and search for targets to destroy, with a variety of ranges. Both movement and weaponry require a certain amount of the same pool of action points. Additionally, moving will trigger countermeasures from opponents in real time, meaning that if an enemy starts firing, it’s possible to spend points to try to move out of the way immediately. As a way to balance the real time mechanism, a counterattack will also have a bar go down to its point of eruption, so moving just right before the last of that gauge is depleted is an option as well.

Attacks can vary from swords up close, to direct machine gun fire, straight forward rockets or overhead missile strikes. Each salvo takes into account terrain, so shooting someone behind an obstruction requires using something that throws explosives overhead, lest an attempt crashes into the scenery. Of course, depending on how powerful a tool is, it requires more points. Some choices can also lock to multiple targets or hit enemies standing in a certain line of fire. While options so far have been rather limited, there is already quite the diversity that can be applied to attacking turrets and opposing mech units. Moreover, the tactical aspect of going for cover, while being mindful not to trigger any enemies, adds a unique level of immediate response to commands.

Stronger enemies also take a lot more power to destroy. Each of their parts get a respective pool that can be broken and then depleted. If one weapon gets destroyed, it will get torn from the mech’s limbs. The smoldering robot, however, will fight on with whatever it’s got, giving Dual Gear that slight anime vibe of being down but not out.

It still has a ways to go in development, but Dual Gear is already looking the part and offering a decently varied, basic concept. Right now, Dual Gear is trying to get funds on Indiegogo to complete its tactical strategy title. It’s also possible to download a demo, to get a short taste of how the game handles. Play it and consider donating to this pretty damn neat game.

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed (@Daavpuke)