History YMMV / SteelBattalion

* SequelDifficultyDrop: This game employs contemporary checkpoint based recovery in case of main character's death instead of {{Permadeath}}. However if your named crewmates are KIA by the time the mission is finished, they will be replaced. And almost all of the crewmates are unique --until all of them are dead and you are getting characters codenamed "Meatbag" or "Meathead."

* ContestedSequel: Judging from the critical and gamer reactions. While the game allows more degree of nonlinearity and also higher production value compared to contemporary war games (for instance, the story and dialogue is above average, you can actually save your crewmates and [[spoiler: there are three endings to the game]], and the game was made by Creator/FromSoftware of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fame), the poor Kinect integration (needing to use both it and a controller), lack of option to switch to standard controller only makes actually playing the game more awkward. The complete lack of post-release support dealt major blow to the reception of the game.

* ScrappyMechanic: [[https://youtu.be/_ArpWuV_zvo?t=12m10s The Kinect can sometimes be responsible for not allowing you to react to situations in time]]. And yes, it is the Kinect that dealt major blow to the game's ratings. Had it not used the Kinect, it could have been decent to above average at worst.
** Even if the Kinect does work properly, there are still certain things in the game that are annoying to do. Such as killing enemies that jump on top of your veet.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Regarding the Kinect as the new controller.
** Only a handful of professional reviewers have given the game a score of over 40 out of 100, making this trope a common consensus. (Mostly due to the fact that the Kinect barely functions in gameplay).
** To give you a good idea, Series/XPlay gave it a half-star-- its ''[[BroketheRatingScale first]]'' half-star.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The unique ideas behind the setting involving [[BigBlackout the Datacide]] and WorldWarIII being fought with DieselPunk Mechs are wasted on the main story due to how short and simple the missions are and how the story itself is far more focused on rehashing [[ClicheStorm World War II cliches]].

* PresumedFlop: With its notoriously complicated, elaborate, and expensive required setup, it's widely believed that the game was a total flop that only lives on through the goodwill of its critical acclaim and [[CultClassic dedicated cult fanbase]]. However, [[https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/postcard-from-gdc-2005-lessons-from-viewtiful-joe-making-a-creatively-and-financially-successful-new-game according to director Atsushi Inaba]], the game miraculously sold enough to break even, ''technically'' making it a success, albeit in a scenario that Inaba admitted was something he lucked out on and would not want to replicate.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The game coming with a massive $200 mech controller with a very huge learning curve along with having an extremely high level of difficulty ultimately doomed the game to financial failure.

* CultClassic: The complexity, expense, and monolithic difficulty pretty much ensured the game(s) would never be a commercial hit by any metric, but for those lucky hardcore few who have played it in the intended way, it's one of the best damn [[RealRobotGenre Real Robot]] games out there, and certainly one of the most unique.

'''STEEL BATTALION: LINE OF CONTACT (XBOX)'''

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The ideas behind the setting involving [[BigBlackout the Datacide]] and WorldWarIII being fought with DieselPunk Mechs is wasted on the main story due to how short and simple the missions are and how the story itself is more focused on rehashing [[ClicheStorm World War II cliches]].

** To give you a good idea, Series/XPlay gave it a half-star-- its ''[[BroketheRatingScale first]]'' half-star.

* HarsherInHindsight: The game's CataclysmBackstory involves an evolving airborne microorganism that eats away semiconductors in around 2020, prompting a massive societal change, as well as how a new World War between America and China happening. The real world in 2020 would have a (compared to what in the game) very impacting biological pandemic affecting humans, prompting a major societal change, as well as how the relation between America and China soured almost to the point of Cold War.

* HarsherInHindsight: The game's CataclysmBackstory involves an evolving airborne microorganism that eats away semiconductors in around 2020, prompting a massive societal change, as well as how a new World War between America and China happening. The real world would have a less severe (compared to what in the game), but very impacting biological pandemic affecting humans, as well as how the relation between America and China soured almost to the point of Cold War (again, less severe).

* SequelDifficultyDrop: This game employs contemporary checkpoint based recovery in case of main character's death instead of FinalDeath. However if your named crewmates are KIA by the time the mission finished, he/she will be replaced. And almost each of the crewmates are unique (until all of them are dead and you are getting characters codenamed "Meatbag" or "Meathead")

** To give you a good idea, Series/XPlay gave it a half-star-- its ''[[BroketheRatingScale first]]'' half-star.
*** However it should be noted that fans have considerably more praise for this game, accusing the critics of barely playing it at all and not taking the time to get used to the controls and learn them properly.

* DoingItForTheArt: A GoneHorriblyRight version. Why else would anyone develop a commercially unviable game like this?