History VideoGame / SteelBattalion

''Heavy Armor'' is set in an AlternateHistory where a global disaster called "Datacide", in which a silicon-eating microbe started destroying microprocessors back in 2020, and by 2080, there are no computers left, hence the DieselPunk look. The United States has also taken a major downfall as a result, to the point where the "United Nations" has [[InvadedStatesOfAmerica invaded most of it,]] driving the remaining US army to Mexico to reorganize. The United Nations are 16 mostly Asian countries that have been conquered by China, here called the [[TheEmpire Asian Empire]] and appointed into the new UN by them in 2045 at the end of WorldWarIII.

A HumongousMecha VideoGame released for the original Platform/{{Xbox}} by Creator/{{Capcom}} in 2002, developed by Nude Maker with Atsushi Inaba's involvement. Perhaps the single most SeriousBusiness, realistic mecha game ever sold to consumers. (There are a few full blown simulated cockpits lurking in major arcades, but they're not exactly going to grace your living room any time soon.)

Second, the developers [[ShownTheirWork went all out on the simulation aspect]], [[GoneHorriblyRight and boy did they ever.]] You have to memorize complicated boot sequences on the aforementioned controller to get your mecha to start. When you get mud in your face, [[CameraAbuse digital windshield wipers will come down and clean the screen for you]]. And that's all ''before'' you get to blow stuff up!

A sequel was made, called ''Steel Battalion: Line of Contact'' (2004), which does not come with a controller and is essentially a multiplayer ExpansionPack with no singleplayer. The Campaign mode servers were shut down in 2005, but Capcom released a patch that allowed a code to unlock all [=VTs=] for Free Mission use. As of April 12, 2010, it is no longer running due to Microsoft shutting down all servers for original Xbox games. Despite this, the community has moved to Xlink Kai for their Line of Contact fix. LOC.NET used to have all the fine details on the game one could ever ask for, but it has since gone defunct. (It also added support for the Xbox's relatively-little-used [[Platform/HighDefinition HD 720p]] mode and 16:9, whereas the original topped out at 480p 4:3.)

A completely new sequel, ''Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor'', developed by Creator/FromSoftware, was announced at 2010's Tokyo Game Show, and uses the Platform/{{Kinect}} in lieu of the specialized controller as well as the regular gamepad. Unfortunately, it worked [[EpicFail about as well as you might expect]] waving your hands at the screen to operate the control panel for a massively complicated mech would work.

''Heavy Armor'' is set in an AlternateHistory where a global disaster called "Datacide", in which silicon-eating microbe starts destroying microprocessors back in 2020, and by 2080, there are none left (in short, there is no computers anymore in any form), hence the DieselPunk look. The United States has also taken a major downfall as a result, to the point where the "United Nations" has [[InvadedStatesOfAmerica invaded most of it,]] driving the remaining US army to Mexico to reorganize. The United Nations are 16 mostly asian countries that have been conquered by China, here called the [[TheEmpire Asian Empire]] and appointed into the new UN by them in 2045 at the end of WorldWar3.

The China in the game is never actually called China, despite the Infantry using Chinese weapons and the soldiers speaking Chinese and all. They are very reminiscent of the Germans of [=WW2=], what with their VT design mimicking iconic Wehrmacht Tanks; or their capturing innocent civilians to put them in installations for experimentation; or their use of Railway Guns to bombard Poland, because Russian forces are pushing into Berlin... Did we say they were China? Oh yeah, they invaded all of Europe before moving to the US and Germany signed a treaty with them. Now Berlin is the capital, and the site for the construction of a new super weapon.

''Heavy Armor'' has been mostly bashed by critics due to problems with Kinect integration[[note]]Possibly due to the fact From Software is a Japanese company and the Kinect is not only is as unpopular as the Platform/Xbox360 there, but also the fact the Kinect was made for Western/American markets in mind and not for Asian markets; especially with small Japanese house sizes.[[/note]] some of which can make the game needlessly frustrating (if not borderline impossible) to play. However, many reviewers note that under the problems, the game offers excellent combat, interesting (if somewhat stereotypical) characters and a good plot. Plus, even while the Kinect is... flawed, reviewers note that is [[RuleOfCool incredibly cool]] when/if the integration works and you're pulling the levers and slapping your crew in the middle of an intense firefight. In fact, if the game is viewed not as "futuristic robot infantry simulator" games like the previous ones did, and more of "walking tank crew simulator", the entire game very much (thematically) delivers on that front. It was never patched to fix its many issues and sold less than the original, making this likely the [[FranchiseKiller last Steel Battalion game.]]

A sequel was made, called ''Steel Battalion: Line of Contact'' (2004), which does not come with a controller and is essentially a multiplayer ExpansionPack with no singleplayer. The Campaign mode servers were shut down in 2005, but Capcom released a patch that allowed a code to unlock all [=VTs=] for Free Mission use. As of April 12, 2010, it is no longer running due to Microsoft shutting down all servers for original Xbox games. Despite this, the community has moved to Xlink Kai for their Line of Contact fix. LOC.NET used to have all the fine details on the game one could ever ask for, but it has since gone defunct. (It also added support for the Xbox's relatively-little-used [[UsefulNotes/HighDefinition HD 720p]] mode and 16:9, whereas the original topped out at 480p 4:3.)

** Related to that in regards to going for the GoldenEnding(Which you achieve by making sure nobody in your platoon dies during a single playthrough)once you start a second playthrough of this game after finishing it, from then on after every mission(except for the last mission, so you'd better backup your save or exit out of the game before the "mission complete" screen pops up if you don't want to start a new game) you will get a "restart" option which will let you try the mission again, just in case you lost any soldiers during the level and want to make sure no one in your platoon dies in your playthrough.

* AfterTheEnd: The game is set roughly 60 years after "Datacide", where an evolving silicon-eating microbes spread worldwide, eating microprocessors, causing computers and the internet no longer working, thus causing societal chaos which led to a cross between post-apocalypse and World War II. China, through sheer manpower, took over as the new UN and has become a fascist empire (coloquially dubbed "Uncle"), and by the beginning of the game, the US has to reclaim their nation from the Uncles.

* DieselPunk: WWII Punk specifically, with the very Operation Overlord landing-esque trailer...in 2082. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that microprocessor production has stopped due to a silicon-eating microbe manifesting back in 2020, hence more primitive technology than what the timeframe would suggest.
** It's also evident in the overall atmosphere of the game, which is very reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic version of TheForties or TheFifties than TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture.

* InvadedStatesOfAmerica: Invaded by the Chinese led UN, America has all but 8 of its 50 states (this includes UsefulNotes/PuertoRico, which was elevated to state status and now San Juan serves as the [=US=] capital in lieu of Washington DC.)

A completely new sequel, ''Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor'', developed by Creator/FromSoftware, was announced at 2010's Tokyo Game Show, and uses the UsefulNotes/{{Kinect}} in lieu of the specialized controller as well as the regular gamepad. Unfortunately, it worked [[EpicFail about as well as you might expect]] waving your hands at the screen to operate the control panel for a massively complicated mech would work.

''Heavy Armor'' has been mostly bashed by critics due to problems with Kinect integration[[note]]Possibly due to the fact From Software is a Japanese company and the Kinect is not only is as unpopular as the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 there, but also the fact the Kinect was made for Western/American markets in mind and not for Asian markets; especially with small Japanese house sizes.[[/note]] some of which can make the game needlessly frustrating (if not borderline impossible) to play. However, many reviewers note that under the problems, the game offers excellent combat, interesting (if somewhat stereotypical) characters and a good plot. Plus, even while the Kinect is... flawed, reviewers note that is [[RuleOfCool incredibly cool]] when/if the integration works and you're pulling the levers and slapping your crew in the middle of an intense firefight. In fact, if the game is viewed not as "futuristic robot infantry simulator" games like the previous ones did, and more of "walking tank crew simulator", the entire game very much (thematically) delivers on that front. It was never patched to fix its many issues and sold less than the original, making this likely the [[FranchiseKiller last Steel Battalion game.]]

* CriticalExistenceFailure: Played straight for a mech simulation, oddly enough, given that the genre's usually known for SubsystemDamage. ''Line of Contact'' treated leg integrity as different from body integrity and that a legged VT could be salvaged in Campaign mode, but is of no longer a point, since the Campaign servers died well before original UsefulNotes/{{XBox Live|Arcade}} did. In any case, as long as you have 1% of body integrity yet, you are capable of fighting just as well as if you're not hurt at all.

* InNameOnly: Different setting, different VT designs, gamepad + Kinect instead of a proprietary physical controller. About the only things bridging ''Heavy Armor'' with the original UsefulNotes/XBox games are the words ''"Steel Battalion"'' in the title and combat in mechs called Vertical Tanks.

A HumongousMecha VideoGame released for the original UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} by Creator/{{Capcom}} in 2002, developed by Nude Maker with Atsushi Inaba's involvement. Perhaps the single most SeriousBusiness, realistic mecha game ever sold to consumers. (There are a few full blown simulated cockpits lurking in major arcades, but they're not exactly going to grace your living room any time soon.)

[[caption-width-right:350:Think you're getting your basic mech-piloting game? WRONG![[labelnote:And here's why]][[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steelbat.jpg]][[/labelnote]]]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steelbat.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:You play it on ''this''. Seriously.]]

Why? Well, for starters, look at the controller you have to play it with. It features over 40 buttons (a few of which are used very infrequently, often just during the startup sequence), 2 joysticks (the left one only moving left and right for steering, the right one not centering and used to aim weapons and the manipulator), 3 foot pedals (gas, brake, and slidestep), a gear shift, and a radio dial (with 16 discrete positions, but only 5 are actually used). By the way, the game sold new for about $200, and that's before you factor in the collector's market.

** BlindIdiotTranslation: Crossing over into MemeticMutation; Line of Contact's trailer, which was actually subtitled in English (and is otherwise SurprisinglyGoodEnglish territory), has the infamous "Cheddar coming, boys!", referring to an artillery strike.

* CycleOfHurting: There are several weapons that can do this; the order of operation usually goes like this: Weapon A makes an enemy VT fall down, fire with Weapon B before it gets up, and then use Weapon A to drop them again. Some weapon even straight up skips the second step, such as the dreaded Anti-VT Mine. In fact, even the mighty Earthshaker can be killed near effortlessly with this tactic.

* InfinityMinusOneSword: The Quasar. Arguably the easiest 3rd generation VT to acquire, while being one of the best VTs in the whole game. Getting it requires exploring guarded side passages in level 3 of mission 7 or 17 though, so only an adventurous pilot or [[GuideDangIt someone who read the walkthrough]] would know where to find it.

* InfinityMinusOneSword: The Quasar. Arguably the easiest 3rd generation VT to acquire, while being one of the best VTs in the whole game. Getting it requires exploring guarded side passages in a very particular level though, so only an adventurous pilot or [[GuideDangIt someone who read the walkthrough]] would know where to find it.

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: Further modified by each VT's armor modifier, which reduces a weapon's given maximum range depending on which direction the projectiles are coming from. If the modifier results in a projectile from a weapon that would normally be in range being treated as out of range when hitting the target VT, NO damage is taken. There's no damage scaling/curve at all-either your VT's damaged, or it isn't.

Second, the developers [[ShownTheirWork went all out on the simulation aspect]]. You have to memorize complicated boot sequences on the aforementioned controller to get your mecha to start. When you get mud in your face, [[CameraAbuse digital windshield wipers will come down and clean the screen for you]]. And that's all ''before'' you get to blow stuff up!

* GoldenEnding: Achieved by getting the Angel of War Achievement, which involves getting through an entire playthrough without losing anyone in your platoon. Requires a bit of trial and error to say the least to figure out how to save certain people. It's also unfeasible to do in your very first playthrough, since you don't get the option to retry a mission(if you lose a soldier and don't want to continue with one or more crew members being dead) until your second playthrough(after completing the game). Be warned that the final mission has no restart option unlike the others, so you'd better backup your save in case you screw up, as otherwise you'll be starting a new game.

A completely new sequel, ''Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor'', developed by Creator/FromSoftware, was announced at 2010's Tokyo Game Show, and uses the UsefulNotes/{{Kinect}} in lieu of the specialized controller as well as the regular gamepad. It worked [[EpicFail about as well as you might expect]] waving your hands at the screen to operate the control panel for a massively complicated mech would work.

A HumongousMecha VideoGame released for the original UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} by Creator/{{Capcom}} in 2002, developed by [[UnfortunateNames Nude Maker]] with Atsushi Inaba's involvement. Perhaps the single most SeriousBusiness, realistic mecha game ever sold to consumers. (There are a few full blown simulated cockpits lurking in major arcades, but they're not exactly going to grace your living room any time soon.)

* AntiFrustrationFeature: Narrowly averting an UnwinnableByMistake; it is very much possible for you to lose so many crewmates that you run out of crews to run your VT. You will then have to quickly learn how to start your engine, load a shell, unload a spent casing and more all by yourself. In the middle of a battle. However, after a few battles, you do get a replacement crew from another detachment, although this time, they are nameless soldiers that goes by the name "Meatbag" or "Meathead".

* FinalDeath: Anything that kills your pilot deletes your save. Running out of supply points to purchase new [=VTs=] gets you demoted to the same effect.

And third, the game is [[NintendoHard really, really hard]]. Most infamously, didn't hit the [[EjectionSeat eject button]] in time when the warning lights told you to? ''[[FinalDeath Not only your character died, but your save is also erased, you have to start over.]]'' Not to mention, it is possible to [[UnwinnableByDesign get kicked out, also erasing your save]] if you fail missions too much since you won't have enough supply points to get replacement [=VTs=]. All of this is compacted by the fact your AI allies [[ArtificialStupidity can barely navigate the map]], [[ItsUpToYou leaving it all up to you.]] You're even treated to an especially painful BossBattle with a mech that can literally turn you off if you get hit. That's after all the {{Dakka}}. If that wasn't enough, every single mission has a time limit, with [[BladderOfSteel no pause feature.]]

* 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")