Developer: SkyBox Labs
Publisher: SkyBox Labs
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
TASTEE: Lethal Tactics – Review
With the release of XCOM 2 already being more than two months ago, it’s easy to assume that fans of the genre are already desperately looking for another game. Even though XCOM 2 just released a new DLC, it’s only a matter of time before a change of scenery is required and this brought us to TASTEE: Lethal Tactics. A game that is in many ways the same, but also very different when it comes to the creators’ original input. Duck, dive and dodge? How about run, gun and fun.
Story
Even though TASTEE: Lethal Tactics has a story present about you hiring mercenaries in order to take down one of the biggest cartels, it becomes clear rather fast that the single player is simply to get yourself ready to start breaking scores or duke it out with other players online. Simplistic as the story may be it’s still fun to waddle through all the missions, but we’re sure this title is all about the lethal tactics rather than the actual flimsy plot.
Graphics
While the game will not immediately blow you away when it comes to the graphical prowess of the title, it certainly has enough charm given the genre it’s in. You’ll be treated to rather realistic environments with semi-comical characters you’ll form a team with. Even though things remain rather simple, the lighthearted style makes up for a lot, giving the creators some leeway to present the end-user with a style that is still rough around the edges.
You’ll notice that most of the environments have bright and vibrant colors, which make sure that your overview is rather clear, granting a better gameplay experience. Even though the genre demands for it, it’s still nice to see a lot of ‘clutter’ on the map, which adds both to a sense of realism and a lot of effort from the creators.
Sound
The soundtrack of Lethal Tactics is rather tranquil, where the music is truly only background noise. Seeing the game is all about planning, it’s probably the developer’s choice to keep things more tranquil than loud and explosive. Other than the standardized sound effects there’s not that much more to say about the sound quality of the game.
Gameplay
TASTEE: Lethal Tactics is a squad and turn based strategy title. While the game is comparable with certain elements from the XCOM series, it does have a few very original quirks and mechanics, which seem very confusing at first, but are actually rather easy to learn. This means you’ll constantly find yourself in battles where you’ll have to outsmart your enemies, who will take their turns at the same time you do, which means that you’re actually chasing moving targets, quickly amping up the difficulty of this game.
While the single player mode of the game offers different kinds of objectives, in the end it all crumbles down to the same thing, dispose of the bad guys, meet certain conditions and/or don’t lose your team members. Of course, many missions will simply require you to extract your operatives safely, be it over the dead bodies of those chasing you, or not. Even though the offset of the game is quite simple, the controls look quite complicated. Simply put, you’ll have to give your team orders each turn, and you do so with the usage of adding waypoints to let your characters move, or simply by handing down other commands such as crouching, sprinting, using abilities or perhaps even looking in a certain direction. You can add commands to each of the waypoints you’ve set with a character, thus granting you a lot of possibilities during one turn. The only problem this system has is that the characters will remember your commands each turn, thus if you tell him to look left, he will keep looking left, even when he starts walking. Small oversights like this can be crucial and might cost your character’s life but the game offers one mechanism that might support you in making the right decisions. You’ll have a preview button that will show what your characters will do if you commit the orders. Of course, this doesn’t show all the right outcomes and it can’t show you what your opponent does during his turn, but it’s a fun and useful gimmick.
The multiplayer portion of TASTEE has a lot of qualities but also certain points that might be considered as unfinished or annoying to a rather big part of the possible playerbase. While it’s easy to challenge online players or find matches to plow through, it’s quite annoying you can’t set that many options when it comes to the flow of the match you’re about to sink your teeth in. Seeing the game is all about simultaneous turn based action, you’ll have to plan while you’re opponent is planning, which would actually speed things up. Sadly, the game doesn’t allow you to set timers or other options beforehand, thus you’re at the mercy of your opponent and vice versa. If he wants to go out for a wank in the middle of a match, visit his grandparents and have a very nice evening out, he’s very much capable to do so, all while you’re desperately waiting for him to confirm his actions and get on with it. Of course, this system also allows for friends who hardly have any time for one another or casual opponents to pick up the match (within two days) and slowly come to a conclusion. Luckily, if you encounter many slow players you’ll be able to start different matches, thus you will not be ‘bored’ immediately. Nonetheless, it would have been nice if certain settings could be altered, such as ‘quick’ matches actually being quick for those who want action on the fly, and those who’d rather want a very casual and laid back experience to simply stick to the system we just described. Another fun implementation would be the possibility of being able to chat with your opponent, but we reckon it would be filled with swearing and smack if the person on the other side is an impatient prick.
With a single player campaign that consists out of 30 missions and many online opponents, the game does offer sufficient content to hone your skills and enjoy the overall atmosphere of the game. Characters themselves can be unlocked the more you play and each of your operatives will have their own weapon and ‘skills’, allowing you to create a diverse team.
All in all, where the controls are rather intuitive and easy to learn, it’s planning that becomes rather difficult. Every move can end in a potential disaster, especially when you know that your characters or those of the enemy will immediately fire upon any target that moves into the line of sight. If you don’t consider your moves thoroughly, you might end up as a red blot on the floor sooner than you’d expect.
Conclusion
TASTEE: Lethal Tactics might fall in the same genre as XCOM but it does its own thing and it does so surprisingly well. Even though certain items need a bit more tweaking, this game can actually be a very competitive multiplayer experience for a genre that is not that common. If you like to play digital chess with mercenaries as your pawns, this might be a rather explosive solution.
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