RUIN FRONTIER

Name: Ruin Frontier

Developers: Aethers, Ocean, JIHAUS, and Fomar0153

Yet another really good entry in the McBacon Jam event.

Story: Cyberpunk about a future in which corporations have essentially ground free enterprise into dust. Companies hire mercenaries to get rid of other companies. Money is all that matters in the world and the ones with money make the laws.

Gameplay: Players do combat driving giant mech suits. Encounters are touch. Combat system looks like the VX Ace system but it's heavily augmented. The battle screen looks like the inside of a cockpit with player stats presented in a heads up display. Each character can carry up to three weapons and must choose what weapon with which to attack. After attacking, you may then choose your manner of defense. Combat is smooth and balanced and the game presents its information during gameplay very well so you don't start the game with an information dump. Plenty of repair items, weapons, and armor to be found. Overall, it runs like a standard RPG.

Writing: Well done. While there are some text heavy cut scenes, much of the story is presented in game. The main trio is a very nice mix, playing an id-ego-superego formula. At all times, you know exactly what's going on, and there's no confusion. Character interaction is nicely done. Exposition, while present isn't excessive.

Graphics: A futuristic city tile I'm sure I've seen somewhere before but can't place it. The maps are very well arranged. It's not easy to get lost and they're set up like game levels. The maps look "lived-in". The design is very well thought out and you can see that the locations have aged.

Problems: There was nothing that caught my notice and I didn't run into any glitches.

Conclusion: I'm struggling to find things to critique and simply am coming up dry. I usually like to point out things that may help the developers, but ultimately, I'm coming up with nothing but praise. I'm sure people will find issues of preference with the mechanics, but that's true of every game, and I found this game thoroughly enjoyable and engaging. There isn't enough cyberpunk on this site, and I absolutely recommend this game.