Special Tactics Online Preview

Special Tactics Online reminds me of a boat I made in a carpentry class I took when I was in elementary school. It was a simply crafted toy, as one might expect from a child. Long, shallow curves and a recess for a rubber band powered paddle. It wasn't much to look at and it didn't do anything flashy, but I'll be damned if winding up that propeller and releasing it into my bathtub wasn't satisfying as Hell. It rarely went straight or fast and it occasionally just sputtered impotently, but it was mine God damn it, and when it worked it was all worth it. STO manages to capture that energy and build an entire game around it.

Many tactical games out now and on the horizon are of the first person shooter variety, but STO takes the route of games like Breach and Clear and Door Kickers, using a top down perspective and waypoint based commands to bring squad based warfare to the fingertips of armchair generals. The twist is that once you set your soldiers in motion, they cannot be commanded until the game pauses again. This creates a fascinating interplay between the total stillness of the command phase and the utter, uncontrolled chaos of the real time consequences of the player’s orders. Like machine gun photography, the game plays out as a series of violent vignettes. Ordering my soldiers to toss grenades, set up perfect lines of sight, and advance in formation is like setting up dominoes. It's tense, and I never know exactly how well my plans will weather contact with the enemy. Once I hit the "execute" button, it's like a gunshot ringing out at a race. I'm betting on a well groomed horse, but I know all too well that it's still a gamble.

Whether by budget constraints or to keep focus on the nail-biting gameplay, the developers don't provide much in the way of presentation. The game is rendered through middling quality sprites and basic, but smooth animations on the soldiers. Audio and soundtrack are both the same: strictly average and unobtrusive. Blunt, to the point, and unimpressive are the three words that sum up STO's artistic presence. By contrast, the game systems are fluid and nuanced.

In addition managing each soldier's movement, the player must also command their field of view. Unlike in most RTS games, soldiers do not get 360 degree vision, but instead have a cone that represents what they can see and shoot at. If an enemy is outside of the cone, then they are invisible, unnoticed, and probably about to ruin your match. This makes every match of STO a game of tactical hide and seek where one side attempts to gather more information on the other and exploit it before their opponent can do the same. To add further texture to the combat, there are five classes to compose one's squad from, each with different vision distances and equipment. SMGs make fast flankers, Shotguns instant death bushwhackers, Riflemen spotters, Snipers corridor specialists, and shields exceptional point men. On top of all of this, I got to assign a temporary power up to one of my soldiers during each planning phase, so my team's skills would shift dramatically even within the same match. All of these small, but significant features add up to an utterly unpredictable game.

Special Tactics Online is not a game for everyone. However, with a fun single player campaign, brutal survival mode, and online multiplayer, anyone who has an itch for a creative, no frills tactical strategy game will be hitting the "execute" button for quite some time.