There’s something to be said for simplicity in design. A simple design, if executed well, can make a great game. And while we may not be looking at a great game with Star Hammer Tactics, we’re certainly looking at a decent mini.
The basic premise is that the human race is at war with a race of creatures known as “The Nautilids.” You’re a commander in the earth forces, and with a fleet of starships at your command, you must cut a swathe through opposing Nautilids and win the war. There’s a lot more detail to the story, but it doesn’t come out in the gameplay. The campaign is strictly a set of battles, beginning with “This is the enemy, go get ‘em.” Instead, you have to select the “Story” option from the main menu, where you’ll be led to a few walls of text detailing the specifics of the war. To be honest, the story’s pretty standard stuff, but this game was never meant to have heavy story elements. No, this is a strategy game. So it’s made and broken on how rewarding the gameplay is.
The strategy elements aren’t especially deep. Basically, there are three types of ships. Fighters, Freighters, and cruisers. Freights and cruisers have the capability to fire missiles and cause massive damage, whereas fighters move quickly and can only engage in ship-to-ship combat. Ship-to-ship combat is entirely automated – just place one ship next to an enemy’s and at the end of the turn, the two will battle until one is destroyed. Naturally, engaging a single ship with 2 or more of your own significantly increases your odds. Missiles don’t hit instantaneously, only covering a certain amount of distance each turn. They don’t corner well, either, or detect obstacles, so evasion or hiding behind asteroids can prevent some nasty knocks against your hull.
Doesn’t look like much, but the strategy’s decent.
The graphics are entirely unremarkable – there’s no real animations to speak of, your ships are static images that move on a tiled board. Ditto with the missiles. The sound is nothing to write home about, either. A few very basic sound effects and the same mellow soundtrack in the background get old pretty quickly.
That’s pretty much the gist of it. It’s a bare-bones strategy system, but it serves its purpose. For the dirt cheap price of the game, you’re getting a tight (if basic) strategy system on your PSP. There’s no wireless multiplayer, but there’s a hot-seat mode where you can pass between you and a friend, because apparently nobody told Black Lab that nobody cares about hot-seat gameplay anymore. But the game is cheap, it plays fine, and it can kill time if you have a few minutes to spare. There’s not a whole lot else you can ask for a Mini, I guess.
[Rating: 3.5/5]
