Line of Defense Tactics – Tactical Advantage Review (PC)

fair
key review info
  • Game: Line of Defense Tactics – Tactical Advantage
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
Tactics driven

My plan was to use two of my guys to move around one enemy flank stealthily, deliver a grenade in order to stun them and then incapacitate the infantry from close range, while the other two operatives under my command took out the other flank from range.

As always, my plan did not survive contact with the enemy, as my first group was spotted and I was forced to start a short but frantic ranged battle earlier than I was expecting.

I finally managed to take out all my opponents and achieve my objective, but this was the first sign that Line of Defense Tactics – Tactical Advantage could be a more difficult experience than I originally though and one that would require more tactical acumen on my part to progress.

The game is designed to link up with the wider 3000AD universe and some gamers might recognize the organizations, the weapons and the other types of hardware that they will be able to use.

The development team is clearly aiming to deliver a solid strategy and tactics mix, with added squad management and ship use, and it does introduce some ideas, but fails to offer a truly polished and engaging experience.

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Battle space
Character progression
The story is based on comics associated with 3000 AD, but there’s almost nothing original in the narrative, with a number of tropes and twists that have long been linked with the science fiction space.

The four main characters are the four team members, each with his own colorful nickname and set of abilities, and as Line of Defense Tactics – Tactical Advantage progresses, each of them gain a little more personality from becoming specialized and good at a certain job.

Before a combat scenario starts, a gamer needs to adjust the loadout of his squad, trying to mix types of weapons, grenades and other items in order to deal with a variety of potential threats.

There’s a lot of diversity here and it’s interesting to see how various setups work in the field.

When battle is engaged, Line of Defense Tactics – Tactical Advantage offers a real-time structure that allows gamers to click on individual characters to issue orders or on the level itself or enemies in order to focus the actions of all four squad members.

Cover is very important, especially when the player team is outnumbered, and it’s important to know when to launch a grenade or when to use a rocket launcher in order to thin out the enemy ranks and get the ability to advance.

Each level has clearly defined objectives and as the game progresses, and the power of the enemy combatants grows, it becomes increasingly necessary to play at first defensively, kill opponents and only then make a move and complete the tasks.

Experience is awarded for kills and can be used to unlock new abilities alongside more weapons and items for characters to use.

The title also includes some space combat scenarios, but the controls for the ship and the combat are basic and disappointing.

The biggest problem with Line of Defense Tactics – Tactical Advantage is the fact that the core mechanics and the user interface are ported from a mobile release and can be a little confusing for PC gamers, which can lead to defeat and some frustration.

Line of Defense Tactics – Tactical Advantage has a futuristic zoomed out look, which keeps most details away from the player, which is a wise move considering that the world has limited characters and can quickly become boring.

The music and the voice work are also unimpressive and do little to make the setting or the story more interesting.

Line of Defense Tactics – Tactical Advantage has a few solid ideas when it comes to the actual gameplay, but the presentation and the story are not up to par and the game cannot deliver anything similar to already established franchises like XCOM or Jagged Alliance.

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story 5
gameplay 7
concept 7
graphics 6
audio 6
multiplayer 0
final rating 6.5
Editor's review
fair
 
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