Dual Gear

Dual Gear is a turn-based strategy game, clearly inspired by Japanese "mecha anime", with a strong emphasis on tactical and unit management aspects. It was created by the debuting five-man team at Orbital Speed from Thailand. The core of the game is combat with units led by artificial intelligence in a story campaign to deliver at least 30 hours of fun.

Story

Dual Gear's action is set in 2064, when a new source of energy was discovered in space. The construction of a complex called Gaia Belt began almost immediately in the hope to obtain precious resources. The result of this project was the rapid development of robotics and space technology. Less than 40 years later, in 2101, the facility fell victim to a terrorist attack, which also caused significant damage to the Earth itself. The Trinity Element Company, responsible for protecting Gaia Belt, has abandoned space technology development in favor of the military industry, selling the results of its work - the Dual Gear combat units - to entities from all over the world, including the player.

Mechanics

Unit management takes place in the database, from the command center screen. First of all, it requires the player to recruit pilots, which will then be assigned to operate individual combat units. Noteworthy is the fact that each of the pilots earns experience, developing their skills and gaining new ones.

With a team of pilots, the player can manage the mechs themselves. Each unit consists of five modules: head, cockpit, shoulders, legs and "backpack". All parts are interchangeable, which forces us to make choices depending on our play style - for example, heavier and more armored legs will use up more movement points than their lighter counterparts. The appearance of the mechs can also be personalized by changing the color or camouflage pattern. The equipment is complemented by weapons that can be mounted on arms, legs and "backpack"; assault, machine and sniper rifles, rocket launchers, laser, plasma, and conventional guns are available. The crowning of the armory are close combat weapons.

The final stage of preparation for a mission is to choose the means of transport that the units will use to get to the area of operation. In the game, there are several different types of transporter means, air, ground or space, differing in statistics, capacity, or even the ability to provide fire support during the task.

Having a mech team ready, the player can move on to the core of Dual Gear - completing successive missions from the story campaign. Each of them can be repeated any number of times; the game even encourages exploration - in some of them there are hidden additional parts for mechs, intelligence, or hidden plot lines. Significantly, during the replay of tasks, there is a possibility to impose special handicaps in exchange for better rewards for completing the mission. Additional bonuses will also be obtained by following the recommendations presented during briefing.

Battles in Dual Gear are turn-based, in which the player takes control of each of the machines belonging to the unit. When steering the mech, pay attention to the two resources used during your turn: Output generator (GP) and action points (AP). GP is mainly used when moving, but also power some of the active skills, which are strictly dependent on the weapon used. APs, on the other hand, are used only to use active abilities. Importantly, despite the turn-based system, the player's units can be attacked in their turn while moving. When the player stops, the enemy's fire also stops, allowing you to plan and analyze your next steps. The damage taken is spread over the armor and mech components - each of them can be destroyed, which has a real, noticeable impact on the outcome of the battle. For example, a unit with damaged legs will consume more movement points, while the destruction of an arm will make it impossible to use the weapons held in it. The last factors influencing combat efficiency are the statistics of the pilot himself and the distance from the target.

Technical aspects

Dual Gear is powered by Unreal Engine 4, which results in high quality graphics. At the same time, the design makes the environment look exceptionally sterile.

Last updated on 27 September 2023