Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor is the third entry in the Steel Battalion series, developed by From Software and published by Capcom for the Xbox 360. It utilizes both a Kinect and a standard controller to simulate the original games' controller. The game was released on June 19, 2012 in North America, June 21, 2012 in Japan and June 22, 2012 in Europe.

Setting[]
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor takes place in a continuity separate from the original Steel Battalion and Steel Battalion: Line of Contact. It is the year 2083, 63 years after the "Datacide", a catastrophic event in which the world's supply of computer technology is destroyed by a silicon-eating microbe in 2020. As a result, military technology is reduced to rudimentary weapons, including the Vertical Tank, a large bipedal robot which is operated by a four-man crew.
China, because of its large industrial complex, becomes the new world superpower; taking over the United Nations and soon begins to dominate the world, both economically and militarily. Between 2065 and 2071, the Chinese led United Nations and NATO forces battled it out across the European Continent. This became known as the War of Solidarity, and it became a Chinese victory. This first war ended up causing a huge geopolitical shift.

Plot[]
The story follows Sergeant Powers, a VT pilot, and the crew of his VT as they battle United Nations forces. The initial crew consists of Natch, Rainer, and Parker. During the course of the game, the crew sometimes switches from different members of Powers' platoon who may or may not be killed during gameplay which in turn may affect the crew over the course of the game.
Second Solidarity War[]
On November 19, 2081, the People's Republic of China, supported by the United Nations, launch a savage but swift blitzkrieg against the United States, reducing the country from fifty to eight states: Tennessee, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and the new elevated state of Puerto Rico (with San Juan as the new capital of the US). The US military was caught completely off-guard by this attack and stood virtually no chance against the UN forces. On December 24th, 2081, both sides signed a ceasefire for the Christmas season, and it stuck for the next sixteen months. The Chinese-led UN is referred to as "Uncle" by the United States military.
After the end of the invasion, the United Nations imposed policies amongst the American people. They forcefully moved hundreds of thousands from major cities such as New York City and relocated them to mass labor camps to work for the Chinese war machine. The United Nations implemented a scorched earth policy, which made American Resistance virtually non existent. Additionally, the Chinese Government forced Han Chinese people to move into the occupied United States, essentially to out populate the American People in a similar style event to what the US Government did to it's natives. Horrified by this, the United States moved it's factories to the remaining American States and began making ready plans to take the rest of the US back.

Chinese-UN flag
American Counterattack[]

Chinese -UN flag
On March 17, 2083, the United States military runs an amphibious landing operation to retake the now Uncle-occupied New York City using Vertical Tanks as the primary attack force. The troops, with the help of the VTs, are able to take New York City and establish a foothold on the mainland. After clearing New York City of the remaining enemy troops, the United States Military went on the offensive in the Appalachian mountains and against the Southern United States, which included the destruction of several ammunition depots, a radio array, a series of decoys to draw the enemy's attention and the capture of a naval harbor in Norfolk, Virginia in order to disrupt the naval supply lines of Uncle, which is mounting a heavy counter-attack. Chinese President Huang Yanhai, a former UN soldier and the mastermind behind the first solidarity war, ordered the creation of a new weapon that would turn the tide of the war.
After a vital mission to retrieve a microfilm from an American spy in the United Nations, it is revealed that the UN is developing the new generation of VT called the Heavy Vertical Tank (HVT) in Berlin (after a Chinese invasion of Europe, Germany joined the United Nations, and is now a close partner with China) as well as sending American citizens and other people being captured sent to Berlin as "test subjects." The US military command eventually decide to launch an offensive on Berlin, but since the remaining NATO forces from the first War of Solidarity were stranded in Libya and Central Africa, this was considered a suicide mission by the US Strategic Command, that was until the Russians got involved in the war.
UN Invasion of Russia[]
In May of 2083, the United Nations launched a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. This invasion had been planned since before the days of the Datacide. The Russians were nearly caught as off-guard by the attacks as the Americans had been and Central Asian republics (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan) and eastern Siberia quickly fell to the UN, which initially had great success, but the Russians counterattacked in the Caucasus with an invasion into Iran, bringing balance back to the front and the Russians into the war alongside the remnants of NATO.
Other US Offensives[]
Back in the Western Hemisphere, the Canadian, Mexican and other South American joined the war in support of the US, kicking the UN out of Venezuela and Brazil. Since the Russians were now in the war, Cuba was forced to join the war on the side of their historical enemy. Together, the combined military strength of over a dozen countries mounted an assault on Colorado Springs, the headquarters of NORAD and where the UN's main air base in North America is located. The area around Colorado Springs was used as a resupply base for Uncle's bomber fleets that regularly struck the US East Coast, particularly Washington DC, which had been liberated and become the US Capital once again.
During the Battle of Colorado Springs, the Chinese unveiled their newest mobile armored unit - the Heavy Vertical Tank. This caught the Pan-American Coalition by surprise, but they managed to regroup and their combined strength was enough take control of the airport, and two brigades of the new combined militaries were shifted to the African front, where the US forces are preparing an assault on the Gibraltar Strait to reach Berlin.
Russian Offensive Into Europe[]
During the battles of Colorado, the United States government learned of a new Russian offensive. The Russian military was launching a full scale invasion of UN-occupied Europe in a huge bloodbath for both sides of the war. The Russians didn't have the economy to face the U.N. on there own, and thus requested for the United States to do something to draw the UN's attention. The US strategic high command eventually decided the best they could do was to do a series of battles in North Africa in the hopes it could draw the UN's attention.
During a series of battles in North Africa, the remnants of NATO forces attacked a UN-controlled refinery, but were ambushed by another HVT, which killed Sergeant Powers Battalions leader, Lieutenant Straw, before the battalion is able to damage it, destroying the entire refinery in the process. Rejoining with the US forces in Libya, Powers is promoted as new Lieutenant and leader of the battalion and is tasked with pushing the U.N out of North Africa. The offensive was a success and the attack on the Gibraltar Tunnel (which connects Africa with Europe) was about to begin. However during one of there missions, Powers' battalion manage to seize a damaged HVT, revealing that the HVT is piloted by only one person in the cockpit and another in a hidden seat, who, the US intelligence finds out from his body, underwent a series of physiological modifications and is connected with the HVT by a series of cables. The United States Government was horrified by this, and it seemed to ramp up efforts to defeat the United Nations once and for all.
During the attack on the Gibraltar Tunnel, the US military managed to destroy the UN's forces in the area (including one of the HVTs); with this victory, the Russians broke Uncle lines in Europe outside of Warsaw, and began there trek westward. The U.N. had no choice but to retreat its forces into Spain. Taking advantage of the situation, the United States launched a coordinated invasion of France and the British Isles. The invasion proved successful in taking Paris and destroying a military fort used to replenish the HVT's Human Processing Unit (HPU), which are in fact human prisoners of the U.N. turned into biological processors (the second "pilot" of the HVT). En route to Paris, it is possible for Parker to be killed while sacrificing himself to protect the crew from a grenade thrown into the VT.
Following the embarrassing failure of Huang Yanhai's mismanaging of the war, it caused distrust within the Chinese Military Command. In December 2083, his protégé, Colonel Mao, uses his contacts to assassinate Yanhai and place install himself as the full commander of the UN military and leader of the Peoples Republic of China.
2084[]
In January of 2084, the US Military received intelligence information suggesting that Russia and the U.N. have called a ceasefire. To avoid the U.N.'s opportunity to crush the US forces in Western Europe, the US military command decided to speed up the advance of its forces into Germany, which put pressure on Lieutenant Powers after he receives news that his daughter (who disappear during the China-U.N. invasion of America in 2081) is now a CI (Civilian Internee) inside a U.N. labor camp. The US military was running out of supplies fast, but in the end, the US military command's concerns prove unnecessary since talks between the Russian Federation and the U.N. soon break apart and the conflict resume.
To support the Russian advance in Europe Sergeant Powers Battalion is tasked the mission of pushing into the Czech Republic from the South and to destroy a railway gun used by the Chinese to keep the Russians in check at Dresden. The mission was a success, and the Russian and American military command met together for one final assault on Berlin. At the HVT factory in Berlin, Powers' crew, aided by the Russians, managed to penetrate the factory and destroy several incomplete but still deadly HVTs, taking control of the factory itself. As well, US forces pushed into Berlin from the West and South while Russian Forces pushed into Berlin from the East and North. The two armies pushed into the city from all sides, leading to a complete and total collapse of the UN forces.
In the aftermath of the Second Battle of Berlin since WW2, the United Nations Split up it's remaining forces in Europe to try and make an effective resistance. The American-Russian allied forces have to put up with this stubborn resistance across the continent, this included destroying a black heavily armored HVT. After the defeat in Europe, a man name Dr. Hamlin decided to defect from the Peoples Republic of China to the allied sides. Unfortunately, even if Powers' crew manages to protect the train that is transporting Hamlin and his team from the UN forces, the train is later ambushed and destroyed by the remainder of the U.N forces in Europe.
Unwilling to let Colonel Mao escape back in China with the data of Hamlin's research, the American-Russian command launches an attack to Mao's fort and research lab, a structure which had been hidden from the map until discovered by and aircraft reconnaissance mission. This opened the way to American, Russian and other allied troops in the fort and destroying the personal black HVT of Mao. However, in the last moments of the battle, Colonel Mao activates several WMD missiles stored in the fort, which would lead to a global Armageddon. Natch volunteers to go toward the central computer on foot to stop the countdown.
Mao manages to leave his black HVT and attempts to stop Natch. If Powers is able to kill Mao, Natch returns to the VT successfully and survives the mission. If Powers is unable to kill Mao in time, after the countdown being stopped, Mao kills Natch before killing himself. As Powers rushes to Natch, the point-of-view of Powers' daughter is seen inside Mao's HVT as an HPU, seeing her father one last time before apparently dying. Later on, a radio report reveals that the US has liberated the rest of the Continental US and that Russia is advancing in Siberia, with the UN and China willing to reach a compromise with both countries.
Endings[]
First Ending[]
Mao manages to leave his black HVT and attempts to stop Natch. If the Powers is able to kill Mao, Natch returns to the VT successfully and survives the mission. If Powers is unable to kill Mao in time; after the countdown being stopped, Mao kills Natch before killing himself. As Powers rushes to Natch, the point-of-view of Powers' daughter is seen inside Mao's black HVT as an HPU, seeing her father one last time before apparently dying.
Second Ending[]
If the Powers manages to complete the campaign with none of the platoon members dying, a bonus cinematic plays in which Powers leads the platoon with the crew optimistic about their upcoming battle with Russian forces, dialogue implying that Powers' daughter survived her internment as a CI.
As of the end of the game in both endings, the Second War of Solidarity appears to still be going on. It is unclear if the Russians and the Americans turned the guns against each other, but with recent events, it is believed that isn't the case. It is believed the Russians and the Americans drove the Chinese out of Siberia, and China would be forced to sign a ceasefire with Russia and the United States. It is unclear what happens after that, but an invasion of Mainland China could be likely.
Gameplay[]
The game features a hybrid of traditional controls and motion controls. A Kinect sensor is required to play the game. The controller handles movement, aiming and firing; the Kinect motion controls handle everything from clearing the cockpit of smoke to interacting with your squad. During these missions, the player must monitor enemy movements while coordinating with their crew members inside the VT, dealing with both interior and exterior threats. The player's crew, and other military units, can be killed, injured or suffer from other problems during battle, forcing the player to stay on alert and improvise during situations; killed crew members would also be replaced with other crew members, or their position would be left empty in consecutive battles, which would cause the player to have to fill in for their duties.
Multiplayer[]
Specific missions in each campaign are playable in a cooperative mode with 4 players. Missing players are replaced with AI. Scores are tallied up with kills while points can be lost when a player is destroyed. One player is designated as the team leader; if the team leader goes down, the mission is automatically aborted. The team is rewarded with a letter grade, and each mission has unlockable equipment to customize VTs with depending on what letter grade was received.
Screenshots[]
Vertical Tanks[]
M7 Swift[]
M7B1 Swift II[]
M7B1V Tachypleus[]
Reception[]
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor was widely panned by critics for being nearly unplayable due to the inability of the Kinect to accurately read the player's movements, though the story, graphics, concept, and characters received some praise. It received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, however, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine and three eights for a total of 33 out of 40.
Digital Spy gave it a score of three stars out of five and called it "the first genuine hardcore Kinect game, something that makes it so much more appealing. Despite some flashy visuals and a hard as nails single-player mode, there's a sense that Heavy Armor would be a little dull if played exclusively with a controller". The Digital Fix gave it a score of five out of ten and said: "With the cost of Kinect included, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor almost matches that price tag but lacks any of the niche appeal". The Escapist gave it one-and-a-half stars out of five: "While the concept is intriguing, the motion controls of Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor fail at making a game that's any fun". Mike Splechta of GameZone gave it a score of three out of ten and said it "could have been my dream game. It could have been the game that successfully brought on the marriage of an actual controller with full Kinect integration. The ambition behind the title was certainly huge, and I can't fault Capcom for that. However, with barely functional Kinect controls (tested out in various locations), Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor ends up being largely disappointing".
Review Scores | |
---|---|
Publication | Score |
Metacritic | 8/100 |
Destructoid | 3/10 |
Edge | 6/10 |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 4.5/10 |
Eurogamer | 5/10 |
Famitsu | 33/40 |
Game Informer | 3/10 |
GameRevolution | 1/5 |
GameSpot | 3.5/10 |
GameTrailers | 4.4/10 |
Giant Bomb | 1/5 |
IGN | 3/10 |
Joystiq | 2/5 |
Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 7.5/10 |
Polygon | 1/10 |
Digital Spy | 3/5 |
The Escapist | 1.5/5 |
Downloadable Content[]
Emblem Pack (Free): Released at launch, it includes various emblems to customize the VT with including fan-made emblems as well as emblems for magazines or organizations like IGN and Game Informer.
Map Pack 1 (240 MSP): Release on July 3, 2012, it includes two new missions playable in cooperative play: "Fuel Requisition" (a night time fuel depot raid) and "Mountain Sentinels" (an assault on heavy artillery in the mountains.) Each mission, like the cooperative missions in the main title, have three unlockable parts for use on a VT.
Map Pack 2 (240 MSP): Release on July 17, 2012, it includes two new missions playable in cooperative play: "Ammo Dump Jump" (a desert raid on a spread out ammo depot) and "The Champ-de-Mars" (a strike on an array of spotlights underneath the Eiffel Tower.) For owners of Map Packs 1 and 2, a bonus mission is also unlocked called "Whiteout" (an train assault during a blizzard.) Each mission, like the cooperative missions in the main title, have three unlockable parts for use on a VT.
Achievements[]

Angel of War -
-50 - Guide Bravo 1 through the entire war without sustaining a single casualty.
Family Portrait -
-40 - After the war, complete Bravo 1's platoon photo by reversing the fate of its fallen members.
The Graduate -
-10 - Complete basic training.
Repatriation -
-10 - Complete the June 2082 campaign.
Port Authority -
-10 - Complete the August 2082 campaign.
Air Superiority -
-10 - Complete the November 2082 campaign.
World Traveler -
-10 - Complete the July 2083 campaign.
One-way Ticket -
-10 - Complete the October 2083 campaign.
Gatecrasher -
-10 - Complete the January 2084 campaign.
By the Dawn's Early Light -
-10 - Complete the April 2084 campaign.
New Toy -
-10 - Obtain your first piece of vertical tank equipment.
Choices, Choices -
-20 - Obtain 11 pieces of equipment for your vertical tank.
Home Veet Home -
-40 - Obtain 21 pieces of equipment for your vertical tank.
Auspicious June -
-30 - Guide Bravo 1 through the June 2082 campaign without sustaining a single casualty.
Lucky August -
-30 - Guide Bravo 1 through the August 2082 campaign without sustaining a single casualty.
Happy November -
-30 - Guide Bravo 1 through the November 2082 campaign without sustaining a single casualty.
Fortunate July -
-30 - Guide Bravo 1 through the July 2083 campaign without sustaining a single casualty.
Joyful Octoer -
-30 - Guide Bravo 1 through the October 2083 campaign without sustaining a single casualty.
Golden January -
-30 - Guide Bravo 1 through the January 2084 campaign without sustaining a single casualty.
Perfect April -
-30 - Guide Bravo 1 through the April 2084 campaign without sustaining a single casualty.
Watch and Learn -
-10 - Create a platoon with another player and complete a successful mission.
Four by Four -
-20 - Create a platoon with three other players and complete a mission without any player casualties.
With You in Spirit -
-10 - Join another player's platoon and fall in battle while the commanding unit fights on.
Bad Nephew -
-10 - Take down your first enemy combatant.
Surgeon General -
-10 - Successfully purge the cockpit of smoke.
Iron Coffin -
-10 - Prevent being gunned down by closing the armored shutter.
Multitasker -
-10 - Double up as a loader.
Octa-gone -
-10 - Knock out 8 enemy soldiers with a single HEAT round.
Metal of Honor -
-20 - Destroy an HVT (heavy vertical tank).
Pirouette -
-15 - Perform a pivot turn in high-speed mode to take out an enemy behind you.
Dark Destrier -
-20 - Destroy 100 enemy vertical tanks.
Reach for the Sky! -
-20 - Knock an enemy bomber out of the skies.
Davy Jones -
-20 - Send 3 armed freighters to the bottom of the sea.
Uncle Slam -
-20 - Take down 1000 enemy soldiers.
What a Shot! -
-20 - Hit an enemy using rear ammo.
CQC -
-10 - Take out an enemy soldier in close quarters.
Sign of Life -
-15 - Celebrate a victory with your loader.
Corporal Punishment? -
-15 - Teach your subcom a valuable lesson.
Bombs Away -
-15 - Give the signal to a friendly bomber.
Jewel of the Nihil -
-15 - Find a valuable vacuum tube in the middle of nowhere.
Officer and a Gentleman -
-15 - Give a generous share of food to your mechanic.
Gift to the Future -
-15 - Save the most precious of lives.
Brother in Arms -
-15 - Survive the war with an inseparable friend.
Urban Warrior -
-30 - Complete "Urban Warfare" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Waterside Wipeout -
-30 - Complete "Waterside Warehouse" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Acrophiliac -
-30 - Complete "King of the Hill" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Evidence Eraser -
-30 - Complete "Crash Site" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Bridge Blowout -
-30 - Complete "Bridge Blowout" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Lemmings to Lemonade -
-30 - Complete "Lemmings" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Lights Out, Berlin -
-30 - Complete "Berlin After Dark" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Drumming It Up -
-20 - Seize enough UN fuel in "Fuel Requisition".
Oil Tycoon -
-30 - Complete "Fuel Requisition" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Mountain Lion -
-20 - Secure a route by destroying enough artillery emplacements in "Mountain Sentinels".
Ack-ack Smack -
-30 - Complete "Mountain Sentinels" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Post Mortem -
-20 - Conduct a successful raid on the UN supply post in "Ammo Dump Jump".
Desert Wolf -
-30 - Complete "Ammo Dump Jump" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Lights Out -
-20 - Secure the area by taking out enough searchlights in "The Champ-de-Mars".
Champion-de-Mars -
-30 - Complete "The Champ-de-Mars" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.
Derailed -
-20 - Destroy the UN freight cars in "Whiteout".
Snow Crash -
-30 - Complete "Whiteout" and leave no Uncles to talk about it.