Shock Tactics
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critic Reviews for Shock Tactics
More focus on exploration would have set Shock Tactics apart, but what is there is enough to warrant a playthrough.
In the end, Shock Tactics is a good first attempt at a turn-based tactics game but lacks in polish and follow through. Point Blank Games nailed the important concepts and they seem to have the technical expertise to make good turn-based titles in the future. They need more practice and hopefully they will get it.
Far too often developers pay "homage" by lifting elements from far better games and stripping them down to their shallowest parts. Unfortunately, Shock Tactics is no different than those vain attempts at cashing in on a much better franchise. Point Blank Games steals as much as they can from XCOM, but they neglect to snatch any of the charm and level design that made the series so popular. The enemy AI is horrendous, maps under designed, and missions range from easy to annoying, but never challenging. In a world where XCOM exists, there is little reason to give Shock Tactics the time of day.
I noticed a bit of frame stuttering as the drop ship put my mercenaries down for our first mission on Hephæst. After putting the difficulty down on the lowest, most condescendingly-titled setting, I was prepared to get a feel for the mechanics. But then it crashed and I had to do it all over again. This was the first and only Crash to Desktop I suffered with the game, but unfortunately it wasn’t the only issue I wound up having.
