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ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 25 / 30
Date: March 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Okay, I just picked this game up last night and I've only been through the first three missions, but I've been somewhat impressed with it so far. It has an interesting mix of turn-based strategy games and an interactive real-time combat game. One thing I'd like to see different, though is that while in the real-time combat mode, you can only move forward, backward, or stand still. No sideways movement is allowed, so you can't try to move to an enemy's flanks, take cover behind buildings or terrain, or otherwise outmaneuver your opponent. Basically all you can affect is range, so it's blast or be blasted.

I like the way they implemented the supporting troops for each unit. So far, they haven't proved terribly useful, but it's still early in my game. They add a little more realism to the combat scenes, which brings me to the next point...

The general plot of the game seems a bit, well, silly. The game supposedly takes place in 1964 and is supposed to reflect an alternate history that pivoted on some historical events that actually did occur. Basically, the story goes something like this. During WWII, the Germans invented a giant robot for use in battle on most any terrain. Kinda like a BattleMech for you Battletech/MechWarrior fans out there. So during WWII, supposedly the Germans shared some of this technology with Japan. After WWII ends in 1945, the Japanese are unhappy with the results of the Potsdam Conference and a civil war broke out ca. 1950 between northern and southern Japan. Somewhere along the line, Russia got involved in the war and has claimed the very northern part of Japan as part of its territory. You are a half German, half Japanese guy that is a test pilot of one of these robots for South Japan. A North spy named Kaiho sneaks in and steals a new prototype robot during a training session and gets away. Your job is to get it back by commanding an army of units to track down Kaiho and destroy him.

This story would be a little more believable if it was set sometime in the future, but as it is, it just seems kind of ridiculous because of the technology it would require for the time period. You soon forget about that once you get into the game, though, and I've found it to be very enjoyable so far. The graphics for most of the game aren't outstanding, but they are functional. This game could have easily been done on the PSone rather than the PS2, but it doesn't really bother me all that much. It doesn't really make the game any less good. This game may be a rent-before-you-buy kind of a deal for most people, though.

Oh, and one last thing. Some of the translation was done kind of poorly, hence the title of this review... Not nearly as bad as ZeroWing, but not great either.

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.

The first PS2 title I've played, and well worth it!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: November 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Ring of Red is the first game I played on my spanking new PS2, and it succeeded in getting me glued to my seat for the next several hours.

Ring of Red puts you in control of a squad of mechs (much like Squaresoft's Front Mission games) and you'll have about 50 missions (each with different objectives) to undertake. You are placed in an overworld map with grids you can move on, and you can do several things on your turn -- attack, recover, move, standby... depending on the situation. You can also occupy landmarks such as villages and get additional troops. With the levels you gain also come new skills and special abilities.

Unlike Front Mission games however, you also get to command ground troops (yes, soldiers) in addition to your mechs. You have many different kinds of troops -- ranging from snipers to medics, and they all have their own special abilities which can help you win.

The characters are rendered anime-style, which is a plus for me. The graphics are very smooth overall, and you'll see a big jump in quality especially if you've played Front Mission on your old Playstation. The battles are detailed in that you have to aim and move around to adjust your range... so it's more than just sitting around and waiting for your turn to finish. There is also a rich story which serves as the backdrop for the game.

All in all, I recommend this game as this is undoubtedly one of the better PS2 titles out there now. If you liked Squaresoft's Front Mission games for the Playstation, you'll dig Konami's Ring of Red.

A game for people who prefer play over graphics

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If there was a contest for ugliest PS2 game ever made, Ring of Red would probably take the cake.

Visual prowess, however, is not everything. Ring of Red is probably the most challenging game I have ever set my sights upon. It's a turn-based stratgey in the vein of Front Mission 3 or Mechwarrior. The only difference is intead of just exchanging blows on an attack, you engage in a rather elaborate battle, any of which could turn easily turn surprisingly sucsessful or incredibly sour.

This game is very very long, and that's either good or bad depending on your opinions. You are able to save mid-battle and pick up later where you left off, (though keep in mind the game deletes the save file when you load it) but if you die you need to start the while round over. One round averages me about 3 or 4 hours, a lot of that time being attributed to the repetative animations of soldiers' actions, which is my only complaint about this game.

If you're looking for an armchair strategy you can rent a few times and put under your belt, this isn't for you. If you feel like spending 30 bucks on a game that's going to take you a while to get through, go for it. Don't use a gameshark, don't save the mid-battle files to a second memory card so you can cheat if you screw up. Beat this game legitamately, (as time consuming and frustrating as it might get) and when those end credits roll, it will be that much more satisfying.

Decent...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: July 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is ok while the thing that kills me is after every mission the diary secences they are SO anoying! Also the LONG battles!if you want full joy out of this game get a gameshark!with out it the game takes hours for one fight If I were people who arnt into Stratagy games and just into the mechs dont even bother! the mechs are stupid looking except the 4 leged and regular AFW's....the characters are decent and the graphics are dull compared to the graphics ive seen like Shadow of destinys and others.I give it four stars since I beat games in 5 days or less this one took me a little more because of the battles and im a stratagy fan Nut!I loved Kessen and dont know why it had a bad rating!

Good Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is challenging and takes a while to play. Fun game though. I didn't know what to expect when I picked this game up but it suprised me. Strategy is what this game is all about and it gets a little frustrating in some parts. But that is what a strategy game is all about :-). Pick this one up if you feel like being challenged and have the money.

Shell Shock at 85%

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Mechwarrior fans will lover Ring of Red because it is very closely related to the game. Ring of Red is a story about WW2 not ending with the bombing of Japan. The war dragged on and brought in a new style of combat that involved Mechs. The gameplay learning curve takes a while to master. Once you identify which mechs and squads to match up against oppossing enemy then it becomes very fun. However one thing about this game is that they seemed to cut some elements of the game that should have been there. For example voice-overs, the game could have used voice-overs! And they could have used animations thru the breifing stages and small cutscenes. But the game is still fun but reading thru all the dialogue makes me feel like im in front of my old Playstation again. But all in all its a great game that may have been rushed to fatten the game market for PS2.

Mechs, Military Might, and Me

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: May 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Personally, I can't understand why anyone wouldn't like this game. It has everything a person needs from their interactive entertainment. This includes:
1) Nice effects that, contrary to some reviews, do manage to keep your attention. These range from the mechanized tanks themselves moving through their attack patterns, seasonal change-ups, support troops that have their own moves, and some nice looking backgrounds to accent your battles.
2) A degree of simplification in the basic controls that let the beginner play, plus the addition of higher degrees of strategy that don't allow you to bore too easily. Your vehicles, an ever increasing number of oddities meshing robots with tanks, all have specialized maneuvers such as Dodging and Punching other mechs, plus an optimum strike area. The troops further accent this, letting you add in different tactical approaches (do I want to have men equipped with homing missiles, or do I need someone to cut those lines ensnaring my legs?), thereby customizing your approach. Some even allow you to use different types of shells with your mech, allowing degrees of damage to either the enemy robots or the accompanying troops.
3) The enemies do become better as the game moves on. They start to display the ability to think somewhat, plus they develop specialized moves of their own. This is something that can be a bit of a burden, too, with combat taking lots of those 90 second slots.
Anyhow, this is only a little of what the game has to offer, and leaves out much of the story plotting, plus the nice take on post World War 2 worldwide events. If you like Mechs and military showings, this is for you.

Save money by not buying this game!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: June 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Please don't waste your money on Ring of Red, You'll only dissapoint yourself by doing so. The reason why is because it is a terrible game, after a couple days of playing this game, you'll never want to play it again. In the 10 hours I wasted playing this game, the only thing I ever did was walk around the world map fighting enemy robots. Another reason not to buy this game is that you can't save you game in the middle of each mission (Each of them take about 2-3 hours), so you'll be playing this game all day before your able to save. The only thing more boring than playing this game is listening to dull conversations going on between the characters. I regret buying this game, so I advise you NOT to buy it either.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game. It takes a while to learn the basic gameplay and battle sequences. But once you do, the game becomes fun and pretty addictive. There are a ton of missions and chapters, so you'll have many hours of gameplay waiting for you. The story is interesting, the graphics and nice, and the sound is great. Buy this if you love strategy games and hours and hours of interesting gameplay.

A well deserved 4 stars!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: December 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game for several reasons. The beautiful graphics will catch your attention and the depth will keep you hooked for weeks.One might be tempted to call "Ring of Red," a true mech sim instead of a game."Front Mission" fans will notice a lot of similarities in "Ring of Red." It's a great strategy game for many ages! The play or battles are long and the sequences can't be skipped, making the game some what boring for quick action fans. Overall, the games well-detailed visuals, cool game play, and greats battles, are what I believe make this game a well deserved 4 stars!

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