Brigador

Last updated
Brigador Logo.png
Brigador Boxart.jpg
Box art for video game Brigador: Up Armored Edition
Developer(s) Stellar Jockeys
Publisher(s) Stellar Jockeys
Designer(s) Hugh Monahan
Jack Monahan
Programmer(s) Dale Kim
Harry Hsiao
Karl Parakenings
Artist(s) Hugh Monahan
Jack Monahan
Composer(s) Makeup and Vanity Set
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
Release
  • WW: June 2, 2016
Genre(s) Real-time tactics
Mode(s) Single-player

Brigador (originally titled Matador) is an isometric real-time tactical game from independent studio Stellar Jockeys, released on October 16, 2015 on early access. It officially left early access on June 2, 2016. The game has been compared to the Syndicate [1] and MechWarrior [2] series. Brigador: Up-Armored Edition, was the improved relaunch released on June 2, 2017, which provided a new introduction to game mechanics, rebalanced the game's overall difficulty, added localization support, and made graphical upgrades such as better explosions and lighting changes. [3]

Contents

Gameplay

Brigador is divided into two modes: Campaign and Freelance. Each mission in Campaign mode offers the player up to four different loadouts to complete a mission's objectives. The player can choose from three main objectives: eliminate a certain number of enemy NPCs, take out all the marked captains, or destroy the orbital defense platforms before making their escape. Completing a mission successfully rewards the player with money, which they can spend on unlocking in-game flavor text as well as other vehicles, weapons and pilots for use in Freelance mode.

A screenshot of gameplay, depicting a player-controlled Mech firing upon an object. The player's ammunition and health can be seen in the top left corner, as well as their selected driver's portrait. Brigador-Gameplay.jpg
A screenshot of gameplay, depicting a player-controlled Mech firing upon an object. The player's ammunition and health can be seen in the top left corner, as well as their selected driver's portrait.

In Freelance mode, the player chooses a pilot, vehicle, weapons and a "run" of levels to complete. What the player chooses for their run will affect the difficulty of enemies faced, what factions they may encounter, as well as the payout multiplier bonus for successfully completing a run of levels. Additional, harder runs can be purchased using the currency earned within the game.

Development

Brigador is the first game by Stellar Jockeys. Co-founders Hugh Monahan and Jack Monahan are behind the game's art direction and design, while Dale Kim and Harry Hsiao worked as programmers on the game's custom engine. [4] The game began development in 2011, and its development was entirely self-funded. Brigador was released in October 2015 as an early access title, with the full launch following in June 2016. [5] [6] Following the 2016 launch, Dale Kim and Harry Hsiao parted amicably from the studio, with Karl Parakenings joining to provide programming support in their stead. On June 2, 2017, the game was relaunched as Brigador: Up-Armored Edition which added more content to the game, rebalanced the game's difficulty, and localized the game into several languages including French, German, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and several others.

Reception

Brigador: Up-Armored Edition received "mixed or average reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. [7] On initial release, the developers found it difficult to generate awareness for the game, which contributed to its commercial failure. [5] However, due to the 2017 relaunch and continued support by the developers, the game saw improved sales numbers, particularly in non-English speaking territories. [11] [12]

In May 2019, a direct sequel to Brigador, titled Brigador Killers, was announced. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mecha</span> Humanoid walking vehicles in science fiction

In science fiction, mecha or mechs are giant robots or machines typically depicted as piloted and as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword 'mechanism' or 'mechanical', but the meaning in Japanese is more inclusive, and 'robot' or 'giant robot' is the narrower term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roguelike</span> Subgenre of role-playing video games

Roguelike is a style of role-playing game traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player character. Most roguelikes are based on a high fantasy narrative, reflecting their influence from tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.

Gungriffon is a series of video games developed by Game Arts and designed by Takeshi Miyaji. Gungriffon and Gungriffon II originally appeared for the Sega Saturn console in 1996, with more recent appearances in Gungriffon Blaze for the PlayStation 2 and Gungriffon: Allied Strike for the Xbox. The Gungriffon games are focused on piloting mecha—large, usually bipedal military vehicles. This game series refers to these machines as Armored Walking Gun Systems (AWGS). With the exception of the High-MACS design, the mecha in this series have a distinctly realistic design philosophy.

<i>Silent Line: Armored Core</i> 2003 video game

Silent Line: Armored Core, known in Japan as Armored Core 3: Silent Line, is a 2003 third-person shooter mecha video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2. It is the seventh entry in the Armored Core series and a direct sequel to 2002's Armored Core 3. In 2009, Silent Line: Armored Core was ported to the PlayStation Portable.

<i>Armored Core: Nine Breaker</i> 2004 video game

Armored Core: Nine Breaker is a 2004 third-person shooter mecha video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2. It is the ninth entry in the Armored Core series and a spin-off to Armored Core: Nexus.

<i>MechWarrior</i> (1993 video game) 1993 video game

MechWarrior, known in Japan as BattleTech (バトルテック), is a first-person action video game for the Super NES set in the BattleTech universe. The SNES game was based upon the original PC MechWarrior, with updated graphics that utilized Mode 7 for the Battlemech mission sequences instead of the PC version's flat-shaded 3D graphics.

<i>MechWarrior 3050</i> 1996 video game

MechWarrior 3050, also known as BattleTech in its original Sega Genesis release and in Japan as BattleTech 3050 (バトルテック3050), is a 1994 mech-based video game developed by Malibu. The first BattleTech based game to be released for the Sega Genesis, it was later ported to the Super Nintendo by Activision as MechWarrior 3050. The Super Nintendo game was localized and published in Japan by Ask Group.

<i>Metal Wolf Chaos</i> 2004 video game

Metal Wolf Chaos is a third-person shooter video game developed by FromSoftware. It originally released in 2004 in Japan for the Xbox. The player takes on the role of fictional United States President Michael Wilson piloting a mech to battle the rebelling military, led by fictional Vice President Richard Hawk. Wilson's mech can be equipped with up to eight weapons selected from a set of over a hundred. In each mission, the player battles through destructible environments, destroying all enemies they come across.

Dwarf Fortress is a construction and management simulation and roguelike indie video game created by Bay 12 Games. Available as freeware and in development since 2002, its first alpha version was released in 2006 and received attention for being a two-member project surviving solely on donations.

<i>Armored Core: For Answer</i> 2008 video game

Armored Core: For Answer is a 2008 mecha-based vehicular combat game developed by FromSoftware and published by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the 13th installment in the mecha-based Armored Core series, the game is the direct sequel to Armored Core 4.

<i>MechWarrior: Living Legends</i> 2009 video game

Mechwarrior: Living Legends is a free, fan-created multiplayer-only game based in the BattleTech universe - originally a total-conversion mod for Crysis, it's since become stand-alone - running on Crysis Wars, and using CryEngine 2 as its engine. It's one of the few mods based on the BattleTech universe to have been sanctioned by Microsoft—who currently owns the rights to the Mechwarrior video-game franchise—and additionally received pre-SDK support and sanctioning directly from Crytek, producers of the games' engine. On December 26, 2009, an open beta was released via BitTorrent and other distribution methods. Because the project changes the play-style and feel of the game it is originally based on so completely as to be unrecognizable in comparison, it is billed as a "full-conversion" mod, since little to no trace of the original game's art or play-style exists any longer within MW:LL. It was created by American developer Wandering Samurai Studios.

Hawken is a free-to-play multiplayer mech first-person shooter video game. The game features five game modes: Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, Co-op Bot Team Deathmatch, Siege, and Missile Assault. It follows the freemium model of game monetization—with in-game purchases as the main source of revenue.

N.O.V.A. 3 is a science fiction action-adventure first-person shooter touchscreen video game developed by Gameloft Bucharest and published by Gameloft as the third instalment of the N.O.V.A. series, released on the App Store and Google Play on May 10, 2012 for iOS, BlackBerry 10 and Android devices, with later releases for the BlackBerry PlayBook and Windows Phone 8 devices in 2013. Unlike its predecessors, N.O.V.A. 3 was more heavily inspired on games like Killzone, Call of Duty and Crysis 2. The game's main influences prior were the Halo series.

<i>The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth</i> 2014 indie video game

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a roguelike indie game designed by Edmund McMillen and developed and published by Nicalis. Rebirth was released for Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in November 2014, for Xbox One, New Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in July 2015, for iOS in January 2017 and for Nintendo Switch in March 2017. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions were released in November 2021.

<i>Convoy</i> (video game) 2015 video game

Convoy is a video game released on April 21, 2015 for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux, and as Convoy: A Tactical Roguelike on April 8, 2020 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One under a revised format. The game features pixel art graphics and roguelike squad based tactical combat. In Convoy, the player must scour the wastelands of a desert planet in a defensively outfitted semi-trailer truck for parts to a crashed spaceship. The plot is experienced through interactive text based dialogue, where the player picks responses to written scenarios. The outcome of these scenarios sometimes turns in to tactical combat.

<i>Ironcast</i> 2015 puzzle strategy video game

Ironcast is a turn-based strategy video game with individual missions played through a match-three system. The game features procedurally generated missions and permadeath, staples of the roguelike genre. The game was developed by Dreadbit and released for PC platforms in March 2015, PS4 and Xbox One in March 2016, and Nintendo Switch version in August 2017.

<i>Into the Breach</i> 2018 turn-based strategy video game

Into the Breach is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by indie studio Subset Games, consisting of Justin Ma and Matthew Davis. Into the Breach is their second game, following FTL: Faster Than Light. It features writing by Chris Avellone and music composed by Ben Prunty. It was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2018, for macOS and Nintendo Switch in August 2018, and for Linux in April 2020. A version for iOS and Android mobile devices was published by Netflix in July 2022.

<i>The Long Journey Home</i> (video game) 2017 video game

The Long Journey Home is a 2017 space exploration video game by Daedalic Entertainment for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

<i>Skyshines Bedlam</i> 2015 video game

Skyshine's Bedlam is a turn-based tactical roguelike and simulation game developed by Skyshine Games and published by Versus Evil. It was released in 2015 for Windows and OS X.

References

  1. Smith, Graham (4 February 2014). "Mechs For a Good Time: Matador Trailer". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  2. Shearer, Stew (5 February 2014). "Matador to Offer Isometric Roguelike Mech Action". The Escapist. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  3. Horti, Samuel (4 June 2017). "Brigador: Up-Armored Edition 'relaunches' the mech combat game". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  4. Rad, Chloi. "Matador Merges Stylish Mech Combat With Challenging Roguelike Elements". Indie Statik. Archived from the original on 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  5. 1 2 Nathan Grayson (2016-07-21). "What Happens After An Indie Game Fails On Steam". Kotaku . Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  6. O'Connor, Alice (October 16, 2015). "Isometric Action: Brigador Stomps Into Early Access". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Brigador for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  8. Tolentino, Josh (4 July 2016). "Review: Brigador". Destructoid . Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  9. Starkey, Daniel (15 July 2016). "Brigador Review". GameSpot . Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  10. Petitte, Omri (29 June 2016). "Brigador review". PC Gamer . Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  11. Glover, Benjamin (11 March 2019). "Thirteen tips for your next localization". Gamasutra Blogs. UBM LLC. Archived from the original on 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  12. Monahan, Hugh (2019-05-04). "Was Brigador eventually a financial success?". Brigador: Up-Armored Edition General Discussions Forum. Stellar Jockeys. Retrieved 2019-07-31 via Steam Community.
  13. Tarason, Dominic (2019-05-29). "Brigador Killers is giving us a whole new world to stomp flat". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 2024-03-28.