The movie-to-game adaption, Battle: Los Angeles, finally arrives on the Playstation Network. Battle: LA is a sci-fi FPS that has you defending the city of LA against an alien invasion. Like the movie, the game starts with Los Angeles being invaded. You take on the role of Staff Sergeant Nantz – a marine that is trying to help take back Los Angeles.
The game throws you into the action from the start. There is a total of four different weapons you will acquire: your military issued assault rife; sniper rifle; rocket launcher; and hand grenades.
Battle: LA is a straight-forward FPS that is very linear in nature. There is no second-guessing what your mission objectives are; you are pushed forward and kept on rails so to speak, being led by the hand from chapter to chapter.
There are three difficulty settings that range from easy, normal and hard. Playing Battle: LA on the hardest game setting will net you around 30-40 hours of gameplay. Despite offering additional hours of gameplay on hard, it was a bit disappointing how short the game actually was. I was really hoping for a longer campaign from Battle: LA.
The gameplay is somewhat of a mixed bag. When attacking as a unit, the only attacks that seem to matter are your own. Aliens seem to take multiple hits from your unit, but never seem to die until you attack yourself. This is great for added cinematic effect, but it quickly becomes frustrating when you realize that you’re the only one dealing damage.
Battle: LA is also the perfect candidate for online multiplayer matches, but to my disappointment, the feature was never added. Hopefully this will be considered in a future DLC update.
There is enough unlockable content to play the game more than once, but once the unlockables and trophies are acquired, there isn’t much left.
On the upside, the graphics – especially the creature models – are really sharp and look realistic. The environments have plenty of detail and simulate the movie’s atmosphere perfectly. It’s also fun destroying the environment around you (i.e. cars, trucks and other objects).
The music does a good job of setting the tone for the environment, but I do have a small gripe with some of the sound effects. The m4a1 assault rifle sounds a little weak for my taste. Unless you are indoors or confined in a small area, the weapon just sounds distant and faded. The sniper rifle packs a punch and the grenades shack your speakers; same goes for the explosions.
Despite some of the issues mentioned, Battle: LA will still entertain gamers looking to vent some alien cranium. If you are looking for a challenge, however, I suggest playing on the hardest setting to get the most from your gaming experience.
Battle: Los Angeles – despite some of its flaws – still delivers enough bang for your money, especially if you are a fan of the movie.
James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 3
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $9.99
Size: 1.1 gigs
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| The graphics are movie-like and very detailed. | |
| Sound | |
| The voice acting is great, minus some of the gun sound effects. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Battle: Los Angeles is a good FPS; if only it wasn't so linear. | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| If you're a fan of the movie, you will enjoy Battle: Los Angeles | |
