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Breach and clear talks up a big game. Being originally a mobile game, its boastful marketing is just asking to be ridiculed. Luckily, my first impressions were good enough to keep my eye on the game. But when it came for me to pluck up the courage (during a steam sale) to buy it, was it worth it?
Beyond the self congratulatory introduction; Breach and Clear offers little plot or premise to drive the game forward. Players pick a mission and gets to work thwarting the evil terrorists whether by hunting them all down, disarming their bombs or just escaping to live to fight another day.
Planning and issuing orders is hassle free thanks to the simple and intuitive point and click interface. Complex plans are easy to implement leaving players free to worry about the strategy instead of being discouraged by over elaborate controls or tearing their hair out in frustration. Missions are typically quick and brutal affairs, typically lasting under a minute . On normal difficulty, experienced or skilled players will easily breeze through all 7 missions in a single evening or two. Whilst there are 3 different game modes to boost longevity, they too can (usually) be completed under 2 minutes. More disappointingly however, each mode lacks any real variation; recycling the same level layouts straight down to the entry/exit points. The random enemy and objective placement becomes more a nuisance on harder difficulties where luck (or uavs) rather than tactical genius plays an ever increasingly larger deciding factor on success or failure. For example In Escape plan, players can easily lose a team member within the initial 5 seconds on harder difficulties because the game randomly places operatives in the open surrounded by enemies. In Bomb defusal, the objective could be located anywhere in the first room or the furthest reaches of a level.
B&C prides itself on players being able to customize both squad and equipment when playing. After each mission, players are awarded cash to purchase a wide assortment of weapons, armour and aesthetic items. Whilst substantial , cosmetic options remain severally disappointing because of its uninspiring and limited selection. Take for example clothes, most are just cameo schemes and some cameo schemes like white or urban are omitted because they're worn exclusively by the terrorists. ACTUAL clothes range from flight suits, an officer shirt and (more farcical) 2 shirt and jean combinations (one has pockets, the other one doesn't). Compare this to the 18 guns, 14 vests available and the whole marketplace feels incomplete especially when only predominately US weapons and products are available. With no Multiplayer or coop play, there's very little reason to purchase them beyond personal vanity.
When creating squads, players have the freedom to pick the portraits, their class, their nationality and even their names. But with only 4 slots for 6 classes, each squad will have weaknesses and class composition for that squad cannot be changed once created. New players will have little idea as to who to bring or what to expect when creating a squad so mistakes are inevitable. With no swap squad member option, players have little choice but to live with the mistakes, kill a member off to make room or create a second squad. The latter option is inevitable if players want to unlock all achievements as they'll need to create a second squad to ensure a member from all 6 classes are used. Rather than allow customization during the start of a mission (before the initial breach), Equipment and squad selection must be done BEFORE playing a mission and must quit back to main menu to make adjustments . .
Conclusions
Overall, B&C doesn't make any serious mistakes that damages game play, but its limitations and light weight experience makes the RRP 10.99 still too pricey for what is still a mobile game. The game is enjoyable whilst it lasts (which isn't very long), but players won't miss out on much if they gave this a miss. Those that are interested in the game, get it on a discounted steam sale. Like most Mobile App games, B&C is best played in quick short bursts to maximize enjoyment. Alternatively, those looking for more other squad based tactical strategy games, Frozen synapse and door kickers are available.
6/10
Beyond the self congratulatory introduction; Breach and Clear offers little plot or premise to drive the game forward. Players pick a mission and gets to work thwarting the evil terrorists whether by hunting them all down, disarming their bombs or just escaping to live to fight another day.
Planning and issuing orders is hassle free thanks to the simple and intuitive point and click interface. Complex plans are easy to implement leaving players free to worry about the strategy instead of being discouraged by over elaborate controls or tearing their hair out in frustration. Missions are typically quick and brutal affairs, typically lasting under a minute . On normal difficulty, experienced or skilled players will easily breeze through all 7 missions in a single evening or two. Whilst there are 3 different game modes to boost longevity, they too can (usually) be completed under 2 minutes. More disappointingly however, each mode lacks any real variation; recycling the same level layouts straight down to the entry/exit points. The random enemy and objective placement becomes more a nuisance on harder difficulties where luck (or uavs) rather than tactical genius plays an ever increasingly larger deciding factor on success or failure. For example In Escape plan, players can easily lose a team member within the initial 5 seconds on harder difficulties because the game randomly places operatives in the open surrounded by enemies. In Bomb defusal, the objective could be located anywhere in the first room or the furthest reaches of a level.
B&C prides itself on players being able to customize both squad and equipment when playing. After each mission, players are awarded cash to purchase a wide assortment of weapons, armour and aesthetic items. Whilst substantial , cosmetic options remain severally disappointing because of its uninspiring and limited selection. Take for example clothes, most are just cameo schemes and some cameo schemes like white or urban are omitted because they're worn exclusively by the terrorists. ACTUAL clothes range from flight suits, an officer shirt and (more farcical) 2 shirt and jean combinations (one has pockets, the other one doesn't). Compare this to the 18 guns, 14 vests available and the whole marketplace feels incomplete especially when only predominately US weapons and products are available. With no Multiplayer or coop play, there's very little reason to purchase them beyond personal vanity.
When creating squads, players have the freedom to pick the portraits, their class, their nationality and even their names. But with only 4 slots for 6 classes, each squad will have weaknesses and class composition for that squad cannot be changed once created. New players will have little idea as to who to bring or what to expect when creating a squad so mistakes are inevitable. With no swap squad member option, players have little choice but to live with the mistakes, kill a member off to make room or create a second squad. The latter option is inevitable if players want to unlock all achievements as they'll need to create a second squad to ensure a member from all 6 classes are used. Rather than allow customization during the start of a mission (before the initial breach), Equipment and squad selection must be done BEFORE playing a mission and must quit back to main menu to make adjustments . .
Conclusions
Overall, B&C doesn't make any serious mistakes that damages game play, but its limitations and light weight experience makes the RRP 10.99 still too pricey for what is still a mobile game. The game is enjoyable whilst it lasts (which isn't very long), but players won't miss out on much if they gave this a miss. Those that are interested in the game, get it on a discounted steam sale. Like most Mobile App games, B&C is best played in quick short bursts to maximize enjoyment. Alternatively, those looking for more other squad based tactical strategy games, Frozen synapse and door kickers are available.
6/10
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Breach and clear talks up a big game. Being originally a mobile game, its boastful marketing is just asking to be ridiculed. Luckily, my first impressions were good enough to keep my eye on the game. But when it came for me to pluck up the courage (during a steam sale) to buy it, was it worth it?
Beyond the self congratulatory introduction; Breach and Clear offers little plot or premise to drive the game forward. Players pick a mission and gets to work thwarting the evil terrorists whether by hunting them all down, disarming their bombs or just escaping to live to fight another day.
Planning and issuing orders is hassle free thanks to the simple and intuitive point and click interface. Complex plans are easy to implement leaving players free to worry about the strategy instead of being discouraged by over elaborate controls or tearing their hair out in frustration. Missions are typically quick and brutal affairs, typically lasting under a minute . On normal difficulty, experienced or skilled players will easily breeze through all 7 missions in a single evening or two. Whilst there are 3 different game modes to boost longevity, they too can (usually) be completed under 2 minutes. More disappointingly however, each mode lacks any real variation; recycling the same level layouts straight down to the entry/exit points. The random enemy and objective placement becomes more a nuisance on harder difficulties where luck (or uavs) rather than tactical genius plays an ever increasingly larger deciding factor on success or failure. For example In Escape plan, players can easily lose a team member within the initial 5 seconds on harder difficulties because the game randomly places operatives in the open surrounded by enemies. In Bomb defusal, the objective could be located anywhere in the first room or the furthest reaches of a level.
B&C prides itself on players being able to customize both squad and equipment when playing. After each mission, players are awarded cash to purchase a wide assortment of weapons, armour and aesthetic items. Whilst substantial , cosmetic options remain severally disappointing because of its uninspiring and limited selection. Take for example clothes, most are just cameo schemes and some cameo schemes like white or urban are omitted because they're worn exclusively by the terrorists. ACTUAL clothes range from flight suits, an officer shirt and (more farcical) 2 shirt and jean combinations (one has pockets, the other one doesn't). Compare this to the 18 guns, 14 vests available and the whole marketplace feels incomplete especially when only predominately US weapons and products are available. With no Multiplayer or coop play, there's very little reason to purchase them beyond personal vanity.
When creating squads, players have the freedom to pick the portraits, their class, their nationality and even their names. But with only 4 slots for 6 classes, each squad will have weaknesses and class composition for that squad cannot be changed once created. New players will have little idea as to who to bring or what to expect when creating a squad so mistakes are inevitable. With no swap squad member option, players have little choice but to live with the mistakes, kill a member off to make room or create a second squad. The latter option is inevitable if players want to unlock all achievements as they'll need to create a second squad to ensure a member from all 6 classes are used. Rather than allow customization during the start of a mission (before the initial breach), Equipment and squad selection must be done BEFORE playing a mission and must quit back to main menu to make adjustments . .
Conclusions
Overall, B&C doesn't make any serious mistakes that damages game play, but its limitations and light weight experience makes the RRP 10.99 still too pricey for what is still a mobile game. The game is enjoyable whilst it lasts (which isn't very long), but players won't miss out on much if they gave this a miss. Those that are interested in the game, get it on a discounted steam sale. Like most Mobile App games, B&C is best played in quick short bursts to maximize enjoyment. Alternatively, those looking for more other squad based tactical strategy games, Frozen synapse and door kickers are available.
6/10
Beyond the self congratulatory introduction; Breach and Clear offers little plot or premise to drive the game forward. Players pick a mission and gets to work thwarting the evil terrorists whether by hunting them all down, disarming their bombs or just escaping to live to fight another day.
Planning and issuing orders is hassle free thanks to the simple and intuitive point and click interface. Complex plans are easy to implement leaving players free to worry about the strategy instead of being discouraged by over elaborate controls or tearing their hair out in frustration. Missions are typically quick and brutal affairs, typically lasting under a minute . On normal difficulty, experienced or skilled players will easily breeze through all 7 missions in a single evening or two. Whilst there are 3 different game modes to boost longevity, they too can (usually) be completed under 2 minutes. More disappointingly however, each mode lacks any real variation; recycling the same level layouts straight down to the entry/exit points. The random enemy and objective placement becomes more a nuisance on harder difficulties where luck (or uavs) rather than tactical genius plays an ever increasingly larger deciding factor on success or failure. For example In Escape plan, players can easily lose a team member within the initial 5 seconds on harder difficulties because the game randomly places operatives in the open surrounded by enemies. In Bomb defusal, the objective could be located anywhere in the first room or the furthest reaches of a level.
B&C prides itself on players being able to customize both squad and equipment when playing. After each mission, players are awarded cash to purchase a wide assortment of weapons, armour and aesthetic items. Whilst substantial , cosmetic options remain severally disappointing because of its uninspiring and limited selection. Take for example clothes, most are just cameo schemes and some cameo schemes like white or urban are omitted because they're worn exclusively by the terrorists. ACTUAL clothes range from flight suits, an officer shirt and (more farcical) 2 shirt and jean combinations (one has pockets, the other one doesn't). Compare this to the 18 guns, 14 vests available and the whole marketplace feels incomplete especially when only predominately US weapons and products are available. With no Multiplayer or coop play, there's very little reason to purchase them beyond personal vanity.
When creating squads, players have the freedom to pick the portraits, their class, their nationality and even their names. But with only 4 slots for 6 classes, each squad will have weaknesses and class composition for that squad cannot be changed once created. New players will have little idea as to who to bring or what to expect when creating a squad so mistakes are inevitable. With no swap squad member option, players have little choice but to live with the mistakes, kill a member off to make room or create a second squad. The latter option is inevitable if players want to unlock all achievements as they'll need to create a second squad to ensure a member from all 6 classes are used. Rather than allow customization during the start of a mission (before the initial breach), Equipment and squad selection must be done BEFORE playing a mission and must quit back to main menu to make adjustments . .
Conclusions
Overall, B&C doesn't make any serious mistakes that damages game play, but its limitations and light weight experience makes the RRP 10.99 still too pricey for what is still a mobile game. The game is enjoyable whilst it lasts (which isn't very long), but players won't miss out on much if they gave this a miss. Those that are interested in the game, get it on a discounted steam sale. Like most Mobile App games, B&C is best played in quick short bursts to maximize enjoyment. Alternatively, those looking for more other squad based tactical strategy games, Frozen synapse and door kickers are available.
6/10