Mecha Ace: Heroes of the Vedrian War

Sci-fi stories usually feature extravagant technology to really make you feel like you are in the future, but most of the time this advanced tech is reduced to self-aware computers or spaceships. Battle suits are another area of focus in sci-fi games and movies, because few things look cooler than mechs fighting each other on the battlefield.

Mecha Ace: Heroes of the Vedrian War is a text-based adventure game in which you play the role of a character trying to bring peace to the galaxy by utilizing the superior firepower of a mechanized battle suit. Although most of the story is about making decisions that affect the politics of the galaxy and your relationship with other characters, there’s a fair bit of action included as well.

To begin with, everything about the main character is left up to you, including gender, special interests and a few other personality-related traits. In fact, most of the other characters can be randomized in the beginning as well, so every playthrough should feel unique. Speaking of which, the main plot revolves around an intergalactic civil war, and it’s up to you to decide how your character participates in it.

The way you approach every situation depends on how you feel at the time, because it’s always possible to put your mech to good use or just talk things through. You can spare enemies or obliterate innocent lives, depending on whether you want to be a hero or the villain. You can also upgrade and improve your suit over the course of the game.

There are no graphics to go along with the story, unfortunately, so most of your time is spent reading the text and using your own imagination to visualize the action. Granted, this should work quite well if you are an avid reader, but it helps if you manage to find the right music to go along with it. Hence, the lack of graphics should not be too much of an issue for the fans of the medium.

In the end, Mecha Ace: Heroes of the Vedrian War has all the battle robots you could wish for, and an intergalactic revolution to keep you invested in the story. Hence, if you do not mind the text-based interface, this should definitely be in your library.