Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix will appeal to a very specific audience: those who like anime ladies, mech suits, fast-paced action and visual novels.
Actresses are the stars of Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix. But these aren’t just any actresses: they’re actresses who have displayed an aptitude for wielding special gear. Their enemy is Vice, which has taken control of the world, but they’re not quite ready to head into battle just yet. Instead they’ve got training to do, and what better way is there to brush up their skills than fight each other?
An impressive roster of 22 combatants can be found in Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix. Jump into the game’s story mode and you’ll find that you can select nearly all of them from the outset, discovering more about them and their motivations for joining AEGiS, the company in charge of defending against Vice. Each one has their very own story scenes, voiced in Japanese, making it likely that some will want to play with them all. And the fact that these visual novel segments are sandwiched between battles means you never get bogged down.
For many, the fast-paced battles on offer here will be the highlight. Taking to the air, the girls fight alone or as teams of three, with you being able to switch between your trio of combatants with the d-pad. No matter who you’re in control of, they have access to a firearm, a melee weapon, and special abilities provided to them by their mechanical torso and leg gear. Each girl has their own unique skills, too, but to use those they need SP. Raise your SP to max, and what is effectively a super move can be performed, perhaps changing the tide of battle.
In some ways, the combat of Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix is similar to that of the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Series. At range, both combatants are likely to unleash a bevvy of firearm attacks, biding their time until they can dash in and unleash some serious damage up close. Each character’s ability to employ boost to move quickly and evade attacks as well as put up a shield, however, doesn’t always make that easy. And that’s where your advanced attacks come in, keeping opponents on their toes to create openings and capitalise upon them.
One of the greatest strengths of Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix can also detract from it, however. The money earned by playing can be spent in an in-game shop to unlock a wide variety of firearms, melee weapons, gear parts and more. It’s great for those who like to customise their characters, but it also means that once you have a considerable selection of customisation items unlocked, there’s little that separates one playable character from another. Ultimately, your actress simply defines your appearance and special skills.
Still there’s a lot of fun to be had with Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix. Story mode, with its hex-based progression structure that allows you to chart your own route to its conclusion is pretty neat. And outside of that you can engage in free battles against the CPU, or take on other players online in either ranked or casual matches. It’s not got the most expansive range of modes, then, but there’s enough. And it comes at a budget price after all.
So, to reiterate: those who like anime ladies, mechs, fast-paced action and visual novels are bound to get plenty of enjoyment out of Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix. It’s not likely to wow anyone in any way, but it’s a solid battler with a pleasing amount of customisation and plenty of female combatants to discover the motivations of.
Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix Review – GameSpew’s Score
