Like a good game of chess, turn-based tactical combat can be one of the most strategically satisfying gaming genres. It forces you to plan out every move in order to succeed. Tactical Soldier by Full Control Software gets it right and delivers a tense, absorbing challenge for your strategic appetite.

The atmosphere is terrific as you make your way through a research facility gone bad in a series of 20 story-based missions involving human experiments and the ubiquitous flesh eaters. Although you may be tiring of the zombie theme, it works well to provide Tactical Soldier a horror/survival feel combined with their deliberate grid-based movements.

You start out as a single marine but soon join forces with two other surviving soldiers. During the missions you cannot lose a single member of your squad or you’ll fail the mission. This strict game play extends to all aspects of TS including your sparse inventory with one weapon slot + grenade and 2 bonus slots. This forces you to think twice about every move you make. As you progress you gain skill points that you can distribute amongst your squad in-between missions.

Turn-based combat can provide a surprising amount of tension and highly gratifying kills if done right and Tactical Soldier not only does it well, it includes an adjustable 3D camera for your combat pleasure. With it you can adjust your angle of view, rotate, pan and zoom to get a complete picture although in the tight quarters of the facility this can make it difficult to select your square. Nevertheless, it’s a stand out feature of TS.

Tactical Soldier employs all the standard combat tactics of friendly fire, area-of-effect, cover area and line of sight plus you have the ability to set your squad up with overview or opportunity fire when it’s the enemies turn. The zombie types are limited and it’s more likely you’ll get overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. Although, you will grow to fear the fat ones that spit green puke from a distance.

The music adds immeasurably to the atmosphere as do the blood splatters that cover the walls and floors. The game saves whenever you exit as long as you’re alive and if you die you can restart at the last checkpoint with the added benefit that the drops change so if you’re in desperate need of a medkit or grenade you may get lucky the second time around.

If you haven’t guessed, I enjoyed this game but there were a few problems, the most annoying being a touch lag that occurs when selecting one of your squad members directly. This lag is also noticeable at the main menu. There were also some questionable accuracy issues. How do you miss when firing a shotgun from an adjoining square with an 85% hit chance?  But overall, Tactical Soldier is highly recommended to anyone looking for a 3D turn-based tactical shooter that will provide you with about 8 hours of strategic gaming with a new campaign in the works. It’s a keeper!

goyami@comcast.net