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It's easy to figure out why gamers lusted after this thing when developer Capcom released it back in late 2002: It's the mech equivalent of a racing game's steering wheel—on steroids—complete with the foot pedals and about a bazillion other useless doodads. Welcome to Steel Battalion the worlds closest to life Mech simulation. The Steel Battalion controller is the Hummer of video game peripherals—overpriced, ostentatious, and, well, kind of pointless. Yes, the idea of a full mech control panel sounds fantastic on paper. I grabbed a standing TV tray—only to discover that the controller's base was really too big to sit there safely. It’s three feet long. Even bigger was that the trays were too tall to use while sitting on the couch. The first is don't plunk down $200 for a peripheral that can only be used for one game. […] Just look at that thing. This controller has all that is needed for deep simulation computer games such as MechWarrior Online and Kerbal Space Program. For as ambitious and unique as it was, Steel Battalion received decent reviews and moderate sales. I have so many light guns that the Federal Government should have me on a watch list. just a damn shame the franchise has been killed due to myopic bean counter corporatocracy. A Windows 7 64 bit "driver" for the Steel Batallion Controller. Return policy: Extended holiday return window till Jan 31, 2021. Would love your thoughts, please comment. A new unknown device will appear. 4) Do not incite flame wars. Steel Battalion is an exciting battle-mech simulator that uses the most elaborate controller interface ever created. Download steel-batallion-64 for free. Even more troubling is that "Buffer Material" toggle switch has broken off somewhere along the line. After some creative juggling, I finally had the thing set up in a way where I could at least play (hurray for adjustable height computer chairs). The game and its 40-button, three-piece controller will sell for a suggested retail price of $199.95. Gallery View Customize . I fired up the Xbox and prepared for my first mission of the game. See each listing for international shipping options and costs. For example, my "shrine of cellophane" (aka the mountainous stacks of unopened games I have in my collection) has become the stuff of legend. At least the Hummer is sort of useful for driving around town, which puts it one point ahead of this monstrous mechanism—which has no use at all outside of two games. SECTION 1: CONNECTION Connecting the controller to Steel Battalion is a little bit more of a pain than connecting the original controllers. it had been neglected, a bit of surface rust, i didn’t think it would work but decided to chance it. the Robot, and a Magnavox Odyssey II for crying out loud. Sold by: gametreasuresnyc. + $13.77 shipping. Step 3: Install the driver. As for the game itself, it's aged well enough. It was developed by Capcom and Nude Maker and was published by Capcom and Microsoft. I took this as a sign—a grand, shining beacon all but screaming that I was really meant to own Steel Battalion and this was my second chance at righting one of the great wrongs of my life. Steel Battalion Controller - Original Microsoft Xbox - CHEAP PRICE TO SELL QUICK It now lives in another closet—or at least it did until today. It's also possible to create a virtual controller with LEDs, levers, and toggle switch layout as user interface. The usefulness of this controller now rests in the hands of the modding community. The game is so close to reality you will personally feel the stress of the situation. A driver already exists for 32 bit systems. View cart for details. I also learned that if a company releases an expensive peripheral, sells out of them, then waits two years before releasing more that means they're probably not really interested in supporting it for the long haul. Since that wasn't an option, I was left to finagle a temporary solution. I still have in my possession a fully functional R.O.B. $420.00 Trending at $425.00 Trending price is based on prices over last 90 days. You should be proud. Skip to main content. Shop by ... lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first Lowest Price Highest Price Distance: nearest first. Seems like sage advice to live by for sure. Arrives: Dec 31 - Jan 6. It’ll sit in a box in the closet until I die. For that you got the controller and the game, but it certainly created a daunting barrier to entry for the casual and curious masses. Amazon.com: Steel Battalion: Video Games. It's still hard, and I have no real clue what I'm doing. If the first thing one notices about the controller is how huge it is, the first thing they notice about the actual game is the difficulty. Comments are subject to approval/deletion based on the following criteria: Today marks the third time I've put the thing together and it's certainly showing signs of wear. If only I had bought it when the price was only $200. 1) Treat all users with respect. Revisiting Steel Battalion hasn't changed my opinion of it one bit. I wound up passing on the experience—mainly because I'm the rare breed of gamer who isn't all that interested in mechs. Open the Device Manager and connect the Steel Battalion controller to the computer. Heh I bought Dungeons 2 retail and Steam. So brutal that I tried the first few missions, died, and then promptly quit playing. I just started collecting for original xbox and I would love one but alas, I can’t justify splashing out 200 pounds on one. If the marketing guys at Capcom were really clever (and a little bit devious), they'd have not only sold this controller, but a custom designed table to put it on. The controller was cool, and the game that came with it sounded like the kind of "hardcore" mech simulation that could make for a compelling experience. Steel Battalion controller working on BH Trials Caveats Windows 10 drivers need to be signed with a certificate from a trusted certification authority, which costs several hundreds of dollars. The first thing one notices about Steel Battalion is that the controller is huge. Prices Current as of August 2020. so that fact that you gave your advice and only paid $200…I’m just glad I read this. Steel Battalion controller This monstrous accessory was made for original Xbox title Steel Battalion, which was a game where the user was tasked with … Sure, occasionally my pride would speak up and say "you have a really nice game collection—but it's too bad you don't have Steel Battalion to take it to the next level," but like all the voices in my head, I'd simply push it aside and go about my day. 6) No excessive whining and/or complaining. The second is to trust my instincts—I passed on this thing the first time around and should have known better when it was re-released. Fortunately, it doesn't appear to be one of the really important ones, but for a $200 controller that was treated with care by an adult and used for a grand total of four hours in its entire lifespan, it probably shouldn't have pieces breaking off. i recently found a steel battalion controller for 20 bucks at the local goodwill. 3) Do not insult and/or harass users. Mike Bracken is a 43-year-old writer and bohemian living in Florida with a mountain of movies, books, and video games. Give me foot pedals! It’s ostentatious in all the best ways, crammed full of more […]. I'm all for learning by doing, but Steel Battalion wasn't a game where failure resulted in a game over screen followed by an option to retry the mission. Its unconventional, 20-pound controller and highly immersive gameplay make it one of the most sought-after Xbox games available. Steel Battalion was released for the Xbox in 2002, and remains one of the most hardcore mech simulators of all time. I’m over in the UK and these things still cost a bomb today. and then settled back to wait, secure in the knowledge that my game collection would no longer be good—it would be great. The controller has roughly 40 buttons, switches and gizmos and requires genuine coordination on the player's part. Most missions end with me either toppling my own mech or flailing around like a madman trying to figure out what gear the mech should be in and what buttons I should be using while getting blasted by enemies. In the era of constant checkpoints and games that held players' hands through the tough bits, this was brutal. The controller was cool, and the game that came with it sounded like the kind of "hardcore" mech simulation that could make for a compelling experience. "I'll definitely master this once I get a better set-up for this controller," I told everyone who'd listen. I’ll never sell this thing. bought the game on e-bay for another $45 tried it all out, and it works flawlessly, built a custom table for it, and i am totally hooked. It comes in pieces and requires some relatively simple assembly, but no one really understands how massive this thing is until they see it in person. Amounts shown in italicized text are for items listed in currency other than Canadian dollars and are approximate conversions to Canadian dollars based upon Bloomberg's conversion rates. Looking back, I can say I've learned some important lessons from my time with Steel Battalion. It resided there until I moved back to Florida three years ago. While some people would consider using the controller as a handicap, it's a … Why you might ask? Despite this, it eventually faded into obscurity. We could emulate the controller by combining the input from game pad and keyboard. There would be mech slaughter at Casa de Bracken, and it would be glorious. The problem was the price—Steel Battalion's retail cost was $200. I was okay with that decision. For any original XBOX gamer and collector this game will test you limits. Take a seat inside the cockpit of a mechanized VT (Vertical Tank) and enter into futuristic military warfare, where you pilot 20 different mechs in a multinational task force operation in an effort to over throw the government. Soon I would be the envy of all my friends and colleagues, who would come to marvel at the magnificence of this game and its gargantuan controller. Just be warned that Steel Battalion demands an extremely high price and is viewed as the holy grail for Xbox collectors: It … I had to grab a second one—and side by side, they managed to contain this monstrosity. The problem was the price—Steel Battalion's retail cost was $200. The untold story of the most insane game controller ever made – All of News, The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel (PS4) Review, Tweets from https://twitter.com/GameCritics/lists/staff. FULLY ASSEMBLED STEEL BATTALION CONTROLLER STEEL BATTALION CONTROLLER ASSEMBLY Connect the centre unit and the right unit by inserting the connector cable into the jacks in both units. Find great deals on eBay for steel battalion xbox controller. I have found piloting Type-C and Type-B mechs to be more enjoyable (Type-As are just too quick in my opinion for the controller). Of course, this solution created two other problems—with the trays and their legs next to each other, there was no good place to put the gas and brake pedals. I own enough plastic musical instruments to start several bands. Please see the image below (taken from Wikipedia). 2) Post with an open-mind. I'm almost 40 years old—I'm lucky if I can walk and carry a conversation at this stage of my life. That's awesome—except that it gives rise to the first problem all new Steel Battalion owners must confront—where the hell am I going to put this thing? Buy new: $2,299.98. I am currently saving the money to get my hands on one for this purpose. Not so much. That was a big one. Train Control Model 202 UL, - Fast Lane 6.0V Rechargeable NiCd Battery Pack Charger RC Radio Control BRAND NEW, - CVault 7x4” Humidity Control Airtight Stash Storage Container+ 67gm BOVEDA PACK, - Cricut TRUE CONTROL BLADES Refill Pack 5 Premium Steel Blades 2004845. As someone who's been gaming for well over three decades, I've accumulated more than my fair share of clutter. Then, the unthinkable happened…. I don't know if they believed me or not, but several months later Steel Battalion's mech cockpit finished its slow migration from the center of the living room to an out of sight closet. All that being said, the single most important lesson is this: if you don't really like mechs, don't buy a gigantic controller for a video game about driving mechs. Besides, the thing sold out and it wasn't like Capcom was filling the supply chain with more units. This page was last updated: 12-Apr 22:31. It’s so massive that you need to assemble the device yourself. If the game you want to use the controller with lets you configure generic gamepads or joysticks you will probably be able to use the Steel Battalion controller without any modifications to the game. Give me flashing buttons! 1.We could add support for original controller set via the specific windows driver here: https://github.com/jcoutch/steel-battalion-net. Hosting a controller with more than 40 individual buttons and three foot pedals, this is real. This was released with the intention of creating unrivaled realism in the 'mech'-simulator genre, integrating controller and gameplay in ways not seen before on PC or console.… All Rights Reserved. Steel Battalion (Microsoft Xbox, 2002) Complete Controller and Game Tested Works Copyright © 2021 — GameCritics.com. Steel Battalion offers players a half-hearted tutorial before unleashing them into battle. The controller is every bit as huge as I remembered, and it doesn't feel as though it was really designed for being assembled and disassembled multiple times. STEEL BATTION CONTROLLER INFORMATION TABLE OF CONTENTS: Section 1: Connection Section 2: Basics Section 3: Testing, 1, 2, 3 Section 4: Let The Games Begin! Time with Steel Battalion controller for 20 bucks at the local goodwill games! Re-Release the game by... lowest first price + Shipping: highest lowest... So complicated and the learning curve feels very steep ’ ll sit in box... 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