The best turn-based strategy games make you feel helpless. You’ve positioned your soldiers, you’ve given your commands and you’ve envisioned your plan. Then you have nothing else to do but sit and watch.
In Frozen Synapse Prime, when you've made your big decision, the perspective changes from a top-down map to close-up, third-person action. Watching your soldier die violently in slow motion (from multiple angles) is a harsh reminder that you've made the wrong call. The game's "kill cam" is not just a great storytelling device - it also works as a gloating tool if you're playing against friends.
Futuristic in its setting, but retro in appearance, Frozen Synapse Prime is a sophisticated, fierce and challenging game. Each level is a clear map that shows your soldiers' and enemies' position. You can check out everyone's field of vision, the weapons they use (and their range) and other key details.
While the principles are basic – get the drop on the enemies – the options are endless. You can command your soldiers to concentrate on speed of movement, on a particular enemy, or on areas to “sweep” their attention to when they move. You might want to line up soldiers to flank enemies, or even use some as bait. There are three steps – delegating, finalising the decision and watching helplessly – and each one is brutal.
Like the best strategy games, it's a clear, simple concept that gets deeper and richer the more you learn of its tools and obstacles. There are so many ways to win or lose, and so many variables in any level, from soldiers' reactions to enemy reinforcements. Frozen Synapse Prime also has some neat trimmings, such as a preview option, which gives an advance glimpse of how your strategy might pan out.
Frozen Synapse Prime is a hardcore experience. It's maddeningly difficult at times, so a variable difficulty setting would have been nice. But it's hard to complain about a game that's so consistently forceful, intelligent and intense.
