''X-Squad'', known in Japan as , is a

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

launch title Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

developed and published by Electronic Arts Square under the

EA Games Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted ...

label. It was released on August 3, 2000 in Japan, October 26 in the

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and on December 8 in Europe.

History

X-Squad served as the launch title for the Playstation 2 in North America when it was released on October 26, 2000 with 29 games.

Plot

Set in 2037, W-Squad has been defeated, Doctor Bianca Noble has been kidnapped and her experiment Project Medusa has been stolen. Ash, the leader of X-Squad, along with teammates Maya, Melinda and Judd, is deployed to rescue Dr. Noble and take down her kidnappers.

Gameplay

''X-Squad'' takes the form of a third person shooter, with the two

analog stick An analog stick (analogue stick in British English), also known as a control stick, thumbstick or joystick, is an input method designed for video games that translates thumb movement into directional control. It consists of a protruding stick mo ...

s moving the character and camera respectively. In the game the player leads a group of up to three soldiers through nine levels, giving them commands to perform helpful actions. The player can also use the R1 and L1 buttons strafe.

Development

EA partnered with Animation Science Corp. for developing the game's 3D animation. An early preview reported the game used 30 fps with a huge amount of motion capture sequences. The game was formerly known as X-Shooter prior to being known as X-Fire. X-Squad was first shown in Japan in 1999 during the TGS convention. EA showcased the game in the E3 2000 convention. According to an interview with Mike Jeffress at Electronic Arts, the changes made for the non-Japanese version include English voiceovers, AI improvement, and changes to the story's plot to suit North American audiences.https://www.gamespot.com/articles/qanda-x-squad/1100-2618853/ He mentioned that plans were considered to add multiplayer, but it was later discarded due to time constraints and feedback that most players didn't want to fight each other in the game.

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the

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website

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. Randy Nelson of '' NextGen'' called it "A concept game that unfortunately doesn't even get its concept right." In Japan, ''

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'' gave it a score of 30 out of 40. In one review, Human Tornado of ''

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'' called it "a great game for the action gamer who longs for a little more to chew on. The graphics are fast and nimble, and the action can be very challenging especially on the higher difficulty level. Even though it doesn't push the envelope, ''X Squad'' is a unique and very entertaining ride." In another ''GamePro'' review, Jake The Snake said, "If you can't get enough of third-person shooters, ''X Squad'' gives you plenty of trigger time, but nothing especially innovative or new."

Notes

References

External links

* {{moby game, id=/4472/x-squad/ 2000 video games Action-adventure games Electronic Arts games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Single-player video games Stealth video games Third-person shooters Video games developed in Japan Video games set in 2037