[Review] There Came an Echo
As technology improves, so do video games. Sure, graphics constantly improve, but we rarely stop and think about how we actually play the games. In fact, most of the time it's all the same: You move with this stick, jump with this button, attack with that other button, etc. Iridium Studios' new game, There Came an Echo aims to change that.
The Kickstarter-funded There Came an Echo is a squad-based real-time strategy game. In this title, you assume the role of Sam, the person who gives the orders, as you and your squad of up to 4 units attempt to stop a very advanced algorithm that's protecting something very important from being broken. What is it protecting? No one knows, not even you. To top it off, one of your own squad members published the algorithm, making them a target for the bad guys to capture.
There Came an Echo puts an unique twist on the controls of a RTS. In other games, you use the controller or keyboard and mouse to manually move characters to where you want them to go, but in There Came an Echo, you use voice commands to accomplish this, although there is also full controller and keyboard/mouse support too. In addition, there is voice recognition for multiple languages, including German, French and Spanish. This is what intrigued me the most, as I'm physically unable to talk but utilize the text-to-speech application Proloquo2Go on my iPad to "talk" when I use VoIP programs such as Skype, Ventrilo and TeamSpeak. I've even successfully employed the PS4's voice commands with Proloquo2Go.
For this review, I played There Came an Echo exclusively with English voice commands.
There Came an Echo also boasts the option to let players customize commands. This Command Alias option is very versatile. You can customize character names, commands, phonetics, numbering, everything. For example, rather than saying a default command, such as "Corrin move to Alpha 1," you can set it to be something like "Numbnuts get your ass over to Abrasion First."
Like most, I was understandably skeptical regarding the voice commands, because innovative features such as this tend to be very, very buggy. However, after spending approximately 10 minutes programming the commands listed in the Command Alias menu into Proloquo2Go, I decided it was time to dive into the game. I was pleasantly surprised by how well and how quickly my commands were recognized, especially considering I'm using a synthesized voice. It's not instantaneous, but close. I also find There Came an Echo very fun to play because you're verbally issuing commands and not pressing buttons.
The voice recognition is very intuitive. It can recognize commands that are given in different ways. An example of this is the command, "All units move to Delta 3 on my mark". Alternative phrasing like, "On my mark, all units to Delta 3" and, "On my mark, all units Delta 3", also work. I have had the opportunity to experience this, first-hand, namely during Mission 6. In this mission, you have to detonate mines by saying, "Detonate Mine", and the number of the mine. Before the mission began, I programmed in, "Detonate Mine 16". Turns out that the voice I normally use in Proloquo2Go says, "Detonate", weird. "Detonate Mine 16", wasn't even recognized, and, "Mine 16 Detonate", was recognized as, "Mine 16 One Eight". Finally, I tried, "Blow up Mine 16", and it worked.
I have, however, run into a couple problems with the voice recognition. For example, sometimes my commands aren't registered (this last occurred in a new weapon tutorial) and sometimes my squad tells me to speak up even though my iPad and my mic volume are both 100%. I will admit that I don't know if it's a problem in the game or if it's caused by my synthesized voice. It could be either, or it could be both. I'm not sure. The other problem is that at times, you have to respond on the fly. This is somewhat troublesome for me, because I have to pause the game, program the response into Proloquo2Go, unpause the game, then respond.
There Came an Echo is fully voiced, with a star-studded voice cast. This includes Wil Wheaton, Ashly Burch, Laura Bailey, Yuri Lowenthal, Karen Strassman, Rachel Robinson, Cindy Robinson, and Jason Wishnov. As you can guess from a cast like this, the voice acting is phenomenal. Your squad verbally responds when you issue orders, as well. For example, if you tell them to switch to a weapon, they'll respond accordingly. If you tell them to use the wrong weapon, they'll respond with something along the lines of, "I don't think this is good here". If you order them to go somewhere with a lot of enemies, they will be like, "No way! Are you trying to kill me?!"
I am absolutely loving the soundtrack of There Came an Echo. The music was done by Ronald Jenkees, who worked on Iridium Studios' previous game, Before the Echo. Accompanying him is Jimmy Hinson, also known as BigGiantCircles, who has worked on such titles as Mass Effect 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Judith de los Santos, better known as Malukah handles the vocal arrangements.
Would I recommend There Came an Echo? Absolutely! The game is so much fun to play, regardless of whether or not you can use your hands. Also, as I've shown you, even if you're unable to talk, there are multiple ways for you to play it. I will also be uploading my Proloquo2Go vocabulary for the game once I beat it, so others with the app can use that to play.
Game Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Accessibility Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars (Problems are problems, even if you're not sure who or what they're caused by.)
There Came an Echo was developed and published by Iridium Studios. It was released on 2015.02.24 as a digital download for Windows on Steam, and is rated T for Teen. As of this writing, it retails for $14.99 USD. A PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version is coming this summer. The soundtrack is also on Steam for $10.00 USD. Iridium Studios graciously gave me a copy of There Came an Echo for review, and I would like to sincerely thank them for doing so.
