Let's get this out of the way right off the bat. Yes, Steel Battalion is that original Xbox Mech Sim that came with a very large and very convincing set of controllers. Released in 2002, the game/controller set came with the hefty price tag of $200, which wasn't too far off from the price of the Xbox console itself at the time. Now you should be able to find used bundles of the game for around $150. The game itself is useless without the controller, and the controller can only be used with this game and its defunct online only add-on, so potential pilots should weigh the cost of admission before jumping in. You are getting what you're paying for, but you're also paying for what you're getting if you know what I mean.

Included on the game's disc are about a dozen or so missions in which you'll pilot your Vertical Tank, run into some fierce combat, and climb a mountainous learning curve. After the unsurprisingly lengthy process of unpacking and constructing your controller followed by finding a space that allows you to play the thing comfortably, you'll be tempted to boot up your system and start blasting things away. But since the game is a seriously hardcore simulation first and foremost it's not as simple as that. Everyone's first time playing the game includes a more than a few mistakes followed by crashing and then promptly burning. Your superior officer will then explicitly remind you that you should read the manual first and then try again. The game's highly detailed manual clocks in around 40 some odd pages of schematics, procedures, and heaps of other usual information. It sounds dry, but since the whole thing is written "in character" it's actually pretty easy to fall into the role of a VT pilot with the book alone, let alone with the highly detailed controller sitting in front of you with all sorts of switches and blinking lights.

Speaking on blinking lights, you'll want to memorize the layout of the controller very quickly, especially one button in particular: The Evacuation System Release. See, in the world of Steel Battalion mechs are real, weapons are real, and death is real. In most games, if you fail a mission, you blow up, you start over, rinse, repeat. But in this game, the instant your mech bursts into flames, your pilot's save data is erased. There are no do-overs or continues. You have to start over from scratch. It's a cheap gimmick, but it is absolutely effective and adds an incredible amount of tension to the later skirmishes.

Just watching video of Steel Battalion can be pretty misleading. While it appears as though your VT runs at a snail's pace from the view of the cockpit, the mechanics of performing rudimentary actions that you take for granted in other games, like walking and turning, will require precise attention here. Once you've gotten your VT's motor running, which is a process in of itself, just moving can be a bit of a challenge at first. You've got gears to shift, two sticks to contend with and a set of three pedals to give it some gas, break, or strafe. Add in the basics of combat and you've got your hands full. More advanced maneuvers involve quick fingered performances not unlike those of Beatmania experts. Just as the value in Rock Band's instruments can only be really appreciated once you've played it, the tangibility and authenticity of Steel Battalion's controller goes the extra mile to complete the player's fantasy of piloting a mech in nearly every detail conceivable, even if it makes it a difficult experience.

And this is what brings me back to the concept of realism in games. It's not an exaggeration to say that every part of Steel Battalion supports its narrative and atmosphere in ways that all games wish they could, but is this necessary a good thing? In some ways, yes. In others, no. The level of detail the game displays is unmatched by anything in the mech sim genre, but the game's difficulty curve ensures that only the most dedicated and loyal will get to enjoy its intricacies. It ends up feeling conventionally unbalanced, but manages to find its own rhythm and pacing to match their design. It just may take you more than a few times of falling on your VT face to find that rhythm.