Fierce galactic battles: Iron Marines combines firepower with strategy

Martin Jungfer

2.9.2023

Translation: Katherine Martin

Think you can’t play an RTS game without having a crash course in gaming fundamentals under your belt? Think again. I recently discovered Iron Marines, where battles over planets in alien galaxies come with a good dose of humour.

When it comes to the latest AAA games, I fall short in three areas: hardware, time and know-how. That’s why I want to introduce you to both new and old titles you can try as an occasional gamer. They’re suitable for tablets or office computers, too.

The other week, I discovered Thronefall, which involves building a castle with fortifications and skilfully fending off nighttime attacks. It’s a seriously good game, but it was all over in a flash.

Looking for something along similar lines, I went scrolling through the Apple Arcade. There, I came across Iron Marines. The game was created by Ironhide, the same developers who made tower defence game Kingdom Rush. Released in 2017, Iron Marines isn’t exactly hot off the presses. Even so, it hasn’t gone out of fashion just yet.

The lowdown on Iron Marines

The real-time strategy game sends me to distant planets as a commander. Once there, I need to carry out a variety of missions with a hero character and some smaller units; rescuing people, defending bases and destroying a healthy number of aliens in the process. On the planet Sagan-1, for instance, you have the Fell. Far from being cute and fluffy, they’re dangerous and irritating. Later on, I have robotic aliens coming at me.

There’s some kind of story explaining why I need to complete 21 missions across three planets over the course of the game. Occasional comic-style cutscenes do a good job of telling the story, but the plot doesn’t actually interest me. I’m here to fight. Speaking of which: not only do I fight 21 main missions, but I also have a whole bunch of bonus quests. That’s enough for hours of fun.

To successfully complete my missions, I choose one or more heroes from a selection of 14. I can adjust my picks before every new mission. Each character has special skills, and I can make them stronger through experience points. So that I don’t have to go at it alone, I can recruit a variety of additional fighters – from valiant infantrymen, to snipers, to psychic healers, to flamethrower mechs. And that’s far from an exhaustive list.

I’m not just happy with my squads because they’re fighting alongside me. I also like the funny little quips they make when I give them orders. One of the heroines shouts «Listen and learn!» to her squads, occasionally lamenting, «I need a vacation!» A pair of ghosts enveloping me in a healing aura say, «Good idea, human!» when I send them elsewhere. Then there are the missions where I have to rescue civilians. One lab technician regularly comments on what’s going on with remarks like, «I have a bad feeling about this.» Though not very encouraging, it’s entertaining nonetheless.

What’s the gameplay like?

Iron Marines is played on a 2D map that needs to be explored. Little by little, I venture into unchartered territory. I usually only have three to six units to command. To send them to their position, I select them, then right-click. They can’t fire while they’re on the move, so it makes tactical sense never to have all units moving at once. That way, I’m not left defenceless. It’s also advisable to group squads that can fight enemies both at long range and close quarters.

Conveniently, I can change squads at any time during a mission. If a battle requires marines with high firepower, I can swap out my snipers with a click. At this point, there’s an amusing animation, where the marines briefly stand around in white underwear before their new uniform and gear arrive.

Each unit has a certain radius in which it automatically attacks enemies. I can also highlight specific enemies to be destroyed first. However, it’s not usually necessary to do that, which makes working the controls easier during combat. My job is more to keep my units in an advantageous formation as they advance. By the way, this goes a bit more smoothly when using a mouse and keyboard than on an iPad, where my finger sometimes activates the wrong unit or navigates it that one centimetre too close to the enemy.

If my squads aren’t under fire, they regenerate quickly. On the other hand, if a unit is completely destroyed, I need to get reinforcements. The base has a kind of barracks, where I can pick out what I need. Each unit costs etherwatts, which replenish automatically. I don’t have to worry about building refineries or ore mines. The only thing I have to build and arm are defence towers, so that I can protect my base from destruction.

When a mission is successful, I’m rewarded with tech points or credits. I can either invest these in developing my weapons or use them to buy super-effective ones. These include replicant mines and extra charges of etherwatt.

If you get stuck or are interested in tips, Pocketgamer has a good list here.

What are the graphics and sound like?

At six years old, Iron Marines has reached a practically biblical age in gaming terms. Even so, I don’t think it’s noticeable. After all, this isn’t about scrutinising the graphics down to the last detail. I like the unique style of the comic characters and planets – it’s timeless. While one is reminiscent of a rugged Mars, the next is industrial chic, with acid lakes to boot. This breathes life into it. And if I didn’t have to pay so much attention to the combat, I’d probably find even more lovely details, like the final boss rolling his robot eyes just before his destruction.

In battles, my marines and their helpers are always firing from all cylinders. The gunfire sounds are mixed in with the squads’ comments and a well-executed soundtrack – music that conveys tension without getting on your nerves.

My verdict

Although I’m late to the party with Iron Marines, it’s really grown on me. The straightforward gameplay and challenging missions are perfect for the occasional bit of game-based distraction. Although the game involves using heaps of ammunition, you also need tactical skill to avoid losing all your squads and failing right at the easiest difficulty level. With a number of different heroes, dozens of threats and numerous upgrade options, the game is also varied.

Iron Marines is included in the Apple Arcade catalogue. Alternatively, you can buy it on Steam for Windows or macOS for about ten Swiss francs or euros. I tested the game on both an iPad Air and a Mac Mini M1.

Martin Jungfer

Head of Content

Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment. more

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