Edit: Review updated as of 17/04/2014 patch.

Guess I can upgrade this to a guarded recommendation. Note that this is not a review of the game itself (see reviews of Strike Suit Zero for a rough idea of how thing shake out), but rather the currently-$3 upgrade to the Director's Cut edition, assuming that you own the original Strike Suit Zero.

There's no doubt that this was a rushed release - a simultaneous PC/XB1/PS4 release was almost certainly too much for a small indie outfit to chew on. Technical issues and missing features, mostly, all adding up to a Director's Cut that ended up being less worthy a purchase than the original release of the game.

The patch released today has addressed several of the key problems. If you've got the hardware to make the game sing, it'll chug along at a solid 60fps with nary a hitch or stutter, and the controls feel all the more responsive for it. You can now also adjust the FOV freely, so if you thought that the game was a little claustrophobic even in third-person mode, you can widen your field of view and see more of the fight at once.

There are still some problems. For some reason, the 'shadows' detail option (one of the supposed major graphical upgrades of this edition) is still greyed out for everyone, and defaults to the 'off' setting to boot. There are also some missing features (mod tools and Steam Workshop support) and content (No integration with Strike Suit Infinity, the survival mode), but those seem to be in the works currently.

Problems as it may have, they've done some good work on the much-maligned campaign of the original Strike Suit Zero here. The story has been rewritten and re-voiced to flow better and generally be more coherent, and the missions themselves have been rejigged to be more exciting (dropping you into spectacular fights sooner) and fairer, with fewer suicidal NPCs to babysit and more checkpoints for if you do fail.

The main value-for-money perk of the Director's Cut is if you hadn't previously bought the Heroes Of The Fleet DLC, which is included as part of the DC upgrade. If you already do have it, then the DC upgrade doesn't seem as exciting a purchase. Hopefully if they do integrate it with Strike Suit Infinity (which I'd love to see with tuned up graphics), it's inherent value would soar.

Either way, it's a bit of a flawed release, but improving. It's a pity that it took so long for the developers to even acknowledge these issues, though, let alone fix them.

'Strike Suit Zero: Directors Cut' is a space combat game that lets you fly a handful of different spacecrafts, each with special abilities, on a mission to save earth from final distinction.

It is impossible to write a review about this game without mentioning 'Strike Suit Zero', the game that came before 'Strike Suit Zero: Directors Cut'.
The expression 'Directors Cut' automatically makes us believe that 'Strike Suit Zero' and 'Strike Suit Zero: Directors Cut' have to be more or less equal games, with only a few tiny variations, as we know from so many movies. This however, is not the case. IMO 'Strike Suit Zero' and 'Strike Suit Zero: Director Cut' are very different games. And while I do recommend the directors cut I do not recommend the original game 'Strike Suit Zero'.

So what's the difference?
Well, the main difference is that you have a chance to complete the game in the directors cut. You might also be able to finish the original game, but according to Steam statistics only 5.3% of all players managed to see the end of the main campaign in 'Strike Suit Zero'. So the major difference is the difficulty. 'Strike Suit Zero' gets incredibly hard at some points, even on easy, while the difficulty in the directors cut if very fair.

Besides the difficulty developers changed the graphics and made the directors cut more colorful. IMO this makes the original game look more realistic. But both games look very nice.

They also changed the sequences of the story dramatically. I would not say it's necessarily better, events just unfold very differently but eventually lead to the same end.

Controls are also different in both games, although only slightly.

One outstanding aspect of the game is the music. IMO the music of 'Strike Suit Zero' is on of the best game soundtracks ever. And while the original game comes with soundtrack and art-book, the directors cut does not. I even had the impression that not all parts of the soundtrack appear in the directors cut, although I might be wrong about that. I've started playing the music on my stereo via a MP3 stick. It's great. Go to the shop page of the original game to hear what I mean.

Strike Suit Zero: Directors Cut

Pros:
- nice graphics
- great music
- additional simulation levels beside the main campaign that are very enjoyable
- good controls, although I needed a while to get used to them
- some space crafts can convert into strike suits, a space robot that can kill scores of enemies in single attacks
- good, interesting story
- very good voice acting
- balanced and fair difficulty

Cons:
- disappointing final level of the campaign
- short campaign (13 missions)

Grade = B. Worth a buy, for those who enjoy Arcade Space Battle. However, for who want a good graphic, don't buy it

⚖️Check Scoring Scheme

💎 Ship Transform
💎 Vibrant and vivid universe

💼 Use the auto-aim wisely
💼 Endurance checkpoint between checkpoint

🔧 Bad optimized performance ➜ Cannot always go up to 60fps
🔧 No multiplayer ➜ We cannot change it
🔧 Boring ➜ Try not to play long hours straight

Recommended Video Review:
https://youtu.be/W608RbV_wl4
Approximate File Size = 5.97 GB
Average Completion Hours = 6h - 9h
Achievement Completionist = 11h

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So in the late 90ies, when the N64 was picking up speed, Factor 5 released Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for the platform. It was an arcade style Star Wars flying game where you pilot a variety of Star Wars vehicles while trying to defeat the Empire. It was intuitive, fast paced, fun, and varied with a tonne of easter eggs and cool reasons to come back to it. Sadly, Factor 5 was shut down after the release of Lair. Leaving behind a gaping hole in the arcade Space Combat departement. Enter Strike Suit Zero, a high energy, fast paced, blindingly awesome space fighter.

Strike Suit Zero Takes you into the far future. Mankind has taken to the stars and has gotten in a right kerfuffle. Renegade colonists and a mysterious militant faction called the Black Fleet have taken aim at planet Earth. In particular the former have come in possession of a planet busting weapon and seek to destroy the Earth. You're an ace pilot going by the name of Adams. After being reprimanded for disobaying orders you're stuck on mundane duties. During a routine escort, you and your wingman are drawn into a galaxy wide conflict with the existance of time and space in the balance.

The game dumps the Sci-fi and space opera blabble on you thickly right off the bat. Part Star Wars, part Mass Effect and part War of 1812, the story takes you through a bunch of scenarios where you attempt to disrupt the Black fleet or the Colonials. Every scenario throws you a different curveball. Defending, attacking, raiding, bombing, dogfighting; it's all part of the changing palatte of challenges the game throws at you. Every mission comes with a choice of fighters to use and customisable armnaments. Beating the stage unlocks more ships to use and so the games keeps you coming back for those shiny platinum medals.

The game's namesake; the Strike Suit, is the poster boy for cool. It is fighter craft that can transform into mobile weapons plaform. The ship turns from a jet fighter into an attack helicopter on the fly. In fighter mode you're fast and nimble. In Strike Suite mode you can strafe and fire a plethora of weapons with deady accuracy. Strike Suit mode however consumes a special energy that can only be replenished by waiting, or by dealing damage in fighter mode. It creates a high energy tango that rewards an agressive and fast playstyle that requires a traditional degree of skill in flying games, as well as new control scheme.

The controls are perhaps my one gripe. I had to remap the entire layout before I was comfortable. It is a small matter, but once you got it all in order, the game is a blast from start to finish. Everything is unlocked by being good at the game; not good against others (there is no multiplayer to detract from the core game). I would really like to see more from this developer, as well as more of these games.

UPDATE: FOV has been re-added and shadows are supposedly being worked on, althought I have no idea why they would ship the game without shadows and FOV already working. Still wouldn't recommend in the current state, honestly just stick with the original.

Bought against better judgement (only $3 meh why not), graphics don't seem improved at all, even buggier than the original, shadows and FOV options are completely disabled and the menu even has a link to DLC that doesn't work.

Steam overlay won't show up, voice acting seems just as mediocre as the first (only reason I bring this up is because it was a selling point that they re-recored all the voice lines)

Why does this game exist? Why make a worse verison?

Will update if any of these issues get fixed, until then don't bother spending a dollar on this, let alone three.

Buyer beware! Technical issues! (Review Updated)

As other reviews already describe, this game has a lot of technical issues which makes it pretty much useless right now.
Worst offender for me is the framerate which is locked at 47 FPS no matter the settings and the game stutters terribly at that which renders it pretty much unplayable. But other things like the disabled shadow option and FOV slider as well as the missing steam workshop support are also true. And yes the textures are much blurrier than in the original for some reason, even after restarting the game. I also have to mention the missing support for languages other than english which is just blatant false advertising and quite frankly an absolute audacity although despite being german I'm not personnally affected since my english is sufficient to understand the game. (It seems that the language issue was fixed - now you can select the language from the tab in the games properties in steam - the texture blur is fixed as well)
What's also pretty worrying is that none of the issues are being addressed by Born Ready Games at the time of this writing and that's always a bad sign (Obviously that point isn't valid anymore for the texture and language issues, but the framerate issues still aren't acknowledged).

So I'd strongly advice everyone to wait and see if these issues get fixed before you consider buying it.

Dependent on the fixes they put out if any I will amend the review.

Edit: I can confirm that the texture blur and missing languages are fixed, now. However the framerate still remains choppy as it was before. If they can fix that as well I will change the review immediatly to a recommendation based on its technical state. That won't cover the gameplay, of course, I'll check that out if I'm able to play the game smoothly.

Update: Practically all issues are being addressed by the developers and they pledged to work on it - that also includes support for DX10 graphics cards in addition to the other issues. Not enough to recommend a purchase, right now, of course, but here's hoping that it'll turn out well in the long run.

Another update: Man, news are rolling out by the minute on this one. Despite the information on the news page which says otherwise, one of the devs just confirmed that the 85% discount for owners of the original will NOT be time limited. So you have the time to wait until all technical issues are fixed.

Update: The DX10 patch is out but I can't test this since I have a DX11 card. Anyway, the framerate is still in the gutter - no change there. So the negative review stays.

More Update: The patch which is supposed to fix the framerate lock and the stuttering didn't work for me unfortunately - now the game is capped at exactly 50 FPS throughout the whole game, including the menus - previously it only happened during gameplay. Also the stuttering is still there. What a disappointment!
Edit: Alright, got it working at 60FPS sorta, kind of ish. First I had to set my Logitech F710 gamepad to Direct Input instead of XInput and then the game started of at 60FPS. Now when I start the first mission it starts off at 55FPS (still stutters) and at the time the Arcadia jumps away it reaches 60FPS. That's as far as I got last evening so I don't know if it stays like that. Oh and you need to leave V-Sync activated, otherwise the game stutters and framerate jumps between 60 and 64 FPS. What a mess! But good enough to try out the game itself so I'll see if the stuttering comes back or if it's just at the beginning of the mission.
Oh, nevermind, the game just does what it wants - sometimes it starts up at 60 FPS, sometimes it starts at 50 FPS and sometimes it reverts to 60 after changing the control input option. It's just a giant mess!

If looking at this game as a standalone and forgetting everything that came before it, this game is amazing. Great story, fun gameplay, fast pace, decent music, nice steam backgrounds. ^^



If we are comparing this to Strike Suit Zero:

Graphics are more pixelated and less detailed. Random Camera Flair and Blooms block much of the screen. AI seems slightly dumber than the original. The change in story line makes slightly more sense. The new color scheme is not great however. Black Fleet ships should not be orange....

The achievements are much easier to finish since there are fewer of them and the ai has such terrible aim compared to the original. I don't like the fact that I can't see weapon links anymore. Literally takes less than 5 Hours to finish the game and get all achievements since its easier than the original.

However, since all the dlc is bundled into the game itself compared to the original, I would give this game slightly more positive than negative. Very slightly.

Being a huge fan of the Nintendo 64 game Starfox 64, I have always had a craving for a modern game that could work as a sort of spiritual successor for my old love for Starfox. One day, I started hunting for space combat games and this particular title popped up. After playing for a while, it quickly turned out to becoming one of my favorite games of all time~

This game features:
-Gorgeous Graphics and spectacular locations
-Excellent sense of scale
-Larger battles can feel quite hectic as one can expect in an ongoing space war
-Ability to play as a transforming gundam space ship
-Ability to launch your very own Macross Missile Massacre
-Intuitive, satisfying and incredibly fun, arcadey gameplay
-Challenging yet balanced gameplay
-Fantastic UI
-Music from the same composer of Homeworld
-Clear indicators for enemies and allies without oversaturating the screen

Well, isn't this little gem a treat.

Space Combat games are making a bit of a resurgence these days (thank god) and it was titles like this that started it.

The Director's Cut is basically the spruced-up version of the original Strike Suit Zero, so this is basically identical to the console release.

Imagine if Wing Commander had been made into an anime, and you're pretty much there. The base campaign sets you on a war for Earth's survival against the Colonies, and casts you as a pilot doing undergoing disciplinary action for turning up on an orbital platform with no idea how he got there. You're taken out for your flight certification with the intention of sending you off to war asap, until you get updated orders to escort a freighter to the middle of nowhere... game on.

As a story, it's pretty good - there's a decent range of missions that cover the typical Defence/Raid/Bombing Run/Epic Fleet actions that this genre typically runs, with the campaign starting off mysterious and handing you the titular Strike Suit, with it escalating through various missions to the point where it's basically the Battle of Endor from Star Wars.

The Strike Suit is your main fighter - it's described as being able to shift between fighter and mech, but as you're no doubt aware, you're in space, where there's no ground - it's less a 'mech' than it is a spaceborne gunship. Typical tactics have you dogfighting and swooping to build up Flux (aka Magic Suit Juice) then shifting into strafe mode and blasting everything to pieces with your crazy cannons and hilariously anime-esque multiple missile system. It's great, but much more Star Wars meets Anime then anything vaguely realistic. When in 'Fighter' mode, you have a good selection of unlockable guns and missiles to use for loadouts, and it's pretty decent - plasma guns, machine guns, missiles of every stripe - completing the game also nets you a mad Railgun (that looks more like a Beam cannon from the cruisers in the game, but mounted on your fighter), so you have plenty of choice.

You do get other fighters - standard fighter, interceptor and bomber - and the odd mission where these work better than the Strike Suit, but in general they're relegated to mission re-runs. They don't really give you anything the Strike Suit can't but it's nice you've got the option.

Graphics and Audio are spectacular. The art style for pretty much everything is an awesome anime style reminiscent of appleseed or robotech/macross. The music was done by the same guy who did the Homeworld games, explosions, lasers and gunfire criss-cross the screen, and the backdrop of nebulae, planets and asteroids looks stunning. It's hard to believe this was released back in 2014.

Specific to the Director's Cut, they've rewritten a lot of the dialogue - the whole campaign flows much better and tells a very interesting story compared to the original (in which I struggled to understand wtf was going on). They've upped the textures and polygons on everything so it all looks that bit more crisp (although the strike suit has lost it's cool Silver finish and now sports a slightly-out-of-place blue and yellow scheme, but it's a minor nitpick).

This edition comes with all the DLC, and it's broadly good - three new specialised Strike Suits and a new campaign. The Strike Suits are ok - they all look good, with the Raptor broadly corresponding to an Interceptor variant and the Marauder as a bomber - there strike mode comes with weapons suitable for their role. The Revenant was a later release and is a stealth variant with bad handling and heavy armour on top of a cloaking device... no, I've no idea how they came up with that one, but it's pretty cool. The only issue with these is that they're generally overpowered as hell, so will imbalance the campaign - the Raptor's shotgun-style cannon does insane damage and can rip up cruisers like nobody's business, so remember to up the difficulty. The extra campaign are simulated missions which add a little more backstory from the early days of the war, complete with a GlaDOS-esque AI controller that makes the later missions rather amusing (albeit crazy difficult).

If I had to find a negative.... look at my playtime. It's 12 hours at time of writing and I have 100% achievements - that's two runs of both campaigns in there. Suffice to say, it's very short.

However, if you like space sims... I'd argue this is one of the best choices on Steam.

Right now the Director's Cut is worse than the original version it's buggier with broken graphics and no workshop.

Good thing for the owners of the original it's cheap especially if you don't have the DLC's.

For first time buyers however I recommend that you hold off with purchase until all the major bugs are fixed.

edit: Graphics seem to have been fixed didn't have time yet to test the game further.