Dusters is a very cool blend of vehicular combat, base building and side scrolling action inspired by X-Com, Desert Strike and Command & Conquer, in which you assist the remnants of the human race battling sentient robots in a Terminator-esque post-apocalyptic world.
You and the robots start controlling opposite sections of the game map, and just build, fight, scavenge, craft, infiltrate and capture to stand a chance of beating the metallic menace. You scavenge resources to build your underground base, adding modules such as dormitories, research labs and armoires. This in turn gives you better equipment to fight on the battlefield above ground as you roll out in customisable vehicles and attempt to out-manuvre and out-wit the large, clumsy robots.
Dusters is still early in development, but it’s blend of action and resource management makes shows great promise. Although the gameplay very different, there’s a bit of an X-Com vibe throughout Dusters, in that you must manage your underpowered team as they face an enemy with far more troops and far superior weaponry. You’ll need superior management and tactical strategy if you don’t want these robots to say hasta la vista to the human race.
UPDATE: This Alpha Is No Longer Available