"One of the most underrated RTS games of all time."

If you ever manage to snag a copy of this game, consider yourself lucky as Z is simply one of the most underrated RTS games ever made. Packed to the rim with great style and humor, many critics wrote this game off as another C&C clone and "Me Too!" RTS title. I don't know what game they were playing, but Z contained very original gameplay and a great personality that few games offered at the time and even now.

Gameplay 10/10
Whereas C&C's gameplay hasn't aged all that well overall, Z's uniqueness makes for a game that still plays great after all these years. Unlike typical RTS games, there are no resources in Z, and you do not build a base. Instead, you will start each match with a Fort and some units that you will immediately send off to capture neutral buildings scattered across the playing field.

Depending on the building you capture, you can tend decide which unit you want it to produce, and it will be built after a certain amount of time. As you capture more territories, the building time of units decreases. To win the match, you just have to destroy the enemy's Fort.

What is perhaps the best part of Z is the devilishly brilliant AI. Be prepared to get your behind handed to you on a silver platter countless times as you strategize the perfect method to accomplish each mission. Because there is no Fog of War, you will be able to see enemy as they move, and even the build times of every building. You would think that this would make the game very easy, except that it's important that you keep an eye on every inch of the map as the AI will pull every trick in the book to beat you down. The best part of it all however, is that you rarely feel cheated, and merely that you were beaten by superior tactics.

Units in battle also allow room for "micromanagement" where you can control your units better than the enemy to win an encounter.

There is also a multiplayer mode so you can play against your friends.

Graphics 6/10
The graphics obviously don't hold up very well after all these years, but they remain good enough to not give anyone eye sores. The cinematics also remain simply hilarious.

Sound 8/10
The voice acting of all the units is really quite good. Each unit has a great and distinct personality. Other sounds do the job just fine.

Final Verdict 9/10
If you ever manage to pick this game up in the bargain bin somewhere, don't hesitate to do so! A must-have for RTS fanatics, and just a great game that never got the respect it deserved.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/06