Battlezone

"A re-make of a retro game, and still lived up the expectation we wish for. A must have."

In 1980. It was the pivotal game in that it redefined the gaming world by incorporating depth and a storyline. Now, almost 20 years later it is back to reclaim its glory in an exciting new version from Activision. The story is set in the '60s and early '70s, where the space race is an elaborate cover-up between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. As a result, an interplanetary military conflict exists over a rare and mysterious ''bio-metal'' is discovered following a meteor shower. The U.S. forms the National Space Defense Force (NSDF) and dispatches it to take the element from the planets and moons in our solar system. The Russians are also after the same metal, unfortunately, and they send the Cosmo Colonist Army (CCA) to get the bio-metal for themselves. A war results over metal between the two superpowers. Activision's Battlezone offers much more than the original because it includes a real strategy element to the gameplay.

While the graphics are not as groundbreaking as the original, Battlezone is some serious eye-candy. Vapor trails, explosions and detailed texture maps on every unit make for a visual delight. However, to fully exploit all this game has to offer you also need some serious horsepower. A 3D accelerator is highly recommended but you can get away without one if you've got at least a 166MMX and 32 megs of ram. While I ran this game on my P166 laptop the graphics were quite fluid at 640x480. But when more enemies approached, the framerate dropped considerably. This game also lacks a random mission generator as well as a lack of a spawning option in multiplayer mode. Moreover, the sound falls a little short.

The action is surprisingly good and is enough to keep the casual gamer interested. The battles range from the small skirmishes against a few enemies to that of base assaults against overwhelming odds. Controlling your tank on different planetary terrain is easy to learn. Your tank quickly skims across planetary landscapes on a cushion of air -much like a hockey puck travels through ice. Moreover, the player can commandeer one of nine other vehicles during the game. I liked the fact that I didn't have to progress to the next level to ''earn'' the right to drive the better tanks.

But it's the strategy element that makes Battlezone shine. Almost every mission requires the player to defend or build a base. Here, the player must manage resources wisely. Again, production facilities must be placed on energy sources, like geysers, and you have to scavenge the bio-metal scrap to build units. Moreover, you can forage the bio-metal from destroyed units. Other than that, you're free to custom tailor your base any way you want. Once the production gets underway, you can defend your base by creating turrets, gun towers and a variety of different tanks. You can even take advantage of the large mech-like walking units. All units can move around the whole map, they may be given specific orders, like guard a specific area or destroy a particular target. With this feature, you can easily coordinate your assaults.

All this happens while you're piloting your tank. This may seem as an overly complicated task, but Activision has made the interface so easy to use and seamless that the strategic elements don't get in the way of your enjoyment. Unit voices and sounds are distinct resulting in easy management because all the information you need is right in front of you.

In all, these are minor flaws. Battlezone offers a unique and enjoyable gaming experience by successfully combining action and strategy. This is one of the best action/strategy since Uprising. The fact that I had so many more options, without needing 100 different keystroke commands, was really key for a strategy gamer like me. This arcade classic of the remaking really lived up the hype. Score one for Activision.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/00, Updated 08/07/01