"The best original 2D fighter for the PC"

In the early days of gaming, when Street Fighter was all the rage, the PC gaming community had a big open hole. They basically had nothing to offer in terms of fighting game. And in the great D.I.Y. spirit of the early days of shareware, many people took it upon themselves to create their own. Among these efforts was Diversions Entertainment's One Must Fall 2097, which in my opinion stands as the best 2D fighting game on the PC available. Unfortunately, since Epic MegaGames became full of themselves with the upcoming Unreal, they dropped their entire lineup like hot potatoes in favor of Unreal (which also included some beauts like Traffic Department 2192, Tyrian, and the retro-classic Jill of the Jungle), and now OMF:2097 is available as freeware. If you have not played this game, you're missing out. I recommend you look for it, get it, and play it now.

The game is about the future where actual physical fighting is outlawed and fighters now attach their brains to giant Human-Assisted Robots (HARs). This combat is exhibited in a tournament called One Must Fall, and it's the most popular form of entertainment in the world at the time. The leading company of the galaxy, WAR (World Aeronautics and Robotics) needs a VP to run things at the newly colonized moon of Ganymede and, seeing as all their top technicians are also skilled HAR fighters, they decide they should fight for it.

GRAPHICS: (8/10). On the plus side, the HARs are amazingly and beautifully rendered, and the backgrounds are a sight to look at. Unfortunately, what's not rendered is woefully amateurish. The pilots and humans are drawn in an anime-like style that, without scanlines, comes off as pasty and blocky. Nevertheless, these are a minor detraction from the gameplay.

SOUND: (9/10). Sound on this game is fantastic - I don't know how they did it, but they managed to make the effects sound very real. The music is also amazing. It was composed by Kevin Chou, who also lent a hand to the amazing shooter game Zone 66 (also discontinued, unfortunately).

GAMEPLAY: (10/10). The fight engine for OMF:2097 is simply brilliant. There are only two buttons: punch and kick, however the programmers have found a way around this limitation that is innovative and easy to learn. Holding forward results in a light punch, holding back results in a heavy punch, neutral means medium punch. It also has an amazing combo system which, unfortunately, can only be taken advantage of with a secret code: at the main menu, hold the numbers 2, 0, 9, and 7, then head to the Option screen, go to Advanced Options and turn on Rehit mode. This mode allows for flashy juggle combos that do great damage and require real but accessible skill to pull off. Without Rehit on, this game sadly loses a lot of its amazing gameplay. This game also has the intriguing pilot/robot combo system, which was not taken advantage of to its full potential but still makes for some interesting fights. And there's also the Tournament mode, which lets you build your own robot out of the 11 HARs.

STORY: (9/10). Unfortunately, the game makers of OMF:2097 didn't give too much attention to the story. The story was one of the best aspects of OMF, but is sadly being put on the backburners for its upcoming sequel.

REPLAY VALUE: (8/10). I really never get tired of watching the 1P mode endings but some might. You also have the user-created tournaments available on the 'Net which add to the game's fun. The main kick is to play this game with a friend, though.

All in all, this game is a must have for the 2D fighting game fanatic. It was a great game in its own right, and is hands down the best 2D fighting game available for an IBM PC compatible. Download it now.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/09/99, Updated 12/09/99