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Battlezone is also the first in a promising new genre of games dubbed "action/strategy".
This means that Battlezone blends elements of action games, via a first person
perspective/shooting (Quake style) view while also building a base and commanding
units a la strategy games such as Dark Reign and Red Alert. Voila, the action/strategy
genre is born! Activision coincidentally used a revised Interstate '76 engine to perfect the
driving/shooting elements of the game and Dark Reign's AI engine to perfect the enemy
AI and strategy techniques.
Let's talk about the graphics right off the bat. The game is, of course, entirely 3D, and can
be played from the traditional 'first person shooter' perspective or two other exterior
'beauty' views. Now, I've seen 3dfx-enhanced PC games but don't own a 3D card myself
(yeah, I'm one of the few). However, the textures in Battlezone are so unbelievably
smooth and they animate so fluently that I honestly can't see any reason why this game
even so much as needs a 3D card! There is the occasional clipping when close to
mountains, hills, or ridges, but I'm not going to crucify Activision for it. They've tweaked
the I76 engine so much that everything they've accomplished with the terrain and unit
textures, not to mention the astonishing sky textures, overshadow any small technical
flaws.
The sound is a mixed bag. At first, the music almost seems nonexistent, but then you'll
find yourself in the position where you're about to sneak up on an enemy base, and the
second before you attack you get this rush of nervousness. It's right then that the ambient
and sometimes haunting music blasts out at you. It plays a very effective role when the
action heats up or you're about to play through a tense moment in the game, but at other
times you just might not notice it at all. The sound effects are top-notch however. Cannon
blasts, mortar fire, huge explosions, creaks and hisses of tanks and hydraulic walker legs
- you name it, Battlezone has it and does it well.
The control, while appearing entirely too daunting at first, is a snap to learn. Sit down
with this game, play through the four training missions and in no time you'll be jumping
into the single player or multiplayer games and having a blast. The four training missions
teach the basics of tank driving control, shooting, communicating with units under your
control, and building bases. The way in which Activision has implemented the
communication system is brilliant. Along the top left corner of the first person
perspective HUD is a listing of numbers. Each number corresponds to a different section
of your army. Say for instance you'd like to contact one of your turrets, which is a
defensive unit. Using the numbered listing, while still in the game, and while the action
is going on around you, you'd press "1" for Defense, and then you'd press "1" for Turret
#1 or perhaps "2" for Turret #2, etc. You'd then get a list of commands that you'd like to
say to that particular unit. Say we use the same turret example, and that we'd like turret
two to move to a position closer to you, which you'd do by pressing the Space Bar after
highlighting a spot on the ground with your aiming rectical. So, all in all, to contact one
of your turrets to move it, you press the sequence: 1, 2, aim with rectical on ground where
you'd like the turret to move, press Space Bar. It's easy, it's quick, and it works
almost exactly the same way for every unit in the game.
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have to say that being lucky enough to follow this game's progression since it's alpha
form all the way through the beta to the final has been one of the most pleasurable
experiences of my gaming life. To witness the progress Activision has made in perfecting
a new genre is astounding to say the least, and to be quite blunt, Battlezone is a winner
(loyal GA readers can let out a big 'duh' on that statement, everyone knows I love this
game).
