Battlezone (computer game)
| Battlezone | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
 Activision
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| Publisher |
Activision
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1998 | ||
| platform | PC ( Windows ) | ||
| genre | Mix of real-time strategy game and action game | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Keyboard , mouse | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Pentium -PC with 120- MHz processor, 16 MB RAM , SVGA - graphics card , 130 MB on the hard drive , 2x CD-ROM drive (Recommended: Pentium PC with 166 MHz processor for 640 × 480 resolution and switched textures ) |
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| medium | CD-ROM | ||
| language | German | ||
| Current version | 1.4 | ||
| Age rating |
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Battlezone is a mix of a real-time strategy game and an action game . The game was released for Windows in 1998 and was developed and distributed by Activision . It is considered to be the founder of a new subgenre in the form of action strategy.
action
In the fifties of the twentieth century went through the Bering Strait , a meteor shower down. The meteorites contained a mysterious material, biometal, which could be used to build spaceships. The Americans then founded the National Space Defense Force (NSDF), and the Cosmo Colonist Army (CCA) emerged on the Soviet side . In order to get into possession of the biometallic, they waged a war against each other, unnoticed by the world public, which led them from the earth's moon to several planets and moons of the solar system . Specifically, these are the planets Mars and Venus , the Jupiter moons Io and Europa , the Saturn moon Titan and, as the last stop, the fictional Uranus moon Achilles discovered at the time of the game . In the course of the game, regardless of which faction is being played with, the player meets the originators of the material: hostile aliens - which ultimately forces the two earthly archenemies to join forces against them.
Gameplay
The real-time strategy part of Battlezone has the same tasks and actions as the pure strategy representatives, the difference lies in the different perspectives from which this can happen. It is possible to build or expand a base from both the bird's and first-person perspective, as the principle of the game is that the player can control the character in the first-person perspective and use it to take over any vehicle. It is possible to place the order for the construction of buildings from both inside and outside the vehicles by pointing to a free area with the mouse. If the existing area is sufficient for development, it is marked in green. Otherwise, or if the area is too far outside the base, the marker is red.
The unit controlled by the player can be moved freely over the entire map, both on foot and in a vehicle, as far as the terrain allows. Unoccupied vehicles can be taken over immediately; in the case of vehicles belonging to their own faction, the current driver will get out and leave the vehicle to the player. It is also possible to call a team member by radio to take over their vehicle. A character outside of a vehicle can take out an opposing driver with a sniper rifle, take over the vehicle and use it to penetrate an enemy base without being recognized as an enemy. The use of a sniper rifle is also advisable if the character is on foot without an accompanying companion and can spot an enemy from a long distance.
Drivers of destroyed vehicles can free themselves from them with an ejector seat (this applies to both sides). If a replacement vehicle is not immediately available, the unprotected driver is at great risk of being killed. The player must therefore take care to keep the losses as low as possible in such cases, otherwise there will not be enough drivers available.
The core of the base is the recycler, which must be placed on top of a geyser. All other buildings are to be erected within a limited radius around it. An exception is the factory, which is also to be built on a geyser. Another exception are mobile defense towers that can be used anywhere on the map; Larger defensive towers are only to be erected in the area of the base. In the factory, different units such as B. produce tanks or mechs. In contrast to the pure real-time strategy games, the maximum number that can be produced is limited to 10 vehicles each for the offensive and defensive, as otherwise the overview would be lost. Orders can be given to the vehicles individually or as a group to follow the player or attack the enemy. There is also a supply unit that can catapult repair and ammunition kits to any point on the map. These can be collected by the controlled playing figure and used accordingly. This task can also be assigned to team members, whereby one of the companions is selected and then pointed to the corresponding kit.
The biometal is found in limited quantities on the cards and can be brought to the recycler by special collector units. Destroyed enemy units result in new biometallic deposits, which guarantees a limited supply of raw materials from time to time.
The game has a total of 25 missions, 17 of which are for the NSDF and 8 for the CCA; those of the CCA are designed for advanced players. The objectives vary from destroying an enemy base or holding a certain point to rescue, escort and reconnaissance missions. In some missions, the objectives change or are supplemented in the course of the game.
graphic
Image resolutions of 400 × 300, 512 × 384 and 640 × 480 pixels are possible. 3D acceleration (via Direct 3D , 3D card required) is optional, the level of detail can be adjusted. The representation of the planets and moons corresponds to the actual appearance, as far as this was technically feasible with the 3D accelerators of the time. Cutscenes are done within the graphics engine .
Sound
For the German version, the voice actors Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were hired, who give the plot a more dramatic note with their voice. The spokesman for the Russian side has a heavily exaggerated Russian accent, which gives the game a slight self-irony. The music is rather subtle and adapted to the game scenario.
Multiplayer
- Modem (up to two players), network and Internet (up to eight players)
- Deathmatch
- Strategy mode
- Each player needs a CD.
Development history
After Activision's release in 1998, several expansion packs followed.
The last patch for PC, version 1.4, appeared in November 1998. In 2002, Activision's multiplayer support also ended with the server shutdown. However, the source code of the multiplayer program library "Anet" was handed over to the gaming community under the LGPL .
In 2009, Ken Miller, one of the original Activision developers, began working on another patch 1.5 in his spare time, which was first released in 2012 and is still being developed today.
In April 2016, the game label Rebellion released a revised version of the game for the Steam platform under the name Battlezone 98 Redux . BattleZone 98 Redux is now also sold on GOG.com without DRM .
Reception of the game
Battlezone was celebrated as a revolution in the trade press and given top ratings, it received the rating 9.4 out of 10 points from the well-known English-language online game portal Gamespot , one of the highest ratings there. An average rating of 23 publications, which can be accessed directly from the aforementioned test, comes to a value of 8.8 out of 10 points. It was no different in the German press, with PC Player awarding 90%, GameStar 89%, PC Action 87% and PC Games 86%. Battlezone is a prime example of the discrepancy between critical acclaim and sales success, as it became a flop. Activision saw a possible reason in the lack of copy protection, but a game that was complex despite the tutorial posed a certain commercial risk from the outset, as it requires a certain amount of getting used to a new game principle even for experienced players.
successor
At the beginning of 2000, a similar successor appeared with Battlezone II , which had the same fate as its predecessor: a lot of critical praise, but no sales success.
Individual evidence
- ^ Anet: A Network Game Programming Library .
- ↑ 2011/12/05: 1.5 has been released! on Battlezone1.com
- ↑ Unofficial Battlezone 1.5 Patch "Current Release Version 1.5.2.27 (update 1) (December 17, 2014)"
- ↑ http://steamcommunity.com/games/301650/announcements/detail/887582671917238546 (accessed April 18, 2016)
- ↑ Battlezone 98 Redux on GOG.com , accessed December 3, 2018
- ↑ Review on gamespot.com ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Preview of the successor Battlezone II in GameStar magazine , May 1999 issue