Steel Soldiers Preview
We've got impressions and screenshots from an early build of the sequel to the original Z.
Bitmap Brothers came by the GameSpot office recently to give us an updated look at its 3D real-time strategy game, Steel Soldiers. Those not familiar with the name may recognize it as Z2 or Z: Steel Soldiers, the previous titles it has had through its five-year development. The futuristic game is the sequel to the irreverent real-time strategy game Z, which was released in 1996 by Virgin Interactive, and it features the same style of humor found in the original game.
Steel Soldiers is set in the distant future, at a time when two massive interplanetary corporations fighting for territorial control have just agreed to a cease-fire. In the opening video sequence of the game, the cease-fire is broken, and through the rest of the game, you will find clues about what went wrong and who was responsible. Like Z, Steel Soldiers involves combat between robotic units, rather than living organisms. In spite of their circuitry, these robots have personality, and it is through these different personalities that the humor of the game is conveyed. Units that sense an advantage will be cheerful and ready for action, while those that dislike an assignment will have no qualms about telling you so. Regardless of their verbal responses, however, the units will obey your commands--the game isn't designed to be an exercise in diplomacy, it's designed to be an action-packed real-time strategy game.
To keep the pace of the game quick, Steel Soldiers uses the same resource management system as its predecessor. Rather than the traditional system of collecting resources through mining and gathering, Steel Soldiers is based on territorial control. Each map is split into several areas that have a central flag. The team that controls the flag gets a designated amount of resources per minute. While the larger areas usually provide more resources than the smaller areas, strategic considerations must also be taken into account. Often a small area with an elevated space may be more valuable than the larger low-lying areas, since the game operates on a strict line-of-sight system, both for you and for the computer. In addition, elevated units enjoy improved accuracy and greater distance than the same units on lower ground.
Rather than using the common fog-of-war system to obscure different parts of the map from view, Bitmap Brothers opted to give you a complete view of the 3D map. Enemy units and buildings, however, are invisible until a friendly unit obtains a clear line of sight. The computer opponents operate on the same principle: In scenarios where the computer isn't aware of the opposing units beforehand, it will calmly go about its business until it is alerted to your presence by a patrolling unit.
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- GameSpot Score6.8fair
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