Massively underrated, a fantastic sequel
Anyways, this game is a bit different from the first game, weaker in a few areas and better in others, but on the whole it's absolutely a MUST HAVE for any pc gamer, certainly those who liked the first game.
The "feel" of the game is certainly different in the campaign... first off most of the ISDF vehicles have an orange color scheme, similar to those used on construction type vehicles. I wasn't bothered by this but it's obvious that many were. It definitely gives them a different feel, but I thought it was just different, not worse or better. I certainly didn't think it made the vehicles feel "toy-like". The color scheme actually reminded me instantly of large construction vehicles and this isn't a bad thing.
The whole world of BZ2 in general is much more colorful than BZ1's. You can decide for yourself whether you like this or not. For me, it was again just "different", not worse or better. I have to say though I felt like BZ2 definitely had the edge when it came to the different worlds you visit during the campaign. They were just a tad more varied and with the (undeniably improved) graphics of this sequel they could "show it off" a bit better.
I also really enjoyed all the new construction animations, I thought they were just beautiful. It still looks amazing even now in 2011.
A big difference from BZ2 is that you battle aliens pretty much from the outset as opposed to the Ruskies. I felt like the campaign was fantastic, and easily just as good as Battlezone 1's. Though fighting against aliens is definitely less original, they pulled it off very well and there is a HUGE twist about 2/3rds through the game that will make your draw drop. I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say more than that.
Another difference is that there are now multiple vehicles that do not hover but drive around. I didn't have a problem with this at all but some did. Personally I enjoyed all the new vehicles, and the two sides again have great variety and though they have "matching" units for the most part they again play differently enough from each other that they feel like 2 distinct races. I definitely felt that quite a few of the units had better models (I don't just mean from a graphics standpoint either as much as just the model design itself) in BZ2 than in BZ1. The constructor for example, looks way cooler in BZ2. Turrets are also improved, and I frankly loved the BZ2 standard tank, though I still will also miss my grizzly ;).
The only really obvious short falls of BZ2 I can think of are:
1) Missions are less fast paced and a *bit* less varied than BZ1's (not by a whole lot just a bit--there is still far more variety than your average RTS for sure)
2) You don't have as much freedom when deciding the layout of your base (a lot of things you are forced to put in a certain spot every time)
I want to emphasize though that I thought the storyline was EVERY BIT as good as Battlezone 1's. It was also very challenging, about even with BZ1 in that area. This is a good thing in my book.
As for the multiplayer I thought it was fantastic, maybe a bit better than BZ1 actually, especially the strat mode. If you've got some friends and can play strat mode over LAN you'll have a blast. There are still some people that play it online so you CAN get a game going if you're a bit patient in the lobby.
I'm a battlezone fanatic and still re-play both BZ1 and BZ2's campaigns regularly every couple years and BZ2's holds up just as well as BZ1 in my opinion and is a worthy sequel. Both games are better than 99% of the games released these days. I would kill for a sequel.
Anyways you can get BZ2 for close to nothing so you have no excuse really. Both Battlezone 2 and its predecessor are two of the finest PC games ever released, period.