This is one of those games that I've had a few times over the years. I bought the original boxed copy not long after it was released. I had an enhanced EAX version that came with a Creative Labs sound card, and finally through GOG. The gameplay is still there. I'm no longer the hard core FPS-er that I used to be, and the blend of FPS and RTS keeps my interest. Also to mention, there are sea races, and the smash and bash of playing as Kabuto, means lots of variety. The RTS isn't too complicated, it's pretty simple if almost linear in fashion. However, if you just want to go and shoot things with minimal resource management, this will be a relief. Not only that, the humour still puts a smile on my face even though I remember it all. Technically, it still runs reasonably well on a modern machine. The only reason I put 'reasonably well', is that my Win10 machine tended to pause every now and there, and mouse movement would go all over the place at that time. Also be mindful that you will need to apply some tweaks to restrict the frame rate, otherwise mouse movement will not work as it should. The forums are great for getting tips on how to do that, and get 3D sound working. I played the last few Sea Reaper missions and all the Kabuto missions on an older XP machine. I'd say it is best on an older machine if you have one available. And this is one of many reasons to keep an XP box around. Overall, happy to have this in my collection and to finally play through it all again.
I played through this once after it came out, but never managed to get back into it for a second time around. However, after a long wait, and digging out the original CDs, I got back into it on my retro machine. I decided that I'd get this as well on GOG to have a DRM free version (of course!) that works on a modern OS (more about that later). It's still a blast. There's something about this game that I find simplistic in a good way. You don't need to worry about numerous or complex controls, just get in there and shoot. Having said that, the AI is a mix of extremely tough, and mindbogglingly stupid. Sometimes the stupidity actually works in favour of making the game slightly harder. For example, you may think you've cleaned out a room of its enemies, just to get blown away walking in by one camping in the corner - the one that is seemingly oblivious to the fact that all of his mates were just getting taken out a few seconds ago. Some of the level design also makes it prone to you getting blown up without having any clue that it was about to happen. The guy with the TOW sitting in a corridor above and behind the room you just entered. For that reason, I found myself quick saving regularly. The humour is a welcome part of this game. The number of times I noticed signs asking "Do you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome" left me smirking. On Windows 10, I ran into a number of issues. It didn't start from GOG Galaxy, it would hang. I needed to use dgVoodoo to get the display to work correctly without crashing. Even when using dgVoodoo, I still had the mouse pointer showing regularly for a split second. I'd recommend getting the widescreen custom mod. Also if you use Creative ALchemy, you'll be able to experience the EAX effects. Trying it out on my older XP machine, it worked flawlessly. I can't help but suggest that it needs an update to get it working on Windows 10 correctly out of the box. Other than those few gripes, I've enjoyed playing it again!
