As most reviews said, the game is based on Panzer General 2. I will add, based on the round Carnifexes and bulky Eldar Guardian boots that it's based on 2nd ed. WH40k, which was full of cheesy and overpowered units. The fact that the game is TBS makes is very faithful to the tabletop. Controls are simple enough, left/right-click eo either move, atack or read the informations on your units, use psyker powers to wreck the battlefield. You can savescum, so by trial and error you can learn the maps and unit dynamics (which unit is good against what). Also to make is super easy you can turn off spotting so that you see every unit on the map (save for special hexes), which is a nice touch to not only learn the game but imitate the tabletop games. Winning missions (or scenarii) will net you Glory (think XP/currency) to either "buy" more units (and your army can have reserves in the "barracks") or fit units with upgrades (skills that beef up your chars). In campaign that means big upgrades to faceroll the opposition. Furthermore, you can edit anything in Scenario mode, create an infinity-points army list and deploy them on any map for any scenario you want (relic hunt, extermination, take and hold, conquest, escort what have you), add stuff (traps, rewards) on hexes, shamelessly copy the existing scenarii except change the players, and your scenario armies can be saved and upgraded at will. The amount of customization is beautiful, with a huge army roster (the Tyranids even mix Genestealers cults and a Hive force, so Space Hulk fans rejoice!) Why did I knock the rating down a notch? Well first the menus are unwieldy, there is no SXF/Music level set (only On/Off), saving is cumbersome, also while I like the sounds they're very generic and the music, while nice, feels out of place (think HoMM IN SPACE). Finally there is no hotseat multiplayer, and visibly online is impossible. Sadly thus, no party game and only VS CPU scenarii, so another notch down. But the scenario mode alone majkes this a great purchase.
Eradicator is quite typical of the late 90s. A sci-fi plot with 'x-tr33m badassitude' bordering on Image Comics silliness (Dan with his metal skullcap is a good example), dark and brooding ambience with cyborgs and explosions, but at the same times interesting mechanics (with secrets to find, interactive environments and multi-layered levels). The controls are simple but fine, there is a staggering 15 weapons (easily a year before the Turok games went overboard with it) each character has a personal gun and their own plot. The graphics, being sprite-based, did not age that well (also because they're based on low-res GC render), but it's nothing eye searing. Sounds are a mixed bag, while the guns, alarm voices and explosions work quite well, the characters' banter is lifeless and add nothing in the end. The music is nice, mixing basic ambient industrial and basic industrial rock, and the CD version offers redbook music, which is very pleasant. Unfortunately multiplayer will be hard to use, being restricted to modem or serial play according to 1996 DOS stardards. Levels are built around the idea of searching everywhere for hidden stashes of ammo and power-ups, and function on an objective-based script rather than a key hunt structure, which might mean a bit more backtracking in later stages and much more experimentation (for example, in the third level of Eleena's story you can explore the whole stage by hacking a security drone) than DooM or Heretic's labyrinths. The controls are fairly responsive, but the camera focus is a bit close, making jumps a bit tedious. All in all, Eradicator has the same quirky feel as PO'ed (also an Accolade game, so maybe it's got the same devs, since #poed is a cheat in Eradicator), and is definitely a nice FPS if you can overlook the aged sprites, the dumb plot and the cyborg-calypse design. It got released around the time Quake got a 3DFx patch, so it bombed, but now that i's on GOG, give it a chance, it deserves it.
Redneck Rampage is a dark horse of Build games. Not as great as Duke3D, Blood and Shadow Warrior but nos as awful as Tekwar. Made by Xatrix (known for Kingpin and Cyberia before becoming Treyarch of MoH fame), you play as Leonard, a redneck from Hickston, Arkansas, whose prize pig Bessie got stolen by aliens. You then grab your gun and crowbar and go on a quest with your brother Bubba, who acts as the level exit. You'll have to scrounge around various levels and kill the clones and troops left by the aliens. You'll use a very redneck arsenal: revolver, scattergun, TNT (crossbow), AK47 dubbed "huntin' rifle", sawblade launcher (which doubles as a chainsaw) and 2 alien weapons: the arm gun (a cannon you can get by asploding the hulks, which prevents them from reviving) and the teat gun (a bra-shaped heavy machine gun). To heal, drink cheap whiskey and beer, eat pork rinds and cowpies, but don't get your gut and alcohol meters in the red or you'll get sick, to lower them, use toilets or get high on moonshine (think Duke's 'roids). You can also take a leak and yell to heal just a little bit. The level design is extremely confusing because it tries to be realistic (swamp village, small town, mortuary and so on), which means all keys look the same and are hard to spot in sprawling maze-like levels, with stuff so well hidden it's a pain to guess. Yet it's brilliant in its use of the Build engine. Also damage is unbalanced (too much RNG) and the game demands peek-a-boo tactics since almost everything is hitscan. The humour is crass and the often creepy (using redneck cliches)and the music doesn't always fit within the game. Yet it fits with the mood, it's an underground comic game. Having the complete pack for this price is worth it, because it's very unique. It shows Xatrix's knack for complex yet janky design . Rides Again (the sequel) adds new weapons new enemy skins and a bike (and much more jank), and Route 66 is Sunstorm's genius at work. Runs great with BuildGDX.
