There's simply no heart or much fun to this game. You start the game sitting through a very long cut-scene. And then go from room to room shooting and being shot at by very dumb AI that can't open a door to follow and have no tactics other than 'close the distance'. Haven't they played HalfLife?? The level designers seem to think that having you check dozens of locked doors and empty dead-end corridors would be fun. Also, some things don't even make sense- like why would assassins be trying to kill you on space station that's about to explode? About as much interaction with the environment as an early shooter like Doom or Duke Nukem. Most computers don't do anything, most doors are locked. I don't like games that think it's clever to respawn enemies in areas you just cleared. I finally quit the game when I got stuck behind some crate with enemies shooting at me, no way to move or jump out of it. What better way to tell a player you didn't care enough to completely playtest the levels? This game is a stinker- at least the graphics aren't half bad.
When I first played this game years ago, I didn't give it a chance, I think I stopped playing after the second map. This time, I bought it and just as I was about to give up on it, I found myself wanted to play a little more little more. Next thing I knew, I ate up most of the Saturday. It was a good time! I liked the story, anime sound effects, voice over acting, and the weapons. It was the right mix of challenge and butt kicking. The two modes you'll play in- mecha and human are different enough that you can appreciate the variety. Graphics-wise, it's obviously not cutting edge, but that's the whole point of the games on GOG.com You can appreciate this title for the era for the came from (circa 1998) and the gameplay. Does it hold up after 14 years? I'd say so! Of course, I can see why Half-Life, which came out around the same time, stole the show. It is still far better than stuff you'd see in the Build engine of the same timeframe (Duke Nuk'em, Redneck Rampage, etc). In fact, it looks perfectly lovely in 1920x1080. (GOG.com video update perhaps?) It's not without some flaws of course- most notably the AI. As you'll see in other reviews, don't expect to be wow'd by the opponent's tactics, which run the gambit of: 1) 'stand here and fight' 2) 'close the distance and fight' 3) 'Hmmm, my partner died- I feel like I should be doing *something*.' 4) "When I shoot my rocketlauncher, it hurts myself. I wonder what will happen if I do it again..." But despite that, the gameplay is still fun. Glitches- there are a few- for me, most noteably in the "Belly of the Best" map, there's a huge spinning barrel room. There's an elevator platform to the right, but my elevator seemed to be stuck. I have to use a cheat to float up to the top and resume the game. It blew the mood, but I wanted to finish the game. Another one- in what was supposed to be a boss matchup between you and Uziekel(spelling?) ends up being anticlimatic because he injures himself shooting his rocketlauncher down at you. (and he never makes good on his promise to get me another time) Still, all in all, the game left me wanting more- I really like it, which is all you can really ask of a game. It ends hinting at a sequel that will clearly never come. Bummer.
I bought this game about two years ago and finally decided to give it a whirl this week. The gameplay can be summed up thusly- You talk to NPCs who give you backstory and a mission, get shuttled to a location for a brief mission, and then shoot at what you're told to shoot at. Mission ends, you get credits to upgrade. Repeat. There's no exploration, no RPG elements. Just dialogue, then combat. Bummer.
