First off, had to get rid of the little superscript "TM" that got added to the install directory in order to launch the game, otherwise got the "File not found DarkEX.kpf" error code, even though the file was actually there. After that, all was O.K. and very impressed by everything so far. Game runs and looks great on Win 7-64. Had to use the offline downloaded file for install as Galaxy isn't backward compatible any longer, so maybe an install via Galaxy will sidestep the error message mentioned above. Retro repetitive MIDI music score can get a little irritating when you get stuck and keep spinning your wheels on where, what or how to do what's required next, so had to crank it down! Played the original way back and I guess getting older just does things like that to you... Agree that it seemed quite overpriced originally, but was now considerably reduced on sale so decided to just give it a shot and found it to be well worth it. I don't know that the price really should factor into the stars given for the actual game review, although it may be something to just mention as an aside. Looks like a lot of care and detail went into making this. Hope they keep going and remaster some more of those older great SW titles.
One star because of freezes and crashes. Loved the original game--5 stars for that! Wanted to go through this game once again but my original DVD install was rejected by Steam after several attempts (I hate them--never again!) so bought the game there and it never showed up in my game library! So, I'm 100% done with them now! Hadn't been there in years and seems more screwed up than ever! The Peter Principle on parade! GOG is run so much better! So bought the DC version here and like others have said, it crashes on the first levels with takedowns and hacking attempts and none of my efforts to alleviate this has helped so far. Haven't been able to go any farther yet. None of my other GOG games has ever been this buggy. I'll keep trying just to see if I can fix it, but also see giving up and uninstalling as a very likely outcome. This version is just problematic! Hopefully GOG can go back to original version, which ran flawlessly on same machine. Good luck everyone!
This is much better than the original Bridge Constructor as there is no financial constraint stopping you from completing a bridge if you happen go over budget. You still get credit for completing the bridge, but don't get the "Piggy Bank Award" badge until you can build within allotted costs, so you have much more freedom to do your own thing and tinker with your creations to collect all the badges--if you want to be a perfectionist. It's a pretty cute, fun and educational game that can teach a lot about forces, loads, etc. and is great for kids who are interested in building things--like bridges! You can test your bridges with lightweight cars as well as heavier trucks, and get an extra gold "Safe for Trucks" badge if they can support the trucks. The bridge elements turn color to show amount of loading and the failures can be quite comical! This is my favorite of the series, followed by the trains version. If you've ever taken a course in "Static and Deformable Solids", this is a lot more fun!
This little game does exactly what it advertises and does it really well. It's fun and I can feel it pulling on my brain, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I've now gotten gold medals on my first 30 levels-- collecting all shards and leading the mice safely to their Swiss cheese reward. You can complete the levels at gold, silver or bronze rating. Getting gold can be pretty tough on some of them, but is certainly rewarding. The learning curve is spot-on as you are slowly introduced to new environments, objects, hazards, tools, etc. that build to make the levels more complex and challenging. Although remaining quiet in the background, you can see Schrodinger, the mad-scientist cat who runs the experiments, cheering the mice on or having a mental breakdown if things don't go so well. Interesting concept and well done! The game runs perfectly on my GOG rig --Win 7, AMD Phenom Quad Core, and GeForce GTX 1060. Definitely a winner!
This game is worth getting. I slogged through it some 20 years ago and agreed it deserved a C- at best grade. Now with the dramatically improved graphics and finding a game guide that actually connects all the dots between base structures (building tree of sorts) , all the weapons and how to upgrade them onto stock units etc., its a lot of fun and challenging to my aging brain. I don't get why people put out a highly complex and detailed product without a decent instruction guide as to how to use it! BZ2 was a dramatic failure in this regard. Even the "Official Strategy Manual" put out by Brady games was poorly done. However, a really good one is put out by IGN dot com called the "Unofficial Guide to Battlezone 2" in a downloadable pdf of about 100 pages. They got it right! That's the one you want to really understand how this game works. The single player missions and story line strike me as uninteresting, but the real fun with this game to me is in the Instant Action part with a variety of maps and options by which you can set up a really interesting game that may take days to complete. These are complete games within the game. It runs perfectly on my Windows 7 system with AMD dual core Athlon (Black Edition!) which I unlocked into a quad core Phenom II x 4 running at 3.5 with a GeForce 1060. This is my GOG rig. So go ahead and get this and have some fun. The visuals are quite stunning.
Downloaded and installed from the Offline Installer and everything is working perfectly into level 2 . Now, if only my old, damaged ring finger could hit that "A" key better, I'd really be in business! Cubital Tunnel Syndrome can really mess with those old W-A-S-D movement keys! A fun a nostalgia trip!
This game is better than the so-so reviews it got many years ago. I have a greater appreciation playing it now than I did back then. It takes a lot of time and effort to complete. On the negative side, the graphics are grainier than the first game and this game has some bugs in the research tree which I didn't hit originally, but did this time. Specifically, if you don't research some things in the correct ascending order, the research tree gets broken and you get stuck, unable to go back and research the missing item to move on within that category. This happened when I didn't do the sonic pistol before doing the rifle and cannon. I could not develop the sonic oscillator for my craft weapons . The same problem occurred with not doing the M.C. Reader early on, as I was denied Molecular Control development even if I researched it later on. On the positive side, the music is really effective in creating a Davy Jones feeling on the ocean floor intercept missions, and the alien base missions are just, plain creepy all the way around. It's quite something when you think of the emotions it can elicit as you're pushing around little aquanauts on a two-dimensional chess board. Finishing this game will give you a real sense of accomplishment. If you do get stuck behind a research bug like I did this time, there is a great little program available online called “xcomed.exe” which allows you to change almost everything in the game. I used it to up the power of my gauss rifles and store-bought grenades, as well as my non-sonic oscillator craft weapons, speed and shields. It's a lot of fun to tinker with and see what excessive fire-power can do, as long as you're careful to do just one change at a time and zip up your game files every time in case of disaster. It works with both the early X-COM games. I did have a problem with the GOG version rendering properly on Win 7 GeForce 1060 systems, but was able to use DOSBOX on my own and all was O.K.
I played this when it was first released, and suffered the "End Game Bug". After many hours of struggle and finally getting to the final move on the final level in which I stormed the center of the batttlescape to win the game, instead the game killed off my key remaining soldiers and robbed me of my hard earned progress and positioned my remaining units away from the area of the map that was to be entered to win. With this repositioning and loss of my players, the game could not be won. A number of others reported this same frustrating scenario to the developers and no fix that I am aware of was ever offered. Other than this one MAJOR malfunction, the game was a well laid out, enjoyable, and a real challenge. However, this goes down as one of the most frustrating games I have ever played through to the end, and lost, because of a glitch that never was addressed by the developers.
