Storyline

Stories from the battlezone

The storyline is a continuation from BZ1, which is a bit like Men In Black. The game takes place in the present, and has most of Earth unaware of the presence of insanely high technology and a fierce war raging in the rest of the solar system. A force called the ISDF (International Space Defense Force) protects the ignorant population of earth from other worldly threats. Whereas the original Battlezone pitted the west against the Russians as an extension of the Cold War, BZ2 introduces a different threat. A new enemy is found in the outer reaches of the solar system and you are sent to go and duke it out with the baddies. The bugs you end up smashing all over Pluto turn out to be a race called the Scions. But are they really your enemies? Oooo… intrigue.

Green beam on me

What the?

As far as plots go, Battlezone 2 doesn't cause me too much pain, just a slight curdle in my stomach. The initial concept is good, but the execution of the story in the game just doesn't provoke much interest. You play a character that is led from planet to planet killing things. In between missions, you see briefings where your commanding officers tell you how great you are, along with some pro-earth propaganda. Mixed in with the normal mission objectives, you always manage to intercept the highest-level communications between officers. Gossip!

Baddies

Dead baddies

Lack of instruction

The manual was an interesting bit of literature. While quite informative, the developers felt the urge to make the manual part of the gaming experience. Overall, the manual experience did not add to the so desired "gaming goodness". It seemed like something out of a choose-your-own adventure book. While I'm not knocking those books, this really could have been left out. The game is where the story is supposed to be told, not the instruction book. It sticks to the "Field Manual" style so much that useful information is omitted for the sake of keeping it true to its nature. This would be ok if I was only allowed to play one of the races. However, we are given the option of playing either of the two races right from the start. This leaves you well informed on what to expect from the ISDF, but very ill-prepared to control the Scion forces should you decide to skip the one-player scripted play.

Sounds

The weapon and vehicle sounds were decent, but weren't the best that they could have been. The weapon fire didn't really give the booming impression that one was firing a cannon or a mini-gun. One thing that really bothered me was the targeting sound. When locking onto enemy targets with homing missiles, the beep emitted was almost deafening. Even while playing at a modest volume using open ear headphones, the guys in the next room and in neighboring cubicles could hear the characteristic lockon beeps. They couldn't hear the explosions or dialogue, but they could hear the beep loud and clear. It was akin to taking a hearing test, except everybody nearby was involuntarily involved. The rest of the sounds were much more diminished though.