Heavy Gear
$9.95		(Win95) (Retail) (HEAVYGEAPR)

Activision

Game

ESRB Rating: Teen (Ages 13+)

Ratings:

9 from boot Magazine

The New Breed of 3D Combat Simulator

Two hemispheres divided only by boundless hatred. On Terra Nova, the Northern and Southern Leagues wage a merciless war - both epic in scope and infinite in bloodshed. A conflict so savage it was destined to forge the perfect battle machine: the Heavy Gear. You are Duelist Edward Scott, an elite pilot of the Northern Guard faced with mistaken accusations of treachery from your squad. Now you must prove your loyalty to the 67th Regiment while defending your people, your squad, and your honor, to emerge as the new breed of warrior.

The New Breed of War Machine

Pilot one of 16 Heavy Gears loaded with specialized weaponry; lasers, grenades, mortars, and more. Push the limits of a superior animation system with humanoid Gear capabilities such as kneeling, side-stepping and crouching to retrieve new weapons.

Advanced Gear Construction

Utilize the most versatile drag-and-drop construction tool ever. Build a virtually unlimited number of Gears from scratch with armor and weapons, then pilot your exact configurations in the game. Specific Gear components allow additional customization.

Perpetual Internet War

Wage a global virtual war via the Internet and impact the front lines on a persistent online battle-map, which tracks war statistics, wins and losses. LAN/modem multiplayer missions feature both competitive and cooperative play.

A Full-Scale Combat Experience

Stunning cutscenes and character-based missions develop the epic world war - based on the fastest growing paper role-playing universe. Confront armies of Striders, Foot Soldiers, Planes, Choppers and Landships on the field.

Next Generation Technology

Includes out-of-box Direct 3D and native 3Dfx support. Truly 3-D worlds let you use highly-detailed terrain and objects, such as sand dunes, canyons and buildings, to your strategic advantage. A built-in Random Mission Generator offers unlimited gameplay.

Unleash the War Within

Never before has a combat sim transported you to a universe so convincing. A 61st century piloting experience so intense, its character-based missions come frighteningly close to reality. Multiplayer combat so unrelenting, a global Internet server tracks war statistics, wins and losses. Raw combat so brutal, only the producers of the #1-selling 3-D simulator of all time could unleash it.

Revolutionary 3-D Engine

• Experience the fluid motion of the Gear's advanced animation system
• Hide behind highly-detailed buildings, rocks or vehicles
• Battle on fully-textured, realistic, rolling 3-D terrain
• Elevate the visual intensity with Direct 3D and native 3Dfx support

Unlimited Gear Construction

• Build a Gear from scratch with one of 16 customizable chassis
• Drag and drop you selected weapons and equipment
• Preview an exact visual representation of your Gear in full 3-D
• Pilot your custom configuration in the game

Special Combat Advancements

• Deploy squadmates and call in air and artillery strikes
• Attack out-of-sight Gears with indirect-fire weapons
• View enemy damage directly on targeted Gears with the wire-frame overlay system
• Use treads or wheels for high-speed movement

Requirements: 100% Windows 95 compatible computer system (including 32-bit Windows 95 compatible drivers for CD-ROM drive, video card, sound card, and input devices), Pentium 90 MHz (320x200 resolution with textures turned off), Pentium 166 MHz recommended (for 640x480 resolution), US version Microsoft Windows 95 operating system, 16MB RAM, 24MB RAM for multiplayer (32MB recommended), 195MB of uncompressed hard disk space for install, VESA local bus (VLB) or PCI video card with 1 MB RAM, 16-bit high color, quad speed CD-ROM drive (600K/sec sustained transfer rate), 100% Sound Blaster compatible sound card, 100% Microsoft compatible mouse and driver, joystick or gamepad (optional), modem play supported (14.4bps), null modem supported, Internet play supported.

Input Device Compatibility: Supports 100% Microsoft Direct compatible input devices, including Microsoft's Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro joystick.

Important Note: Requires your system to have the latest Windows 95 drivers that can fully support Microsoft's DirectX5.

3D Acceleration: supports 3Dfx and Rendition Cards (and any 100% DirectX 5.9 compatible accelerator card). Warning: Certain D3D drivers are absolutely required for 3D play.

Windows 95 Local Area Network play requires one or more of the following in addition to the minimum requirements: 100% Windows 95 compatible network, IPX network, TCP/IP network.

Reviews:

boot Magazine, February 1998

"Lock and load that autocannon, baby, 'cause Activition's latest first-person robotic foray proves there's more than on way to skin a mech. Dream Pol 9's pen-and-paper RPG and tactical boardgame of mobile armored suits and 10mm mayhem has been successfully translated to the big CRT, and Heavy Gear delivers in-your-face robotic combat with authority.

"Age-old rivals clash inside agile metal exoskeletons known as Gears. Whether you decide on the FMV-laden story mode or go for the random Campaign missions (where you can sign up for either side), one thing is certain: Once strapped inside your 4.3-meter tall widow-maker, it's clobberin' time."

"But Heavy Gear is far from perfect - texture seams are blatant, while Z-buffering problems cause triangles to disappear when they shouldn't, resulting in missing chunks from mountains and buildings. The terrain generator suffers from visible redraw, although some levels use fogging to hide these discrepancies. The game hiccups occasionally during play, although load time is kept to a minimum..."

"Despite these flickers of flaws, Heavy Gear's combination of smooth graphics, tight gameplay, and intense, hard-hitting action will have you emptying your missile in no time flat."

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