Z
$14.95		(DOS) (Retail) (ZPR)

The Bitmap Brothers

Game

Ratings:

90% from PC Gamer - Editor's Choice

90% from boot

A- from PC Games

Z. Once the end of the alphabet. Now the end of your social life, love life and career prospects. The Bitmap Brothers' all consuming new wargame is a fast and furious, feature-packed race for territory and resources over five deadly planets. It uses 6 types of robots, all with unique personalities, and 11 types of hardware from tanks to missile launchers to help you thrash, smash, crush, kill & grind your opponent into microscopic particles. For the super human amongst you, there are 20 hair-raising levels and network facilities enabling up to 4 players to do battle!

Z. Other games just can't compete.

Game Features:

An intuitive control interface - no need to wade through a large manual, just pick up and play.

Super smooth multi-directional scrolling.

Four megabytes of stunning in-game graphics.

Earth-shattering explosions with tons of shrapnel and flying debris.

Many different buildings, including factories, radar and repair installations, to capture and control.

Over 30 minutes of humorous video sequences with digital audio.

Digitized voices for your robot leaders to report on battlefield activity.

A conditional music system which reflects in real-time the state of the battle.

Fast and frantic multi-player combat. Battle against another human opponent over serial or modem link or link up to four machines on a network.

Extra features that are automatically enabled on higher specification machines: real-time sprite scaling and rotation and SVGA mode.

Requirements:

IBM PC 486DX 2 66 MHz and 100% compatibles, 8 MB RAM, CD-ROM drive, VGA video card. Recommended: Pentium P90, 16 MB RAM, Double Speed CD-ROM drive, SVGA video card, DOS 5.0 +, Runs from Win 95 in a DOS session. 20 MB Hard disk space required including space for saved games, All major sound cards supported. Modem, Serial, Local Area Network (IPX and NetBios protocols) play supported. Requires a MS compatible mouse and mouse driver.

DOS programs will not run on Windows Me or XP!

Reviews:

PC Gamer, December 1996

"The phenomenal successes of WarCraft II and Command & Conquer have, of course, spawned a whole slew of pretenders to the real-time strategy crown. One of the few new action-strategy games to really distinguish itself from the crowd of wannabes is Z. With a very tough computer-controlled opponent and the fastest action you'll find in a real-time strategy game. Z is a refreshing change from the leisurely pace of most other strategy games. Z's graphics are crisp and clean, sound effects are well done, and there's a nice, light touch of humor thrown in for good measure. Even if you've burned yourself out on Command and Conquer and WarCraft II, you really ought to give Z a shot."

boot, October 1996

"Z puts a Bill-and-Ted-style twist on war sims such as Command & Conquer. The game's animated cut scenes, featuring a pair of party lovin' robots named Allen and Brad and their hard-ass commanding officer, General Zod, are hilarious. Strung together, they would make a great buddy film.

"Gameplay consists of commanding robot troops in a series of capture-the-flag sequences. Z's battlefields are surprisingly small, which makes the action brief and intense; especially in multiplayer games (either head-to-head or with up to four players over a LAN). Your soldiers include Grunts (footsoldiers), Snipers (long-range sharpshooters), Psychos (nutcases with little regard for personal safety), and more. You also have an inventory of artillery, assault vehicles, and tanks (but no planes), and a factory for churning out more robots and equipment.

"Aside from one important flaw, Z's A/I is damned impressive. Play against the computer and you'll notice the enemy exploits your weaknesses instead of executing the same predictable routines. Even better, vehicles adopt the characteristics of whichever 'bot is driving them. The flaw in the A/I appears only occasionally, when your troops take a maddeningly circuitous route to their assigned target.

"Visually, Z is surprisingly unimpressive for a game that supports SVGA graphics. The small window in which your troops appear to deliver their perspective on the battle, however, is always good for a laugh.

"Z is one of those rare titles you'll buy for its gameplay, but love for its cut scenes."

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