Heavy Gear II – Review

Heavy Gear II

(Activision For Windows 98)
by Brian Johnson

Let’s begin with a confession; I’ve fallen asleep each and every time I’ve tried to watch the movie Dune. Sci-fi channel marathons do not excite me. My favorite childhood memories do not include the mini-series, V. I find Doctor Who, and all fans of Doctor Who frightening. I did not play Dungeons and Dragons. I did not argue with Trekies about Star Trek being better then Star Wars, although as I got older, I realized the brilliance of one William Shatner. I did not have orgasmic fits over Highlander, or any other movie starring Christopher Lambert. Most of all, when it comes to video games, I like them like I enjoy my adult entertainment: short on plot and right to the action. So when I opened up the ’01st Strike Recon Black Talons Covert Operations Manual’ for Heavy Gear II, I felt a familiar pit in my stomach.

But from the first moments of the dazzling opening movie, I knew this game was something special indeed. Heavy Gear II is the story of the citizens of Terra Nova who, having defended themselves against the invading armies of Earth for four cycles of warfare, were pronounced free. I don’t know what a cycle of warfare is either, but I’m guessing it’s more than a Centon and less then a parsec… Okay, maybe I watched a few episodes… In the 30 cycles following the great war, the once-united alliance has weakened. When a new threat arises from an old enemy, it’s up to you to join the fight.

While the game allows you to jump right in with the Instant Action mode, I strongly advise that you take advantage of the training mode. Although it’s very in-depth, the training allows you to simply and cohesively learn the controls of the game. While they’re not particularly cumbersome or complicated, they still require some time to master. In addition, you’re guided through the simulator, and later, the game, by the voice of your commanding officer. This is an example of how Activation has made an otherwise complicated premise into a user-friendly game. It allows people with video game IQs like myself – somewhere between Corky Thatcher and Forrest Gump – to function within the game without feeling overwhelmed. After training, you can begin the single player mode complete with movies, missions, and voice-over guide. Upon starting, I was immediately taken aback by the incredibly crisp and realistic graphics. For the first time in memory, the quality of the 3D graphics is on par with the films at the beginning of the levels. The lighting is movie-quality, and the music adds a shroud of suspense and danger. Most of all, when it’s time to let it rip, I found the level of destruction to be most pleasing. There’s nothing quite like a full arsenal of brutal and destructive force at your fingertips. I can assure you it’s quite liberating.

The really interesting thing about Heavy Gear II – and it’s starting to pop up on other PC games – is the multi-player link. Activation allows you to participate online with several players at once. You can test your skills against a human foe as well as chat with various participants. There are four different arenas of warfare, with games such as: Duelist, a to-the-death one-on-one grudge match; Deathmatch, a group symphony of carnage, every man for himself, once again to-the-death (you know, that’s really an over-used, under-practiced phrase. You never see a pie-eating contest TO THE DEATH); Steal the Beacon, a little like Australian football if it were played by thirty-foot tall mechanical killing giants (the objective is simple: hold onto a beacon the longest as the others try to kill you); Strategic, a simulator in which two teams compete to destroy the other’s base while protecting their own; and Capture the Flag, if you don’t know what this is, I suggest you ask your parents why they loved you too much to send you to camp.

Lessons learned over time… I’m a closed-minded nerd bigot who never would’ve looked at this game if I hadn’t been forced to, and I’ve learned my lesson. As for Heavy Gear II, I stand by a full-ringing endorsement. Buyers, however, take heed that this game requires a Pentium 166 or higher, and DirectX. If you don’t have it, don’t bother purchasing the game. All others pay cash and have fun. I still don’t think I can sit through the four hours of Dune, but I have a bottle of Ether, a couple hundred milligrams of Dexedrine, and I’m willing to give it a try.