Z2

Bitmap Brothers

PC

In development

Review: Peter Eley

Z was quite a hit three years back, an intelligent real-time strategy game that could have footed it with Command & Conquer or Age of Empires if the graphics had been better.

The Bitmap Brothers have learned from past experience and its successor, Z2, is stunning to look at, wowing audiences at Europe's ECTS 2000 show.

Z2 follows the original's robotic theme, but the resemblance ends there. It's state-of-the-art stuff with zoomable, rotational 3D settings, amazing animation and brilliant particle effects.

The game has lots of depth too, with 30 tightly integrated missions. You play a stranded robot commander who has to get back to his unit.

Although the game is some way off, it may well give Red Alert 2 a run for its money in the RTS stakes.

E-mail: peter_eley@herald.co.nz