Reviews / previews
Machines takes the "straction" genre of Uprising and
Battlezone and extends the playing field.
It's a legitimate real-time strategy game, but
Machines allows you to see the action from a
first-person
perspective at any
time--either via a
wandering camera or
in control of one of
your 50 types of
machines. Although
I found myself in the
driver's seat during
only the most
heated
battles--there's
usually too much
going on to sit inside
for long--the balance between first- and third-person
views is handled well. You can swiftly locate trouble
spots, hop in a unit, and show the enemy how it's
done.
Machines is likely to remind you of Starcraft, Total
Annihilation, and the aforementioned straction games,
and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Most of the
gameplay, over 20-plus scenarios, rests on a
standard RTS formula of build, harvest, and destroy.
(The harvesting takes a more Settlers-like approach,
as you need to locate minerals before you can begin
mining.) But the first-person aspect is fun--especially
during serious
combat. The unit
control is mech-lite,
with the emphasis
mainly on movement
and firing.
The sci-fi storyline is
worthy of a
Japanimation series.
It's set in the year 2136, when
faster-than-light travel has been more or less
perfected. Unfortunately, cell-based
organisms (such as puny humans) can't survive the trip.
Enter the Machines. Developed to terraform distant planets while humans
catch up, the Machines get tired of waiting for further orders and move on to
other celestial habitats and eventually come in contact with more Machine
groups. The greatest war in galactic history ensues.
Machines' visuals make it a joy to behold.
Few graphic pleasures can equal the sight of
an Ion Cannon obliterating enemy units.
(Then again, I did dock the graphics a notch
due to my experiences with the Hercules
Terminator Beast graphics card. It's
ostensibly supported, but Acclaim claims a
glitch that fogs over the entire view during
gameplay with the Beast. This problem is
expected to be addressed in their first
patch.).
Similarly, the sound effects--with appropriate mechanical responses to
commands--recall Starcraft, but somehow aren't as repetitive.
And the AI is impressive. Military units can detect skirmishes nearby and lend
a hand, while Medic Commanders often require no prompting to repair
damaged units.
After all, that's why these Machines were
built.-- Joel Strauch / GamePro
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