Technodynamic Heavy Gear 2 Review

I was a big fan of Mech Warrior 2 when it came out, more years ago than I can remember. During the first half of 1999, three titles would come into view in what seemed like a forgotten genre. Mech Warrior 3, Starsiege, and of course, Heavy Gear 2. Most people will not buy all of these, so the question remains: which is the 'best' game? I will tell you.

Gameplay in Heavy Gear 2 is different than most of the titles, because the robots you control are much smaller and agile than the ones in other games (your "Gear" is just twice to three times larger than your typical pilot.) As a result, you must maneuver at faster speeds, while having more controls at your fingertips. I know it sounds complicated, but the programmers at Activision did a fabulous job of giving you the flexibility of having total control of your Gear, with the quick reflex control of a game like Quake 2. Don't get me wrong, Heavy Gear 2 is not a pure action game, there are many elements that make it a simulation. In addition to your own controls, you can order your squad mates to do battle with you, which is very cool, because it seems as if you are part of a large war in many missions. Obviously, you are the most important piece to the puzzle during combat, but seeing missiles and lasers whizzing across the battlefield immerses you into the game. Unlike most other Mech simulations, you control your Gear's movements with the number pad, allowing you to control velocity, turning, crouching, and changing into rolling mode, which allows your Gear to move very quickly. The mouse is used for targeting and torso movement.

The incredibly varied missions really make Heavy Gear 2 stand out form the other games. I have found in the past, most games do have a progressive plot, but often the missions are repetitive and do not offer the creativity that Heavy Gear 2 has. The settings vary from day to night, and weather effects can widely vary, including rain, snow, sun, and fog. One of my favorite missions contains no combat at all. You are given orders to go to a rocky ridge, where you are beyond the enemy sensors detection, but have the ability to zoom in and spy on your enemies base, giving your team valuable data for the next mission. The enemy base is alive with activity, as units enter and exit the main gate, allowing you to learn the pattern of the enemy unit shifts, so that you will know when the best time to strike is. Very cool!

Of all the latest simulation titles available, Mech Warrior 3 and Heavy Gear 2 have the best looking units, but I would have to go with Heavy Gear 2 in the overall category, due to the lush settings that your missions take place in. Weapon effects, explosions, weather, and terrain all go to Heavy Gear 2. Heavy Gear 2 requires a 3D accelerator card, which is a good thing, because the awesome effects in this game would not be the same without one.

There are many modifications and upgrades you can give to both your Gear and your other squad mates Gears. At first, like most Mech games, it was very confusing trying to figure out how to modify your Gear. With some tinkering, you will figure out how to switch weapons, and learn which weapons does what. Heavy Gear has a larger than normal variety of guns, missiles, and 'other' goodies. Easily my favorite or the weapons is the "heavy guided mortar", which is an indirect weapon that needs a few seconds to lock on, then it travels to a very high altitude and seeks its way to the target. While a few of these mortars are airborne, you can switch to your primary weapon and hit your target with both weapons simultaneously, giving you an incredible edge in stealth and surprise. If you run out of ammo, you can actually do hand to hand combat with enemy units, with either your Gear's fist or a saber/axe. Hand to hand combat should be a last resort, since you have to give up the element of surprise, and there are many more powerful weapons at your disposal.

Heavy Gear 2 leads the current pack of Mech simulations because of its well thought out and many varied missions. The fast action and combat situations enhance Heavy Gear 2's appeal as well. You can even play deathmatch style against people online, connecting to public servers for free action anytime. Heavy Gear 2 is the best game Activision has released all year.

Game highs: Mission variety, beautiful weather and atmosphere effects, high action in missions, variety of weapon types, believable and unique mission objectives.

Game lows: Large install on hard drive (450 MB), slightly overwhelming keyboard functions, difficulty of navigating in zero gravity (certain missions).

Overall: Of the three Mech simulations to come out this year, Heavy Gear 2 is the best. The controls and modifications can take a little getting used to, but there are training missions to learn these with. Heavy Gear 2 is a solid title that people should not overlook.

reviewed by: Todd Alexander

Shown below is a video from an action sequence in Heavy Gear 2. You can see the intensity of combat and how your squad mates assist you while you fight.

Technodynamic movies are encoded at high quality settings. If you connect to the internet with a connection equal to or higher than ISDN (100kbps), you are okay. Modem users will experience net congestion while watching the video unless you configure your G2 player.
   -'Right click' on the video window.
   -Select 'preferences' from the menu.
   -Select 'connection' from the new box
   -Chose the option that says "buffer entire clip to available memory. Click 'okay'.
Doing this will download the clip before playing, ensuring perfect performance for modem users. You can change these settings back to the original by repeating the above steps and choosing to 'buffer the clip for X seconds.'

Download times for videos listed below selection

Clip 1 - Coming to the rescue.

28.8 modem
56.6 modem
Duel ISDN
Cable modem
T1

4 minutes 53 seconds
2 minutes 30 seconds
1 minute 15 seconds
27 seconds
12 seconds