See how Battlezone: Combat Commander stacks up towards nostalgia

Not each PC traditional is deserving of a full remaster/remake/spit-and-polish therapy, however I reckon that 1999’s RTS/FPS hybrid Battlezone 2: Combat Commander has greater than earned its place on Rebellion’s listing of video games to replace to trendy spec, and Big Boat Interactive’s replace seems to be to be doing the sport justice.

Along with asserting a launch date – March 1st, only one month off – Rebellion have launched a brand new trailer evaluating the sport because it seemed again within the day to the way it seems to be now, given the blessings of a contemporary renderer, sharper textures, smoother fashions and an improve to 4K resolutions.

Personally, I’m overjoyed at nearly each change they’ve made. The artwork fashion of the sport is totally retained whereas all of the tough edges have been smoothed down, and the textures introduced into sharp focus. Some of the automobile designs have been subtly modified, however in all of the circumstances I see within the trailer, I really feel it’s for the higher, emphasizing the glossy, curved traces of the human autos, and the pointed, sharp edges on the alien Scion craft.

My solely concern with the sport now could be that efficiency is likely to be a little bit temperamental. Bolting a modern-day renderer onto a pre-2000s engine isn’t the simplest of duties, and I can’t assist however discover some distinct framerate drops through the trailer. Beyond that? Everything seems to be because it ought to, with the hover-vehicles nonetheless being satisfyingly swooshy, and the explosions look considerably improved.

For those that by no means performed Battlezone 2 again within the day, you’re in for a deal with. While not practically as properly generally known as equally enduring video games corresponding to Doom and Quake, Battlezone 2 retained a remarkably lively mod & multiplayer scene properly into the 2010s, and I hope that a number of the higher fan-made campaigns might be ported over to the brand new model of the sport with out an excessive amount of problem.

Even with out mods, you get a stable and prolonged single-player marketing campaign with a game-changing department level a few third of the way in which by way of, so replay worth is first rate. Then you’ve acquired skirmish play towards AI and multiplayer. Rebellion are boasting that the redux model of the sport has each conventional LAN play and trendy on-line assist, so we’ll hopefully be getting the most effective of each worlds.

Battlezone 2 was a sport I sank a number of time into again within the day, and one thing I saved coming again to for years after, simply to see what the neighborhood had cooked up. After seeing this trailer, I’m desirous to get again within the cockpit.