OK...well I finally got my hands on Heavy Gear today
despite all the naysayers. Actually, the number of people who quietly like/love the game outnumber the ones who hate it or don't like it based on all the forums I could read in my time off.
I decided to splurge and get Microsoft's Force Feedback joystick
(comes with I'76, MDK, and Shadows of the Empire)...to experience the
full extent of the game. (I'll ruin the surprise and tell you that I was not able to get the Joystick to work...Something about the driver and my computer...).
Installation of the game was not a problem and ATVI clearly states that you will need the latest drivers for the various 3-D effects cards in order to get the game working properly without crashes. I had no problem.
What can I say? The intro scene was incredible. Very cool. But the game itself was not exactly what I was expecting. In it's own right, it's pretty neat. Beautiful rolling terrain, and nice animations are a big improvement. Seeing a gear slip on a hill and fall down made me laugh. The wheels are a nice touch and were a good change from MW2 where it took forever to get to each Nav point. But my impression after the first few hours of playing the game was that it could be better (for example better explosions, better gunfire, etc.)....but then again I was expecting incredible things from the start and also, I've just scratched the surface of this game so there could be better things up the pike.
I saw glimpses of greatness in this game but I found myself somehow
unsettled. I wanted BIG mechs lumbering around. Instead I felt like I was playing Tomb Raider. Everything moved so quickly that I didn't really feel like I was in a Mech/Gear. I know that's the point in Heavy Gear....highly mobile units...but I like the feeling of being a lumbering behemoth. Customization of the Gears... this is a great idea, and the interface is great. But all the different gear parts look the same and the Gears themselves look alike. If the game didn't label each Gear with "Bear" or "Jagar" in the HUD, I'd be sorely pressed to tell the difference. The nice thing about MW2 was that the different Mechs truly looked different....like the Marauder vs. the Rifleman. The Gears are too boxy and when they run, especially Gears from the North side, they look fake somehow. They seriously look like boxes stacked on each other.
Also, it'd be great to be able to keep weapons that you get on the battlefield. There used to be a game that I played called "Hack"
on the mainframe (then on the PC...and another version called Rogue).
The most addictive thing about this game was the ability to kill other monsters and take their weapons/spells, etc., making you more powerful. There was another mainframe game called Galactic Trader...a text-multiplayer game from which the game Escape Velocity by Ambrosia was based...that also let players poach on Aliens or other traders on the net and take their weapons. *THAT* was one of best and most addictive games I have ever played. Unfortunately you can't do that in Heavy Gear....at least so far...
It took patience to really give Heavy Gear a chance. Obviously I am biased because I own ATVI stock, so I think I had more patience than most. I'm glad I stayed with it. Once I got used to the Gear universe and stopped expecting it to be MW3/4, I really started to enjoy it. I know it sounds like I am sorry I bought the game....but I'm DEFINITELY not. I haven't had any problems with bugs except for my computer crashing when I tried to access multiplayer play...but then again, this is a Beta release of the multiplayer game. It's definitely very wild to play another universe and I think that ATVI's done a really good job here. I was afraid after reading the negative posts that this game was going to be bad and I almost...just almost...didn't buy it. Overall, I'd say it was definitely worth the money I spent on it and I think that Heavy Gear 2 will be definitely worth waiting for.
Tom C. |
