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Buy Game $3.99 Free Try Demo Single Player, Xbox LIVE Multiplayer 1-4, HD (High Definition). The original tank vs. Tank action classic has received an Xbox Live overhaul, adding in exciting new multiplayer modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. Battlezone: Combat Commander remasters FPS-RTS classic Battlezone II with slick new visuals, brand new achievements, Steam Workshop support and much more! Fight across 24 intense missions, over 6 exotic living worlds, scavenging the battlefield for crucial bio-metal used to create powerful units, towering defenses, and vital facilities. Battlezone places you in the midst of the cold war-as it's being fought in outer space. Play either the Soviet or American side; command and create over 30 units, such as antigravity tanks, walkers, guntowers, barracks, and recyclers-all while fighting from inside your own vehicle in single-player or multiplayer skirmishes. EPIC VR TANK WARFARE - Built from the ground up for PlayStation VR, Battlezone offers unrivalled battlefield awareness, a monumental sense of scale and breathless combat intensity.

This 1998 PC classic is actually a remake of an old classic arcade game, at least in theory. In reality, apart from featuring tanks, the two games have almost nothing in common. 1998’s version of Battlezone is set in an alternate 1960’s, where America and Russia take the cold war into space. As a tank commander, you’ll not only have to duel with other tanks and enemy vehicles, but also command your own forces on the battlefield. This mix of frantic combat and real time strategy was met with critical acclaim when the game was launched, though the game was never the commercial success it undoubtedly deserved to be.

Installation

Battlezone has been officially released for free. We recommend that all users, even those of you with an original copy, download and use the games installer available here. If you are interested in playing the expansion pack, be sure to download the Red Odyssey installer too. Both downloads come as zip files. To install them, simply open the zip folder and run the executable file within, then simply follow all on-screen prompts to install the game.

A note about save games – Like many older games, Battlezone places its save game files in the same directory that it is installed to. This can cause problems on more modern versions of Windows as programs are not normally permitted to write to the program files directory. To avoid this problem, either install the game to an alternate location (e.g c:GamesBattlezone) or manually edit the permissions on the Save directory within the Battlezone folder. A tutorial on how to do this can be found here.

Starting the game

To start the game, simply launch it from your Start menu or Start screen. Before you start the game, we strongly recommend that you disable any secondary monitors if you intend to play in full screen mode.

Tweaking visual quality

Battlezone Game Patch

Most of the visual quality settings can be found by starting the game, clicking on “Options” and then “Graphic Options”. As this is an older game, most modern PCs can run it on the highest settings without any issues. The picture below shows the highest settings available to configure in-game (click the picture to enlarge it).

Obviously, if you don’t have a 1080p monitor/TV you may need to change the screen resolution to suit. Since Battlezone was launched before widescreen displays were common, certain game elements may appear stretched if you play with a widescreen resolution.

There’s one other option more adventurous gamers may wish to configure. By browsing the Battlezone folder you can find a file called “render.cfg”. Use the techniques shown in this tutorial to open this file and edit it. Find the lines at the bottom of the file that read “MultiSampleType” and “MultiSampleQuality”. You may need to do a little experimentation here. Start by setting these values as shown below:-

MultiSampleType=8
MultiSampleQuality=3

Save the file then run the game again, if the game starts without an error then you’re all set. If instead you see an error saying your card does not support a MultiSampleType of 8, go back and edit the render.cfg file again, this time trying a value of 7. Keep reducing the value until the game launches without a problem. You may need to reduce MultiSampleQuality too, but if you set this too high the game should tell you the maximum value this can be set to.

When you have successfully tweaked these values, the games graphics will be much smoother.

Configuring controllers

Controllers can be configured in Battlezone by starting the game and then clicking on “Options” and then on “Input Configuration”. If you want to use a game controller of any kind, you should then click on “Joystick”. Thanks to the fan community Xbox 360 controllers are fully supported. In practise we found using the 360 controller a little awkward. Often our tank did not want to go full speed, which made completing jumps (yes your tank can jump) somewhat tricky. You may wish to increase joystick sensitivity if you have similar issues, or even use Xpadder to configure a distance zone to make sure full throttle is applied when the stick is fully pushed (see the techniques we used in Prince of Persia for an example).

We didn’t spend too long on controller issues for this game because it’s not really possible to play the game with a controller on its own. To issue commands to your units while you play, you will need to use the keyboard, either on its own or in tandem with a game controller or joystick.

Multiplayer, mods and final thoughts

If you are interested in playing the game in multiplayer or discovering some new mods and maps there are not one but two fan communities you may wish to visit. The Battlezone1.org forum here and the Battlezone Club forum here.

If you have never played the game before, we strongly recommend doing the “Combat Exercises” before you get into the game. You can access these by clicking “Single Player” on the main menu and then clicking “Combat Exercises”.

Remakes are all very well, but too often they fail to live up to the great expectations levelled at them by nostalgic gamers. Both Robotron X and Atomic Bomberman were ripe for a makeover, and although the developers made an effort to revamp the visuals, neither game managed to fully take the gameplay and add to it. Of course, there's a perfectly good argument for leaving the gameplay alone. After all, if it ain't broke... However, if that's the case, then why bother in the first place?

Andrew Goldman, product director for the new BattleZone, is the first to agree. 'BattleZone was a great game, but short of simply making the graphics look more up to date, there was little we could do it. Consequently, we worked out what we like playing in the office and came up with a kind of C&C/Quake hybrid; then we looked at developing a game that took in some of the BattleZone elements.'

A C&C-style game in a 3D environment might be realistic as far as controlling a battle goes, but the whole thing could easily turn out to be very confusing without a top-down view. Andrew nods and smiles. 'We had exactly the same worries, but started working on a very simple interface that uses both the mouse and, in particular, the number keys in an effort to keep things very simple. Once you've played through just a couple of missions it's almost second nature. You assign different units to different keys, point where you want them to go and tap the spacebar. It's quick, easy and because you're actually within the environment, it's very realistic. You have to spend time on reconnaissance missions finding out where your enemy is located before you can steam in. It's true line of sight warfare and you have to use the terrain to your advantage. To help the player we've incorporated a great 3D radar system as well as spy cameras and stuff. It's cool.'

Battlezone Game Online

Graphically, of course it's been revamped and thanks to a totally enhanced Interstate 76 engine and over 30 different units you can hop into, it's more like playing Magic Carpet than Armored Fist. Although it's yet to be implemented, the developers are also promising four-way network play and head-to-head Internet play for full-on warfare. It's nothing like the old BattleZone, but then who would want it to be?