Heavy Gear - Rating 6/10
Heavy Gear is ActiVision's answer to losing the MechWarrior series to MicroProse. Most of the Commands
and cockpit views are the same. The movement of
the mechs and targeting are simpler than MechWarrior.
The game has its own plot and storyline, which could use
some work. An improvement over the MechWarrior Series is
the freedom of configuring your mech from scratch. With
choices from internal wiring to frankenstein like piecing
your mech limbs together allow a more personal touch,
than just selecting weapon loadouts. The idea of wheels
on a mech kills the thought behind the mech. I found
myself always in the wheel mode, which provided a more
stable targeting platform and higher speeds to evade
opponent shots.
Overall its a good shot-em up knock off of MechWarrior. The scenarios are few and the play time is about a month.
With MechWarrior II and Mercenaries under their belt, this game is average, but it's ideas are genuine.
The graphics are average, but with Heavy Gear II coming
out with 3D graphics, its gonna be a contender.