Speaking of combats, the first two missions will consist in a training program to familiarize yourself with the PBA and its possibilities. You will learn how to move around using the map, how to use and select weapons and other equipment, as well as shooting at targets. With your basic training finished, you will be first assigned to solo missions against pirates who recently launched a series of raids in several areas. If you are successful, you will soon be at the head of a squad giving orders and strategies to the other members.
A complete briefing awaits you before each mission with a video animation
showing the topography of the area and the objectives. You will hear
the instructions from your superior who will explain to you which strategies
to adopt. Then, you will be given several choices regarding your PBA suit,
the weapons and equipment you will take on the mission, and if it is not a
solo mission, the members you select for your team. SFC's members have
individual skills that might make the difference in a specific mission. There
are five possible skills: Reconnaissance, Weapons, Demolition, Repair and
Electronics. With Reconnaissance, your teammate can detect an enemy presence
earlier and will also remain undetectable. If you have to destroy
large structures, you will need a demolition expert to do the job.
As you have already understood, having the right elements in your team is vital
if you want to complete the goals. By default, you will be given a selection
of members that you can keep or change, though sometimes a member might be
mandatory. You can also modify what members will bring with them during
missions.
Once your team is outfitted, you will be sent to the battlefield and deployed
from an airplane. You will find yourself in the PBA looking at the surrounding
landscape through the Heads-Up Display (HUD). The first thing you will notice
is the terrain on which you are going to move and fight. Even at the lowest
resolution (320 by 200), it looks very realistic. Both ground and sky have
textures and even the landscape reflects on the water's surface. In addition,
"Terra Nova" features weather conditions with impressive visual effects such
as rain, snow and thunderstorms. Rainy days never looked so real in a
computer game before!
If you have more than 8Mb of memory and a Pentium processor, you will enjoy playing in the high resolution mode (320 by 400). The details are quite amazing and the realism clearly outdoes what the Voxel Space technology from Novalogic achieved in a game like "Comanche". Several options are available to reduce the level of details if the frame rate is not fast enough, but I found the game to be enjoyable even on a 'slow' Pentium.
If you think the graphics are the only good points of "Terra Nova", you are wrong. I particularly appreciated the sound ambience during the missions. When you engage in a fight against pirates or other enemies, you will hear the other team members reporting about the status of the battle, about their PBA conditions, etc. The sound effects for weapons, vehicles, explosions, voices, etc... use the Q Sound 3D Audio which has for effect to render a '3D sound', perfect to immerse you into the battle.
Through the 39 missions of the game, you will fight against pirates and
Earth Hegemony troops. The missions are not too repetitive, some will have you to
protect strategic areas or escort convoys while others will send you to
destroy enemy devices or bases, intercept convoys, identify equipment, etc.
Between missions, you will watch video movies showing what the life is like
at Strike Force Centauri and how the recent raids by the pirates are related to
Earth Hegemony forces. The videos that mix actors with computer rendered
backgrounds will progressively unveil the story throughout the game.
Finally, after you have completed the game, you can always play with the
Random Scenario Builder that generates a mission according to your preferences.
You can thus select your difficulty level, the map you want to play with, number
of enemies, mission objectives, etc.
Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Sound Blaster 16/AWE32; Ensoniq Soundscape; Gravis UltraSound sound cards supported.
Technical Support: 617-576-3310
BBS Support: 617-441-0413
Internet Support: Looking Glass Technologies
Web site: www.lglass.com
Virgin Interactive Entertainment,
18061 Fitch Avenue,
Irvine, CA 92714.
Technical Support: 714-833-1999
Fax Support: 714-833-2011
BBS Support: 714-833-3305
Hints: 1-900-288-4744 ($.75 per minute)
Web site: www.vie.com
In Europe:
In UK:
Virgin Interactive Entertainment,
2 Kensington Square,
London, W8 5RB.
Technical Support: +44-(0)171-3682266
Fax Support: +44-(0)171-468-2000
BBS Support: +44-(0)171-468-2022
Internet Support: Virgin Interactive Entertainment Europe
Web site: www.vie.co.uk/vie
In France:
Ubi Soft,
28, Rue Armand Carrel,
93108 Montreuil Sous Bois CEDEX.
Technical Support: +33-1-485-70554
Fax Support: +33-1-485-76291
Web site: www.ubisoft.com
| Graphics: | 92% |
| Sound: | 95% |
| Music: | 90% |
| Gameplay: | 93% |
| Interest: | 90% |
| Overall: | 92% |
Click here for screen shots.
