War in the 21st Century
A good solid little science fiction wargame, Firezone makes for an entertaining time for fans of things like Laser Squad and Battle Isle. It doesn't bring anything particularly new to the table but it does everything with a decent amount of style and class so if you're looking for a bit of strategy fun, check it out. The background is familiar stuff and tells how the world in the 21st century has split up into self contained powers and fight each other for territory. The weapons of war are now highly advanced, with grav tanks, Striders and Leviathans now ruling the battlefield. The player takes control of a commander of one of these armies and must pit their strategic wits against the computer or another player in a series of turn-based battles. The game plays out over a hex-based map, with the turn sequence consisting of movement, firing and retaliation, with units including infantry, artillery, heavy armor and bases. The environment is also made up of seven different types, each of which affects the battlefield in various ways. There are also things like hidden units available, as well as options including a handy map editor. Firezone is pretty familiar stuff on the whole and is nothing we haven't really seen before. However, if you're into turn-based strategy games, it is well enough executed to overlook any shortcomings in the originality department. The visuals might be pretty dated, with fairly crude environments and unit icons, but the depth of gameplay and variety of units makes up for this, so if you do fancy some more sci-fi strategy fun, take a look here.
