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Z
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CNET Gamecenter Review
By Hugh Falk
(10/15/1996)

"You're crap! You suck!" Hey, don't take it personally. I'm just giving you a taste of Virgin Interactive Entertainment's new game, Z. For those who find this offensive, keep in mind that another Brit by the name of Shakespeare said far worse things in his time. However, if your sensibilities lie somewhere between Tipper Gore and the convent, stay away from Z. Otherwise, read on.
quote Z is a real-time strategy game in which you pit your robot army against your enemy's in order to gain control of the planets in sector Z. You have several different unit types at your disposal including foot soldiers, jeeps, tanks, and heavy guns. Each unit type has different levels of strength. Freedom of choice is key to any good strategy game, and Z gives you plenty to choose from.
Seeing all of your choices, however, can be difficult at times. All foot soldiers look the same, so it's impossible to tell by sight which are Grunts and which are Pyros. You need to click on each one to discern them. Speaking of the visuals, the SVGA graphics are well drawn but extremely small. You can switch to VGA mode, but then everything is too big, and you can't see enough of the battlefield. Stick with SVGA if you can, but buy a microscope if you want to check out the penguins on Arctic World.
Don't let the sleepy title fool you--Z is fast. This game zips along quicker than any real-time strategy game I've played. In order to survive, you must quickly and continuously capture territories and gain control of the resources located within each one. The more territories you capture, the more units you can build. If you let the opposition capture more territories than you do, the odds of winning become slim. The best defense in Z is a good offense, and the best offense is a first offense. In other words, strike first and strike fast.
screen shot In fact, I think Z moves a little too fast for a strategy game. As I've said in the past, the more choices a game has, the more important strategy becomes. However, there is another axiom to remember: the less time a player has to make choices, the less important strategy becomes. Ask your favorite quarterback, and he'll tell you that the key to success is to not think too much.
To succeed in this game, you must send your troops out to capture territories immediately and survey the battleground as you go. This gives your computer opponent (who can look around faster than you can scroll) a distinct advantage in the beginning of a single-player game. All real-time strategy games must balance time vs. strategy in their design, and there is always a trade-off of one for the other.

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