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(Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri was reviewed in May 1996)
Summary: Terra Nova provides the most immersive combat experience around.
Thunder crashes ominously overhead as fingers of lightning dance down to earth, briefly illuminating distant hilltops. A steady downpour of rain creates thick mud that makes movement slow and difficult.
Cresting a small hill, I pick out four--no, make that five--red dots on the radar scope inside my helmet. Looks like the pirates have set an ambush about 75 meters in front of our position. Damn! How'd they know we were coming?
I order half the squad to circle around behind the enemy in a flanking maneuver, and tell the rest to follow me. After working slowly forward for 20 yards or so, I get a lock on one of the pirates with my grenade launcher. The squad fires as one. The pirates never knew what hit them.
Welcome to Terra Nova, a futuristic, first-person combat game from Looking Glass Technologies, maker of Flight Unlimited.
You are Nikola Ap Io, entrusted with the leadership of an elite powered-infantry squadron known as Strike Force Centauri (SFC). Protected by high-tech Powered Battle Armor (PBA) suits that seem lifted from Robert Heinlein's classic Starship Troopers novel, the SFC is charged with defending the Centauri Clans from roving bands of rogue pirates.
The enemy is ruthless--you know because you watched them murder your parents when you were a small boy. But you feel like nothing can touch you inside the safety of your PBA, which can be outfitted with a variety of lethal weapons and protective devices. Once suited up, you resemble a walking tank, capable of destroying nearly everything in your path while taking a lot of punishment. You'll get to choose your own weaponry and support personnel for most of your missions, which range from simple search-and-destroy strikes to full-bore assaults on enemy fortifications.
But, then again, the pirates wear PBA suits, too. And as you progress through the game, you'll notice that their weapons get better and better. There's more going on here than you thought, and it's up to you to find out what.
At least you won't be alone. Like you, your squadmates (which include your older brother) are the best--the finest warriors from all of Centauri's clans. However, also like you, each member has his or her own personal ghosts to deal with. There may even be a traitor among you. It's up to you to find out--I don't want to give away too much of the story.
And it's really the compelling story that separates Terra Nova from similar titles like Activision's MechWarrior 2, which, while an excellent game, has essentially no story at all. Video sequences spread throughout Terra Nova's 37 missions advance the plot and reveal your squadmates' secrets. Though the sequences, are, for the most part, badly overacted, they do draw you into the game and make you want to finish it.
Fortunately, a brilliantly simple user interface helps make that goal possible. You view all the action through the heads-up display (HUD) inside the helmet of your PBA. By clicking on a few icons on the screen, you can switch weapons in an instant, check on your status or the situation of your squadmates, issue a variety of orders, call up the mission map, or magnify your view.
Use the keyboard cursor keys to direct your movement and the numeric keypad to look up, down, left, and right. The mouse cursor controls targeting enemies and firing. It isn't easy to move, turn your head, and fire at the same time, but considering the complexity of your PBA and its weaponry, I can't imagine a simpler control system.
You'll be thankful for that simplicity, because you'll have your hands full assessing mission conditions, enemy strengths, and attack strategies--all in real time. Terra Nova is a thinking man's action game. For example, on a mission to rendezvous with a medical convoy, you may encounter multiple sets of enemy troops at different locations on the map. To be successful, you may have to order one of your men to blow up a bridge to cut off one enemy group while you lead the rest of your squad against the main force.
It's also up to you to choose who will go with you on a particular mission. Before each mission you get a video briefing of your drop location, target, pickup point, and all relevant intelligence information on the target. You also get a default squad that you can alter to your liking.
Your fellow SFC members have specialties such as Electronics, Repair, Scout, Demolitions, and Weapons. If the mission is a hot-and-heavy assault in which you must take out many enemies fast, load your squad with Weapons specialists and a Repair technician, the Centauri version of a medic. If you need to take out a major bridge or weapon, bring along an extra Demolitions specialist.
You can also choose what PBA each squad member will wear, as well as his weapons load. For heavy firefights, everyone should have the Heavy PBA, which takes a lot of punishment but slows you down. For a recon mission, go with the Scout suit, which is light and hard to detect. Weapons include such staples as pulse cannons and grenade and missile launchers. New technology--both offensive and defensive--becomes available to you as you progress through the missions. For example, about halfway through the game you'll gain access to an Autodoc gadget that lets you endure more damage in a firefight without having to evacuate.
Despite all these options, visually, the game may leave you initially disappointed. The highest resolution Looking Glass provides during game play is 320-by-400, far below the 640-by-480 that MechWarrior fans are used to. Enemy troops and vehicles look blocky and weapon-fire effects are largely uninspiring (though the explosions are nice). However, Terra Nova's worlds are extremely detailed. Ponds reflect the sky, clouds swirl overhead, rain falls, thunder crashes, and you can visit every hilltop you see in every direction you look.
Awesome sound effects also help offset the graphical shortcomings. This may be the game that makes you run out and get a new sound card and speakers. Audio effects such as drop ships taking off and landing, artillery barrages, and thunderstorms will blow you away. The addition of a scenario editor that lets you create your own missions is another nice touch.
The worst thing I can say about Terra Nova is that there's no network play. For that you'll have to wait for a sequel. Until then, if you've been looking for a good first-person, real-time combat simulator, Terra Nova can't be beat. Period. Old Website Recovery