More Options

The only defense, other than quickly killing the offending Cybrid, is to equip your HERC with the Angel Life support system, one of many modular components used to tailor your vehicle for specific mission requirements. Need to do some quick hit 'n run reconnaissance? Equip your HERC with a turbo booster, allowing it to double its rate of movement for brief durations. Getting your head repeatedly chopped off by Cybrid Executioners? Mount a shield amplifier, which increases shield strength by 25%.

The myriad of possible loadout combinations makes for excellent replay value, but if replaying the campaign missions with different loadouts doesn't offer enough gameplay for you, there's always an open session being hosted somewhere out on the 'net.

HERCS Online and HERCS Future

Using the same core technology as Tribes, Starsiege plays extremely well online and, thanks to its excellent interface, is very user-friendly when it comes to joining or hosting a session. And once online, there's the standard DM (deathmatch) mode of play or the team-based CTF (capture the flag).

I commented at the beginning of this review that I'd been hoping Starsiege would take the Mech genre to the next level, whatever that may be. No doubt some of you are wondering if I am going to give a definite answer. Well, I will, and unfortunately the answer is no. While Starsiege is a solid game, with great graphics and fun gameplay and relatively few bugs, it simply fails to truly distinguish itself from the rest of the genre.

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It has all the right bells and whistles to do so- 3D acceleration, A3D support, customizable controls and vehicles, good mission design, and, perhaps most important of all, stable 'net play. But in spite of this Starsiege is fundamentally an old-school game design with a technological facelift. It's fun to play and highly recommended, but not a classic.

Mech Wars

Cheer up, there is still hope! The spring Mech wars have only begun, and other players will soon join the battle, including Activision's Heavy Gear 2 and Microprose's Mechwarrior 3. And I've got a Timberwolf to place down for anyone willing to lay bets on which of the two will win.

Recommended System

• PII 266, 64 meg
• TNT or V2 based video
• 16 bit sound