Z (video game)

Infobox VG
title= Z


caption=
developer= The Bitmap Brothers
publisher=

• Virgin Interactive
  (PC release)
• GT Interactive
  (console releases)

distributor=
designer=
series=
engine=
version=
released= PC

• flagicon|Europe July 1996
• flagicon|USA July 31, 1996

PlayStation

• flagicon|Europe December 1997

Sega Saturn

• flagicon|Europe 1998

genre= Real-time strategy
modes= Single-player, Multiplayer
ratings= ESRB: T (Teen)
ELSPA: 10+
USK: 12+
platforms= MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows
media= CD-ROM
requirements= CPU 486 MHz, 8 MB RAM, VGA videocard (better, SVGA), 2x CD-ROM
input= Keyboard, Mouse, Gamepad

"Z" (pronounced Zed) is a 1996 real-time strategy computer game by The Bitmap Brothers. It is about two armies of robots (red and blue) battling to conquer different planets.

A sequel, , was published in 2001.

Gameplay

Unlike traditional real-time strategy (RTS) games, collecting resources or building specific structures is unnecessary for creating an army - the same principle that was introduced by Nether Earth, one of the RTS games ancestor. Regions and structures within their borders that actually manufacture the units are captured by moving troops to their respective flags. All you need to do is to hold acquired position for a certain amount of time while the unit is manufacturing. The more regions are under the player's control, the less the time required. More powerful units take more time to construct.

The objective of the game is to eliminate the opponent by taking out their command Fort: either by sending a unit to enter it, or by destroying it directly. Alternatively, destroying all of the opponent's units immediately wins the game.

At the start of every mission, each side is given control of their Fort (the CPU) and a small group of units. A host of unmanned turrets and vehicles are usually scattered about the map and sending a robot to these will allow the player to add them to their army. However, the assigned robot will remain in the captured vehicle or turret as a pilot or a gunner.

The game is significantly different from others of its type: For example, vehicle drivers can take damage from enemy fire, and if the driver is destroyed, the vehicle they were commandeering will be unmanned and can be captured by either side. At the time of its release, Z was also noted for being more complex, intense, and challenging compared to other games of its time, like the original Command and Conquer, where the gameplay usually boiled down to tankrushing AIs showing a lack of aggression.

The game starts off with simple, symmetric levels where the CPU starts with roughly the same hardware as the player. As the game progresses, the levels become more complex, demanding more skill to control all units effectively, and the computer gains an advantage in starting units. For example, the CPU's fort usually has substantially more powerful guard turrets. The computer also gains more logistic advantages.

Worlds

Combat takes place on several planets, with 4 missions on each. When one is successfully captured, a space ship transports the robot army to another. Worlds are divided into the following types:

* Desert: a dry, open and scarcely vegetated environment, in which units have little trouble moving around freely. The player encounters rivers and islands as they progress through the battles on this planet. Some territories are controlled by flags on islands.

* Volcanic: a much more hostile environment. Lava flows are an impassable barrier.

* Arctic: a frozen world of snow and ice spanned by glacial rock formations.

* Jungle: a verdant world of menacing swamps and impenetrable chasms. Crocodiles in the swamps eat robots hanging around the mud.

* City: a decaying industrial complex where danger lies around every corner. Sewer monsters ambush robots moving across water.

Versions

There are 2 versions for PC use, one for MS-DOS named Z and another one for Windows 95 named Z 95 & Expansion (that give Zeditor and Extension pack with additional challenging levels from 20 to 31. Each of these level are parallel; so 21 is the same kind as level 1 but with a bigger map and all Units available). The former used to require DOSBox (an open source MS-DOS emulator for various operating systems) to run on a modern Windows XP system. Ports for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn were released in 1997 and 1998 only in Europe. Both were handled by Krisalis Software and published by GT Interactive.

A workaround for Z95's incompatibility with Windows XP which allows Z95 to run on a Windows XP system without any form of emulation was posted on the ZZone forums. The workaround, named z95forXP, involves disabling some protected instructions in the Z95 executable and contains a custom installer since the original Z95 installer refuses to run under Windows XP. In the concerning forum thread the z95forXP workaround is also reported to work under Windows Vista. The concerning forum thread on the ZZone forums can be found here: [http://zzone.lewe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=304 Z95 for Windows XP without emulation]

Difference between Z and Z 95

There are few differences between the Z DOS version and the Z 95 version. Most of all Z 95 was made much more compatible with Windows 95 which was becoming more and more popular. Also some more levels were added to the so-called Expansion Kit. The Z DOS version has an interface for loading the game as its first step. In Z 95 the interface is still there but modified and is just a normal interface using APIs of Windows 95 without an eyecandy button. Z Dos version is much slower, which affects the game play, whereas the Z 95 version improves the speed and lets the game feel like a real time strategy field. Also, a few unit statistics were changed to improve the game's balance.

Review

Z was highly rated by various computers gaming magazines. For instance, it was awarded 92% by the PC Zone magazine, when it described Z as "a brilliant strategy game that is so hard Like all Bitmap Bros' games, there are loads of little touches that will amuse you, from the incompetent piss-head droids in the cut-scenes, flying you from level to level and crashing on the people flagging them in, to the voice which says, when you're struggling, 'You are so crap'. And you probably are. Z"

The old article is still available online: [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/reviews/reviews_story.php?id=3675&page=1 archived review by PC Zone]

External links

* [http://www.bitmap-brothers.co.uk/our-games/past/z.htm Zed section on the Official The Bitmap Brothers website]
* [http://zzone.lewe.com/ "ZZone " "Official" Zed fan site linked by The Bitmap Brothers]
* [http://www.gods-country.de/tcr/tcr_frames2.php?g=z "Z" at The Bitmap Brothers Tribute]
*
* [http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=1669 Home of the underdogs, Zed review]
* [http://www.gamegoldies.org/z-zed-bitmap-brothers/ Bitmap Brothers Zed Review & Download]
* [http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=2881 Vogon forum Thread , Zed under Linux]
* [http://www.strategyplanet.com/z/ Strategy Planet, Zed fan site]
* [http://zzone.lewe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28/ Z-Zone, Running Z on Windows XP using DosBox]
* [http://zzone.lewe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=304 Z-Zone, Z95 for Windows XP without emulation]