Originally, I figured I'd play Z.A.R. for this Together Retro. Then I actually played it, and I realized that what I thought was possibly a robot fighting robots was in fact a guy in a space suit fighting robots. Then I got further into the game and discovered the guy is apparently some kind of cyborg, and often times the forces of humanity send along groups of hacked robot drones to fight alongside you as you take down the Z.A.R. supercomputer that has weaponized itself against humanity.
So screw it, there are now robots killing robots. I'm gonna talk about Z.A.R.
Z.A.R. is a first person shooter about a war to save an Earth overridden with pollution and in desperate need of a rare element known as Iberium to keep the ecological situation from reaching the breaking point. To save the planet, humanity sent the Z.A.R. supercomputer system into deep space with the ability to construct, replicate, and think strategically, with the plan that it would automate the mining of Iberium and ship it back to Earth to sustain the planet. It worked...for a time. Then the computer got struck by a meteor, and the resulting calamity caused the program to commit a faulty execution. Now it's building military machines and holding hostage the same element it was originally meant to ship.
To stop the computer and save the Earth, one man, Colonel Hermit, is strapped into an armored space suit and sent out to do the dirty work of combating the supercomputer's forces. As you fight your way across a myriad of planets with different ecosystems, you'll blast the automated defense systems, production facilities, computer networks, and a variety of military hardware that the computer is planning to use. You'll also occasionally have to fight for Iberium storehouses, protect communication systems, strip defenses off of power supplies, and even destroy robot convoys. Sometimes the military sends in squadrons of hacked drones to give you air support. Sometimes the computer system on a given planet has gone so haywire that all machines are in an open war with each other, and you're wandering into a hail of artillery and gunfire from every angle.
You know what the most impressive thing about this game is? It has fully destructible environments...in 1997! In fact, there are weapons which operate purely on this mechanic, such as the whirlwind gun which shoots out a tornado that ravages the landscape in a straight line. You can blast craters, shoot out firing positions, and freaking mine your way through things if you so desire. One level even has the player navigating an ice floe while dealing with incoming artillery fire which destroys the ice, making it a lot trickier if you want to go back to resupply your ammunition. And you will, because your guns don't hold much.
The weapons are also an interesting mix, with lots of explosive options. Nothing is hit scan, so you either get to rely on the auto aim or must learn to judge distance and lead your targets properly. There is no shotgun option, which is a little weird since it's usually a mainstay, but your minigun, rocket launcher, grenade launcher, and even a flamethrower and napalm launcher are all possibilities. You just won't get most of these at the same time, because there's an interesting quirk: the teleport system you're using isn't the most advanced. It has to beam down your ammunition and weapons separately, so every level starts with a mad dash to grab your gear. Run out of ammo, and you have to wait for more to be teleported in. When you finish the level, you also have to find the teleport extraction point and jump in it; there is no locking on your position, you better find it, and you better hope you've got the gun, the armor, and the balls to get to it if it's in a bad position.
Now get used to getting hurt, because this game offers up short missions, but they can be grueling matches. One quirk of Z.A.R. is that shrapnel will hurt you, so even if you just killed the enemy, their death might result in yours. Pieces of the landscape blowing up also create potentially deadly shrapnel, and some offer up geysers or things like acid lakes, lava, or freezing water which will hurt to enter. Also, if you get hit at the wrong angle by an explosive, you may well find yourself launched, which will hurt further because fall damage is a nasty fact of life, and even your suit's jump jets will launch you high enough to hurt you. Yep, you can self-inflict by hitting the wrong button, flying up into the air, and hitting the ground at the same level you left it, so you better get used to your maneuverability and the couple of jumping options you have to get around.
It's a shame this game has received so little attention. It may not be the most attractive thing in the world, but for what it does, and for when it was doing it, it's amazing. It's also a lot of fun, and you get very used to employing ambush and hit-and-run tactics.
