One Must Fall 2097

The Good
I positively LOATHE fighting games. I can't stand all the Street Fighters, Mortal Kombats, Tekkens, and other assorted quarter-munching, 30-seconds and you're dead games.

But OMF:2097 is different. I can't put my finger on it, but it's different from the other games.

The graphics are good for its time. But it runs really smooth on my old P233. Th fact that you can adjust the speed of the game jsut goes to show the amount of thought that went into the games design. Another great graphical/gameplay touch is the interactive backgrounds. In each stage there are objects that can cause damage to your robot in the background. For instance, the desert level has jets that do fly-bys and strafe the arena with gunfire. It you get caught in the line of fire, you take damage. But you can also knock your opponent into the strafing run, damaging your opponent further.

The sound is good. Lots of clanging. ;)

The control, for me, is near perfect. I use an old Gravis-style gamepad, which is probably the best gamepad ever made. The game responds very well to the gamepad, which is great during intense fights.

And the gameplay in itself is superb. The entire pacakage of the game is well thought out and easy to learn.

The Bad
Not much. And considering I can't stand fighting games, that's a mircale in itself :)

The Bottom Line
It's a free game now, so there is no excuse for gamers not to enjoy one of the only great Fighting games ever to grace the PC Platform.

Go to the website and download it. I guarantee you'll love it.

The Good
Tournament play adds an unmatched RPG quality and makes for great replayability, and user addons as well. The unique pilot/robot system allows for over 100 possible combinations to fight with. News and tech reports after every fight add personality to the game. More secrets than any other fighting game I've ever played. There's always another hidden feature! A great sense of originality: each robot has completely different moves and looks. The arenas actually have an impact on your fight, from electric walls to jet plane attacks. Great music and sound (Epic's trademark).

The Bad
Most of the best features (like the air combos, super jumps, and block damage) are only accessible as secrets. Kind of annoying. Also, the announcer is repetitive the better you get (as you lose more badly, she gets funnier, though.)

The Bottom Line
I can't make the point enough times: THE BEST FIGHTER FOR THE PC. EVER. Similar games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, or Killer Instinct can do nothing against a game with over 40 different characters, almost no learning curve, and an RPG-style tournament mode that keeps you coming back for more. Not to mention the secret characters, moves, and even arenas!

The Good
The first time I played this game I admired it for it's great graphics which were also quite fast with my 'powerful' 486 33 MHz. Last year I tried to play this game again and to my surprise I found myself addicted to the classic once again. The graphics are just 320x200, but that doesen't matter too much. When I had finished the single player game, I started to play against my friends and that was FUN. I mean FUN! fun fun fun fun... Sorry.... You really have to play this game against a friend. It's full of odd tactics etc.

The Bad
The single player game was a bit easy, but I guess I played the game more than many other people. Also as mentioned before the game has only low resolution, but that doesen't keep you from enjoying the wonderful gameplay. The worst thing is trying to get this game run on a modern computer. Luckily I have an old one sitting beside me, so no problem there for me.

The Bottom Line
Beat the computer or your friend with a large robot. Now that this game is finally free (great decision from the developer btw), you just don't have a choice here - DOWNLOAD THIS GAME NOW!