One Must Fall 2097

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
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
This game is one of the very few 2D arcade fighter for the PC that really shine. It's original, fun to play, and still holds it's own after all these years. The graphics were very good and still work nowadays, but the real winner in this game are the tournament modes which are a great way of extending gameplay and were a first in 2-D arcade fighters. You can customize your 'bot in lots of ways, and offers an unique challenge that lasts a lot more than the standard "arcade/story" game mode.

The Bad
There are a lot of flaws with this game that will make it a not-so-hot game to the eyes of fighting aficionados. Mainly the lame special moves, the lack of scrolling arenas (which REALLY cramps up the action) and a strikingly slow-paced action, when compared to other beat 'em ups. Plus some of the bots are really lame.

The only other gripe I have with the game is a love or hate thing. Quite frankly giant bots are cool if they tear up cities and cause nuclear explosions when they fight. If you take stuff like that away the premise then gets really lame and I'm guessing most fighting veterans like me prefer the good 'ol "in your face" fist fights between humans than this "light" version of bot mashing.

The Bottom Line
For a PC gamer this is as good as it gets. It's original, it's got more gameplay and re-playability in it than those lame console ports and it delivers some serious fun. For those already versed in the world of "Sho-Ryu-Kens" this is no masterpiece, but it's still quite good and offers a nice change of pace.

The Good
Great overall execution for being a PC fighting game, the gameplay is one of his strongest points. The game is real addictive, the fact that you can upgrade your robot makes your game rely more on your strategy than in your ability in fighting (although it really helps...) Also the music was real cool, some simple but effective early 90s techno-tunes will be by your side as you kick some metallic asses.

The Bad
The controls were a bit limited and the 'anime-ish' portraits of the characters were a bit cheap-drawn, also some robots were a bit ridiculous-looking, remember Tranzor Z?

The Bottom Line
Very original and addictive, Epic Megagames doesn't only makes great platform games!

The Good
Where could I start? It's hard enough to find a fighting game worth playing on the PC and to top it off it's freeware! I first found OMF after playing the shareware a few years back and I instantly fell in love even though it was on a black and white monitor on an old 486. What makes this game stand out amongst fighting games especially for the PC is the incredibly simple controls and the RPG like tornament mode where you can buy robots and boost their stats and even boost your stats as a pilot. 1 player mode was dissapointing but the tornament mode more than made up for it. The graphics are much more than expected for a game of it's age and the music really hypes you up. Speaking of sound each time you score a hit there is a wonderful metal clanging noise. Another great thing about the tornaments is the ability to customize your robots colors. It has many aspects of a great fighting game even a fatality like "scrap" and "destruction" moves, but also has a great story and tons of secrets and extras. A total master piece.

The Bad
Sometimes things get annoying like the news caster or that repair guy saying the samething but at the same time these things make the game great and it's always satisfying to see your final blow on the news.

The Bottom Line
You might be thinking this is baloney because of the games age but the graphics are smooth though the sprites are a bit choopy (300X200) but they are rendered to fool you that they're 3D. If you love fighting games or RPG's then this game is defenatly worth downloading (HEY IT'S FREE). If you have a more powerful computer check out www.omf.com about information about the all new 3D game OMF Battlegrounds.

The Good
This game simply rocks!!! alhtough it's published six years ago, this game is still much better than a lot of the other games that are out there...

Each robot has its own special moves, and each has its own extremely different aptitudes. Adding ot that is the pilots, who vary in speed, stamina, and strength...This gives a huge combination of playing styles...You can play it over and over again, and still there will be enough variety for you to come back for more...

The tournament mode is innovative...you can win matches to earn money, and with the money, you can upgrade your robots or your pilots...this way, you can customize your robot to your own playing style...

It runs great on any system!!! Unlike many old games that don't support the computers of today, OMF runs smoothly, with no tinkering needed...

The graphics and music are all pretty good...the animations of the moves and scraps are well done...

The Bad
Some bugs in the AI...ie you can do some combos over and over again, and the computer never seems to be able to block them...but these are so few, so it has basically no effect on the gameplay...

The Bottom Line
Defnitely better than most of the fighting games out there...download it now, and you'll be sucked into this awesome game...

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!

The Good
The music is very good, the gameplay is great, and the backgrounds are awesome. The varied robots are actually very different from one another, and not just when it comes to secret moves. The controls are very simple and intuitive, with only two attack buttons! In the story mode, you can pick from different pilots with varying speed, stamina and power to fight in the robot of your choice providing extra replay value.

The very best part of the game though is the tournament mode. You start out with a bare bone Jaguar robot and a wussy pilot. Each fight you win gives you money for upgrades and training, and later you might trade in your robot for a different model. You have to be careful because if you lose, you might have to sell some valuable components to pay for the repair costs. Even if you win, you might not get much money if you suffer a lot of damage during the fight, and the better your robot the more the repairs cost! This ability to upgrade your fighter and to change robots at any time you can afford one extends the replay value of the game beyond that of ANY other fighting game on ANY system! The many secret characters don't hurt either.

The Bad
N/A

The Bottom Line
Play the best fighting game on the PC and arguably in the world. The tournament mode will drag you back again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again...

The Good
Everything, starting with the gameplay itself. The game is addictive, challenging and most importantly FUN. The graphics are really well drawn and the robot models are detailed; the game engine is extremely well programmed (runs really well on a 486); the music is simply great and the design and concept are HUGE!

The Bad
Nothing! It rocks!

The Bottom Line
Seen Street Fighter 2? Liked it? No? Try this one.

The Good
It looks great! Those shiny 3D modeled robots fighting in cool arenas really really look astounding! The control system is intuitive: Precise controls, easy to do combos.

There is no gore in this game (instead lots of machine parts spread around). The most addictive part is definetely the tournament mode where you can upgrade your robot, and fight in your way!

The Bad
The backgrounds unfortunately do not scroll.

The Bottom Line
An incredible piece of gaming software, which is a lot of fun to play. And it's now freeware! So what are you waiting for? Visit the Diversions web site, and download your own copy (only 6 megs).