Reviewed: February 29, 2004
Reviewed by: Daniel Sayre
Publisher
Diversions Publishing/Tri Synergy
Developer
Diversions Entertainment
Released: December 22, 2003
Genre: Fighting
Players: 16
ESRB: Teen
4
8
4
7
6.0
System Requirements:
System Requirements:
Who doesn’t love robots? I mean, very few people don’t like robots. Say fighting robots, and the love level just goes through the roof. Our culture abounds with robots, Optimus Prime, Cy-kill, etc.
Serving as a sequel to the cult classic One Must Fall 2097, One Must Fall Battlegrounds occurs about two decades removed from the original. OMF:BG is at heart a fighting game that sees you, the player, controlling fighting machines through a “neural link.” With both pilots and robot fighters to choose from, you can have many customizations. Let’s see how things work from a gameplay perspective.
After choosing a pilot, whose skill level affects the robot’s attack power, speed, health, and projectile effectiveness, you are free to pick your robot fighter. The game features eight robots, each with four separate skins.
Battles, of which there are four different kinds, take place in diverse arenas. Battles can also be between as many as six fighters. Gameplay is basically over the Internet between people. The included single player isn’t marvelous, but is more then just a throwaway to help you train for the on-line battles. The “story” is you trying to make your name in the world of robotic fighting. Grudges, double-crossing, etc are par for the course. Not terribly long, but somewhat enjoyable.
Moves, as well as combos, are fairly basic and don’t require more then a few button presses. Controls as a whole are really imprecise and floaty. Turning is wide and the control just isn’t adequate to properly guide the action.
Basic gameplay is a slow, dumbed down version, of Powerstone. The arenas are large; some have hazards, and a few weapons to use against the opposition. Unfortunately, the movement is slow as molasses.
It takes an eternity to cross the space between foes with some robots and even when close to them, there is no guarantee you’ll be able to hit them due to the imperfect controls. A gamepad is highly recommended and almost necessary, the keyboard just didn’t cut it.
Attacks beyond the standard punch, kick, and energy ball are also represented. Each robot has several super attacks. These attacks are huge, flashy, and dish out the hurt. Large amounts of energy are consumed whenever they are used, but they are well worth the expenditure.
I was not able to participate in any Multiplayer matches; OMF:BG is the only game I have never been able to run over the Internet. Multiplayer is possible, I’ve heard it discussed, but couldn’t try it myself. Even patching the game didn’t resolve the issue. Not a good start for a shipping version of a game primarily intended for online play.
PATCH THE GAME is the best advice I can give on the graphics front. Out of the box, OMF:BG looked sloppy, ran slow, and wasn’t very enjoyable to play. The recommended specs are 1 GHz CPU, 256MB of RAM, an advanced 3D accelerator. I have a 2.0Ghz, 512mb or RAM, and a Radeon 9700 Pro, nearly double the recommended stats and still had problems. I was getting about 20 jerky frames per second on low detail at 1024X768. NOT the best set of circumstances. After the patch I can run with everything maxed at 1600X1200. Much better.
The pilots are represented by portraits that are generally well done. The robots each have fairly distinct bodies. You are given a choice of four paint jobs for each robot. These paint jobs basically consist of some arranging of gold and silver. So even with bodies that are easy to tell apart, the paintjobs tend to blur them all together. There are also some seams on a few textures, which really detracts from the otherwise professional appearance.
The menus in the unpatched version look really bad, like something out of 1995 budget-ware. After the patch, it becomes a lot sleeker and with much cooler menus and special effects.
Particles, flames, and explosions look really good. Sparks fly when the robots strike each other. The environments and environmental hazards also look great. The environments are a lot more diverse then the robot-fighting cast. There are themed stages that really are a joy to look at.
The majority of the sound in OMF:BG is dedicated to the sounds of battle. There is a particularly annoying looping song during the menus, and not much music to speak off. An announcer and the fighting sounds (clashes, clanging, etc.) are about all that is present during the matches.
Special attacks and energy balls also have their distinct noises. Narration for the single player is merely text and not spoken. The music during battles is nothing special or extraordinary.
OMF:BG touts its neigh infinite modability. The premise is promising, but the tools haven’t yet been released. They are being worked on and, I assume, will eventually be released. This is any area where the game really excites me.
Almost anything can be changed so if people don’t particularly like the game, someone could make something (perhaps a Transformers mod) that would get more people interested. Skins could be made, attacks, the field is almost limitless.
Out of the box, you have only 8 robot fighters, 10 pilots and 12 arenas, online play (if you can get it working) and a semi-basic single player mode. The fighting isn’t that deep and repetitiveness can quickly become an issue.
in the third dimension. OMF:BG doesn’t quite nail it. Control is one of the most important things to truly let you connect with a game. With OMF I was unable to establish this connection and the game just didn’t really entertain me or draw me in. Fighting, the main thrust of the game, was often a chore.
The robots themselves were great; the attacks were standard, with a few sparks of something more. The environments themselves were easily the most appealing part of the experience. More hazards and items to pick up would’ve helped the title immeasurably.
One Must Fall: Battlegrounds will run you about $30. This was smart because there would be no way I could recommend it for $50. The community hasn’t really gotten off the ground, but the potential is definitely there. Go with a demo first, and if you like that then take the plunge. If you don’t like 3D fighters though, there’s nothing here that’s going to change your mind, even if you love robots.
Additional Comments from GCM writer Aaron Daigle:
Once I managed to get One Must Fall: Battlegrounds to run with out causing my OS to lock up, I found a game that, while intriguing, had a handful of issues that kept me from enjoying it to the extent I would have liked. After installing the latest set of patches, the game engine looks pretty sharp, it runs very smooth, but the pace of the battles is slooooooooow. It feels like your robot is wading through an invisible lake of peanut butter, switching the controls to a standard WASD setup helps you move more efficiently, but it still doesn’t really have the agile feel of most of the other fighters on the market.
The fixed third person camera system that OMF:BG employs isn’t really well suited to the sort of hand to hand action that the game revolves around. Couple those issues with the fact that there are still some gameplay bugs in the single player mode that need to be fixed and that leads us to my next point. The online component of One Must Fall is probably the most compelling reason to pick up this title. Battling it out with other players is the most entertaining part of this title and landing huge combos on a human opponent that’s hundreds or even thousands of miles away is pretty cool.
When you come down to it though, the lack of depth in the fighting system coupled with slow play and the still numerous bugs make this title hard to recommend to even the most rabid fighting fans.
My Score: 5.5