Some people play video games, and they are content. Some people play a video game, then find a way to exploit the game so they can cheat, or gain an advantage over the other players. In the gaming racket we call those types of people "hackers". Then comes the third type of game player: the good natured modder. These heroic players learn how the game works, and make new game files to share with others. This adds more variety to a game, enhancing it. Since the modder has shared all his modified files, there is no advantage. Everyone is still on the same level, playing the same game, and this adds to the available fun. One way a game can be modified is through the use of a level editor. Many great games for the PC have come with level editors. Star Craft, Unreal Tournament, Battlefield 1942, Delta Force, Quake, Tomb Raider, and guess what else? If you guessed "Battlezone", you're right.
The Red Odyssey, by Team Evolve for Activision. The Official Expansion Pack for Battlezone is called The Red Odyssey. This involves the Red Army (Chinese) versus both the Black Dog squadron (Americans) and the CCA (Soviets). New tanks, production units, and structures are introduced, and a whole new Single Player Campaign.
Here is a Black Dog Grizzly Tank, the main American tank in The Red Odyssey. It appears as the player's vehicle in most American single player missions. It is armed with an SP-Stabber (super anti-tank cannon), a Splinter Mortar (slings shrapnel all around, or self-explodes on contact with another vehicle), and a Proximity Mine dropper. It has room to add a Minigun, or another cannon type weapon. It has less armor than NSDF tanks to make up for the SP-Stabber.
Here is Kaksha Tank, the main unit of the Chinese. It has equal armor but more ammo capacity than the Black Dog Tank. It comes armed with Chinese anti-tank SP-Stabber, and a Pop Gun (an indirect fire pop-up rocket which then homes in on an enemy). It can also has room to add another cannon type weapon. The multiplayer variety also has a MAG Cannon. The Kaksha can also Cloak itself, rendering it invisible and undetectable on radar.
Here is an Black Dog Red Devil. It has less armor, higher ammo capacity than a Black Dog Tank, but extremely fast speed, even better than the NSDF Scout! It comes armed with a TAG Cannon salvo missile launcher and a Hornet heat-seeking missile launcher, and room to install a Mortar type, and a Special type weapon. It's red paint job is to disguise it against the CCA, so "by the time the Soviets realize it isn't one of their own, they won't know what hit them"
Here is a Chinese Naga Light Tank. It also has more armor than the Red Devil, but less ammo capacity. It comes armed with a TAG Cannon, which fires a homing device... if it hits you, a salvo of ten Tag missiles follows the homing device. It also comes with a Sandbag Rocket, which has a slowing effect on the engine of any vehicle it hits. The Naga also has the ability to Cloak itself, rendering it invisible and undetectable on radar.
Battlezone II: Combat Commander, by Pandemic Studios for Activision. This author hesitates to promote Battlezone II, because it is like comparing apples to monkey wrenches. However, I would be remiss not to make some mention of "BZ II". This game was intended to be a sequel to Battlezone, but it fell short of the mark by not inheriting many of the qualities of Battlezone. Pictured here is a BZ II Sabre Tank converted to Battlezone by Dx*, which then became a popular multiplayer Tank.
Battlezone Enhanced (or BzE for short) is the most recent brother of Battlezone, and currently available from the Sector Zero BzE Post. (Be sure to scroll down enough to see the download links.) BzE includes everything that made Battlezone the Game of the Year in 1998, but now with "enhanced" additions. It may be incorrect to use the word "mod" to describe for that reason: the original game is mostly unscathed. The Hadean Crown, Olympian Armada, and Black Dog models and skins are removed to make room for other elements. Those models being gone makes no significant effect on gameplay however, as it should be noted that BzE is a Multiplayer Only expansion. More details can be gleaned from viewing screenshots of Battlezone Enhanced, which show other varieties of vehicles in action, structures available, and weapons being fired. Here is a small sampling of some of the added units...
Here is a BzE Sabre Tank. It features a Plasma Cannon, an empty cannon hardpoint where another cannon type weapon can be added, an MD (Manual Detonation) Mortar (which can be triggered mid-air, or self-explodes on contact with another vehicle), and an SL-Mine (short life mine) dropper. The BzE Sabre is the Tank unit in a whole fleet of "I.S.D.F." (International Space Defense Force) units, all sporting this nifty metallic grey color.
Here is a BzE Maat Bomber. This Bomber is from a race called the Uler, which originally appeared in a mod for BZ II, and was converted for Battlezone Enhanced by Dx. It feature better than average armor strength and ammo count compared to other bombers. In similarity to other Bombers, it carries two Rocket launchers, firing a variant called a Si-Rocket. The Maat also carries a Si-SLM (another short life mine variant) dropper, unlike most other Bombers.
Here is a BzE Manta Hovercraft. The original Manta appeared in Unreal Tournament 2004, and was converted for use in Battlezone Enhanced by Dx. The Manta is a flying vehicle. It has armor and ammo capacity similar to a Light Tank. The manta is armed with two cannon hardpoints carrying Ion Guns, which could be described as a laser bolt machinegun. It also has a Hellfire rocket launcher. The Hellfire is a semi-homing rocket which will alter its course slightly to hit its target.
Here is a BzE Xares Tank. The Xares originally apperaed in a BZ II mod called "Forgotten Enemies" and was converted for use in Battlezone Enhanced by Dx. The Xares is a unique Tank because it carries three cannon hardpoints, the center one fires a plasma Cannon, and the two side-mounted ones fire Ion Guns. The Xares Tank also carries the Thumper device, which causes a seismic ripple effect over terrain, causing structures to waver and hovering units to become disoriented.
Other mods worthy of mentioning:
• Battlezone Anarchy Mod by modder {Búrn} is a thoroughly altered version of The Red Odyssey, including many all-new planets, all-new weapons and fresh unit skins.
• ~Öç~BMRmod by ~Öç~ Loki, BMR*Cap, (and probably Dx) introduced many of the BZ II units with wildly painted colorful skins, and an impressive variety of modified weapons.
• Battlezone 1.8 Patch by Radigator offered the first pilotable flying units, as well as vastly enhanced explosion and weapon graphics.
• Biö Battlezone, Battle Soldiers, and Biö Dogs: all by Biö-Hazard offered modified Production units that built working Hadean Crown & Olympian Armada structures that would shoot at you (or for you), Soldiers with insane weapon loadouts, and introduced camoflague skin techniques.
• Chiapas by Alex-of-Zod was a South American flavored map which came with a nearly complete set of new skins for units and structures which gave the map a jungle-like atmosphere. This particular map's features changed the units and structures for the entire game, however, as this was an addon map, not a complete seperately installed mod.
• Resurrection Alpha by Dx is another expansion based on The Red Odyssey engine. It offered more races of alien opponents to play with, as well as many new weapons and textures. Some of what RA offered is now present in BzE.
• EDF Mod by ~YG~ /\//\\/ Beacon is a "Top Secret" work in progress which will offer modified weapons and units, along with at least one brand new unit. No additional information shall be disclosed at this time.
* Dx is (in this webmaster's opinion) the Premier modder of Battlezone 1.4 because he can do things nobody else can do.
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