Rockets leave wispy smoke contrails behind, explosions cast brilliant glows on the alien landscapes, detailed Gear outlines and textures and leave you breathless. Maybe Activision could do some of that the next time. Planetary landscapes are nicely done, from tundra snowy landscapes to barren rocky outcrops, the industrial gloom of a city and Zero G space combat, just to name a few. There s also plenty of terrain cover to hide your gear and do cowardly attacks from. Enemy AI responds blowing away at your cover too, so never stay too long behind them.
Sound effects add the feel and gameplay of a game, lousy sound effects do injustice.
Missile impact sounds, laser cannon buzz, explosions bring out the life in this game. Voice chatter is clear and crisp. That s not up to me to say, but it s definitely a strong contender. You want your gritty combat scenes, you want your good graphics, you want brawling mecha combat, get HG2. It reaches out to non-RPG Heavy Gear players, it s got one already.