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Z (video game)

Z
Z The Bitmap Brothers.PNG
Cover art
Developer(s) The Bitmap Brothers
Publisher(s) Virgin Interactive (PC)
GT Interactive (PS/SAT)
Engine Zod Engine
Platform(s) MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows, Macintosh, iOS, Android
Release PC
  • EU: July 1996
  • NA: 31 July 1996
PlayStation
  • EU: December 1997
Saturn
  • EU: 1998
iOS
  • NA: 13 July 2011
  • EU: 13 July 2011
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer

Z (pronounced Zed) is a 1996 real-time strategy computer game by The Bitmap Brothers. It is about two armies of robots (red and blue) battling to conquer different planets.

A sequel, Z: Steel Soldiers, was published in 2001.

The game opens with General Zod shooting the Bitmap Brothers Logo off the screen. Meanwhile, a Supply Ship is adrift in space. Its occupants, two robots named Brad and Allan, wake up to the radio buzzer. The two find two new messages from General Zod. The first shows Zod telling about his delivery, one hour overdue; the second shows him threatening to "kick their red butts" if he finds out about them slacking off. Allan and Brad just resume their mission. The two constantly steer the ship in a bunch of twists and turns (one sends them knocking the game's title into the opening credits, which are just visible in space), and finally arriving at their first destination. Their mission sends them across twenty levels on five planets, fighting enemy soldiers. Only when the five planets are conquered will the party begin.

After the final level, Zod gets a promotion to Supreme Space Colonel. Zod and the other soldiers celebrate by drinking many cans of rocket fuel, and by the next morning, so many discarded cans litter the ground that Brad and Allan are sick. Zod gets into the Supply Ship with Brad and Allan and decides to show them how to fly the spacecraft. Zod uses the ship to pull acrobatic stunts in space, leaving Brad thrilled. When Allan pulls another can of rocket fuel from the box, he notices a "do not shake" warning on its side. He shakes it up and tosses it to Zod. When Zod opens the can, an explosion blows the ship apart. Brad and Allan are hurled off, and Zod's hat can be seen floating in deep space.

Unlike traditional real-time strategy (RTS) games, collecting resources or building specific structures is unnecessary for creating an army - the same principle that was introduced by Nether Earth, one of the RTS games ancestors. Regions and structures within their borders that actually manufacture the units are captured by moving troops to their respective flags. All you need to do is to hold acquired position for a certain amount of time while the unit is manufacturing. The more regions are under the player's control, the less the time required. More powerful units take more time to construct.


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Wikipedia

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