digitec plays "Z": Time for a round of retro with cheeky robots

Philipp Rüegg

14.3.2019

Translation: machine translated

We are playing the best real-time strategy game of all time. At least that's what I used to think. Let's see if that's only due to the retro glasses or if Commander Zod and his chatty red robots still have what it takes. The stream starts at 11:00.

I remember it like it was yesterday: It's 1996 my girlfriend is away getting a tan in the South Seas. Wait, wrong text. It's 1996 and my brother and I are allowed to choose our own game for the very first time. We are visiting family in Bern and take the opportunity to visit one of these legendary games shops. The walls are stacked to the ceiling with games. It's a dream. For the very first time, we are allowed to buy our own game with our savings. After much deliberation, I decide in favour of "Worms". Worms with rocket launchers, you can't go wrong with that. My brother buys a strategy game called "Z". The cover is undeniably cool, but with my battle-hungry worms, I'm sure I've made the better choice. I should be wrong.

I haven't regretted buying "Worms" at all. But after looking over my brother's shoulder a few times, I had to try out this "Z" for myself. A game that is cheeky enough to be satisfied with a single letter: There must be something behind it.

Drunk robots with tough tactics

The game starts with a cutscene. A spaceship is floating somewhere in space. Two hungover robots are snoring in it, having drunk too much engine oil. They have overslept and some important battle has already begun without them. Their cigar-smoking superior, Commander Zod, wearing cool sunglasses, sparks angrily at them and gives them a good telling off. As a 14-year-old, I was immediately taken in by the humour that arises from the relationship between the two goofy robots and the ultra-cool commander.

However, the fun only begins with the actual game. The campaign consists of 20 levels in which you have to defeat the enemy commander. Each battlefield is divided into a fixed number of sectors. By touching a flag, you bring a sector under your control and the colour changes from red to blue or vice versa. The more sectors you control, the faster your factories produce robots, vehicles and guns.

In "Z" there are three ways to win. Either you destroy the enemy fort, all enemy units or you manage to walk into the fort with a unit. However, the enemy commander will fight back tooth and nail - and with deadly artillery.

In the beginning, you can only produce combat troops in your fort. As no buildings are constructed in "Z" as in "Command & Conquer", you have to rely on the few factories scattered around the map. The player who controls the respective sector produces the factories for them.

Every unit counts

Since every foot troop and every vehicle takes several minutes to produce in "Z", you never fight with large armies. Every warrior unit, no matter how small, can be the deciding factor in a match. When I managed to produce a heavy tank for the first time, I was beaming all over my face. Almost impenetrable armour and a projectile that turns practically any unit into scrap iron with a single shot. Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived. A few moments later, I lost the magnificent piece of armour to my rival. The stupid armoured driver regularly sticks his head out of the vehicle. The enemy commander naturally has his snipers nearby to exploit this weakness. The only thing worse than a destroyed tank is a tank that falls into the hands of the enemy. Arrrrg. "Z" you are so mean, but also so good.

The different units are the heart of the game. Whether fighters, psychos or lasers - their little profile picture told me everything I needed to know about their personality. Since "Z" largely works on the rock-paper-scissors principle, a good mix is important. A jeep is good against most foot troops. Fighters can easily take on small to medium tanks with their rocket launchers. Fixed guns such as the howitzer defend your territory with their long range and firepower, even against heavy vehicles.

As "Z" is played in real time and every sector and every unit is hugely important, there are never any quiet moments. I was sweating blood when the enemy marched on my unprotected fort only to drop a puny jeep as cannon fodder at the very last second. It was just enough for my reinforcements to avert imminent defeat.

The ultimate victory is a long time coming

As a child, I made it to the last mission in "Z". The level is simply called: Z. But no matter how many times I tried, I never managed to bring the cursed blue commander to his knees. I was denied the well-deserved credits and YouTube didn't exist back then. It wasn't until about ten or 15 years ago that I installed the game again and finally managed to complete the final mission thanks to strategy tips from PC Games magazine. I sat back and waited for the last appearance of the chatterboxes and the tough Zod. But the screen remained black. I heard voices and music, but there was no video. Some cursed Windows compatibility problem was spoiling my reward. But I didn't give up. I looked for the video files in the game folder, but the format was something unspeakable that neither the Realplayer nor the Mediaplayer could play. Somehow I finally managed to convert the FIles and finally, finally I was able to watch the well-deserved ending - which unfortunately wasn't particularly impressive.

Nevertheless, I loved every second of "Z" and it's still one of my absolute favourite games. In our Let's Play, Simon and I try to share some of the game's charm with you. <p

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur. more

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