Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri
Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri was an immeasurably revolutionary computer game released in 1996.
Terra Nova established the outdoor first person shooter genre with extreme render distances and advanced physics modelling including gravity simulation, water reflections, player movement systems, and weather conditions. Terra Nova also pioneered and perfected squad commanding in an fps environment, with competent, realistic bots. The squad members performed the player’s exact commands, ranging from movement options, tactics, engagement techniques, and special abilities. Terra Nova even pioneered exosuit simulators, inspiring the Tribe series of fps’s. It is a very technical simulation, with the missions requiring strategic planning, in outfitting the squad with weapons, suits, pilots, and, “alternative suit functions.” Alternate Suit Functions, or A.S.F.’s, permitted an operator to perform an ability, including deploying sentry turrets, additional suit shields, demolition explosives, power plants, repair modules, cloaking, and other abilities. On most missions, the player had to rely on the bots to perform tasks for the player, either defending a structure, destroying enemy fortifications, and scouting. The player managed all of these tasks via three multi-function displays, similarly to an aerospace fighter jet. The player had access to a powerful and immersive mapping program, drones, damage outputs, and A.S.F. controls. The player also had access to jump jets. Jump jets were integral to gameplay, allowing for mountains to be scaled with ease and impossible maneuvers to be performed.
– Real player with 79.7 hrs in game
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18-09-2016: Updated review after second playthrough: added some lines, fixed a few errors.
This review does not go into details of how the game works, nor does it mention everything. It only broadly explains what you can expect when playing it.
So, one would hear about this game, and would at first glance think: Well, this game looks interesting, let’s give it a try, right? It’s made by Looking Glass after all! (sounds a whole lot like me ;)
And then you play it. Holy crap, this game is amazing. Complexity unlike i’ve ever seen before, to the point that I have learned so much to fill a whole game at my second playthrough alone. one of the best soundtracks i’ve ever heard (albeit pretty biased), a story that starts very cheesy but then keeps punching you in the face with plot-twists and the gameplay is nothing short of excellent either.
– Real player with 45.9 hrs in game