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Review: Beach Head 2000
January 2001 || Volume 01, Issue 06
Review by Erica J. Marceau

Smiley

1 Smiley - 1 Smiley Poor, 5 Smileys Excellent

Beach Head 2000 Icon Title: Beach Head 2000
Version: 1.0
Developer: Digital Fusion
Price: $19.99
Contact Info: http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft
Genre: Arcade Shooter
ESRB Rating: Teens
System Requirements:

  • PowerPC 603 225Mhz or faster, PowerPC 604 180Mhz or faster, or any G3 or G4 (G3 or better with 64MB RAM is recommended)
  • Requires Mac OS 8.1 or later
  • 32MB RAM
  • CD-ROM drive
  • Requires QuickTime (included).

Platforms: Mac OS, Windows 9x

Forward

Some broken tanksImagine yourself looking over a beach on a cloudless day; perfect and serene. Except for the fact that it's in the middle of a war and you're the last line of defense against wave after wave of enemies that come at you both from air and sea. Are you a good enough shot to defend your country against the invading enemy? Find out in MacSoft's latest release: Beach Head 2000 (developed by Digital Fusion, Inc.)

The Gameplay

In Beach Head 2000, you are the last line of defense keeping the invading enemy from landing on home soil. In a first person perspective, your goal in each level is to destroy all of the enemies before your ammunition, the clock, or your bunker shield run out. Fortunately, there is a Resupply Plane that flies overhead and drops small boxes that contain ammunition or shielding for your bunker. To get the goodies, you have to shoot the boxes with your gun before they touch the ground. While this has been one of the standard resupply options since back in the Operation Wolf for NES days, it makes absolutely no sense to me since the game touts itself as being realistic. This is all there is to playing Beach Head 2000. The challenge comes from the ever-increasing amounts of enemies and determining the order of enemies to shoot at based on the effectiveness of the weapons and your limited ammunition -- quick thinking, reflexes and good luck are your friends here.

Weapons

Firing at solidersThere are five weapons that you use throughout the game. The primary weapon is an Antiaircraft Gun (AA) which is what I'm using the screenshot to the left. It fires bullets randomly from either the right or the left barrel and is good against both troops and aircraft. The next weapon is the Antitank Gun (AT) which is best used for tanks, barges, and troop transports. You also have a missile that is best used for aircraft and will lock onto flying targets when aimed at one. You're given artillery which is supposed to help you against troops, but I have found it missing more often than not. Finally, if you're desperate, you can use a pistol with very limited ammunition against any remaining troops.

I found that shooting was often an exercise in frustration. There are no crosshairs for any of the weapons and no real way to determine the distance between you and the enemies so shooting is often a matter of luck. The AA is even worse because there is no pattern to which barrel gets fired. The left barrel might fire 3 times and then the right barrel and then it goes back to the left barrel for 5 more times. So when I was trying to shoot a lone solider, it was easier to switch to my pistol because I'd waste too much ammunition otherwise. Furthermore, the bullets that come out of the gun are little glowing balls -- not too realistic. I can understand why since they help you to aim, but I would much rather have crosshairs and non-glowing bullets.

Enemies

Firing a missle at a Fighter JetThere are eight types of enemies that you'll have to defend your beach from. The first enemy that you'll encounter is the common soldier that gets dropped off onto the beach in Troop Barges that arrive by sea. The best bet to get rid of them is to use your AA right when they start coming out from the Troop Barge when they are all clumped up together and aiming is easiest. The Troop Barges also carry Armored Personnel Carriers which are like tanks but transport soldiers on the beach and have no weapons. They usually attempt to go behind you to let off the soldiers and a shot from your AT stops them in their tracks. Soldiers also get dropped off in Troop Choppers which also have no weapons and which can be taken out with your AA or with missiles To finish off the land enemies, tanks will rumble out of Troop Barges and use their cannons to attack you. The Attack Helicopter fires rockets and a machine gun at you and are pretty fast so hitting them isn't easy. The best bet is to fire at them when they hover to fire at you. You also have to contend with Fighter Jets that can quickly fly out of your range. They drop bombs on you and fire a machine gun at you so using a missile is the best idea to bring them down. There are also Heavy Bombers that drop destructive bombs on you and who are so high up that the best way to destroy them are with missiles.

The biggest frustration I had with the enemies is with the Troop Barges and how they appear. As you can see in the screenshots, you have a clear view of the water from your vantage point on the beach. I thought that it would be possible to see the Troop Barges coming in from a long distance. Alas, the opposite is the case and they don't appear until they are practically landing on the beach. This made planning my strategy harder because I could take my eyes off the beach for 10 seconds to fire at an Attack Helicopter only to see 5 Troop Barges releasing hoards of soldiers and tanks. I would have liked a more advanced warning. The only good thing about Troop Barges is that you can use your AT and destroy them and everything that they carry in one fell swoop.

Okay, so what do you think?

One last fighterNow you know everything there is to know about Beach Head 2000, except how mind numbingly boring and dull it is. There is nothing to this game except shooting at enemies and hearing soldiers scream as they die. The only strategy is prioritizing which enemy to target and conserving your ammunition, and that gets very boring. There is one scene which is a bunch of pixellated textures that is far from the "photo-realistic 3D graphics" that is featured on the back of the box. The box also says that Beach Head 2000 "simulates the drama of military conflict" -- a statement I can only laugh at.

The only redeeming quality is that Beach Head 2000 has a nonexistent learning curve so that anyone can start playing with barely a glance at the back of the box. That could make it perfect for casual gamers who might only have 15 or 30 minutes of gaming time and don't want to spend time working in a game or learning how to play one. However, I can't even recommend Beach Head 2000 to those people because it is so boring and dull and lacking in any enjoyable gameplay. Unfortunately, unlike many games out there, Beach Head 2000 doesn't offer a demo for you to download and test out. Your $20 could better be spent elsewhere this holiday season.

Erica's Icon Erica J. Marceau - erica@macosjournal.com
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