In the game, the player must construct both offensive and defensive structures to launch attacks on enemy territory while protecting their own. With the exception of the I.C.B.M. silo, every structure occupies a single square on the map. The following buildings are available to both factions:
Bases: Bases are the most important building in the game. The player builds three bases on the island before starting the operation. The enemy can have one, two or three bases per mission. Bases can't be rebuilt, and the loss of all player bases is an automatic Game Over. The loss of every base of the enemy commander permits the player to advance to the next operation.
Missiles: The standard long-range weapon against the enemy structures, it costs 4K energy to launch. The missile damages a 3x3 area centered on the target location. It can be upgraded to a double missile which requires 8K energy per attack. Both the player and the enemy can launch a maximum of 4 missiles per attack.
Anti Air Batteries (A.A Missile): The only way to defend your island against enemy missiles and enemy transport ships. They launch a single missile against enemy missiles and transports with a starting 50% chance to hit. A missile requires one hit to be destroyed while transports require eight hits instead. It can be upgraded to a double A.A Missile launcher which launches two missiles at once.
Metal Marine: The game's namesake, it is a robot that can be used to attack the enemy territory or to defend the player ones. The standard unit is called Gunner-I, has 40HP and does 8HP of damage per attack. An upgraded Metal Marine is called Gunner-II and gets golden decorations, a bit more walking speed, 60HP and does 9HP damage instead. Only three Metal Marines can be selected to attack the enemy territory being transported in a transport aircraft. Also only three Metal Marines at once will defend player's island from enemy Metal Marines. Metal Marines have three different weapons to attack:
Normal Gun (NORMAL): Does the same damage against Metal Marines and Gun Pods (100%-Marine/100%-Pod). The long range gun is a gatling gun and the short range gun is a blue sword.
Anti Metal Marine Rifle (Anti MMR): Does 50% more damage to an enemy Metal Marine but instead does 50% less damage to Gun Pod bunkers (150%-Marine/50%-Pod). The long range gun is a rifle and the short range gun is an axe.
Anti Gun-Pod Bunker (Anti POD): Does 50% more damage to Gun Pod bunkers but instead does 50% less damage to enemy Metal Marines (50%-Marine/150%-Pod). The long range gun is a bazooka-like howitzer and the short range gun is a purple electric whip.
Gun Pods: The standard land defense unit. It has the same resistance as a Metal Marine and does almost the same damage. Only a Gunner-I AT-MMR Metal Marine in full HP or less will succumb to a Gun Pod bunker. AT-POD and NORMAL Metal Marines in full HP can destroy a Gun Pod bunker while surviving.
Land mines: Land mines are invisible to the enemy faction in the map. They can be destroyed by enemy missiles and activated by enemy Metal Marines. Every land mine causes 30HP damage to a Metal Marine.
Anti-Air Radar: Every radar station built in island increases the hit chance of every A.A Missile per 5% to a max of 100% effectiveness.
I.C.B.M. Silo: Most expensive building, slowest to build and biggest in size, as it occupies a 3x3 square landzone. The I.C.B.M. silo needs to have all of its nine squares intact to be able to work, and if a single square is destroyed it can't launch the I.C.B.M. weapon. The launch cost is 950K energy and uses the same anti-matter resource that started the 2117 incident. I.C.B.M. weapons cannot be taken down by A.A. batteries as they do not get in range for them, so it is a guaranteed destruction of a 3X3 diamond radius for a total of 25 squares of enemy land.
Supply Headquarters (Supply-HQ): Every Supply-HQ building the player has will provide one more money fund flow per second (+$1/s).
Energy Plant: Every energy plant the player has will provide one more energy kilowatt per second (+1K/s).
Factory: Every factory the player has speeds the building and upgrading time of every structure in island.
Dummy Base: Dummy bases look like bases, but have less HP. They are used as decoys to trick the enemy.
Dummy Unit: Dummy units are square terrains that cover player's bases and make them get undetected by the enemy. The attack of a single missile or Metal marine with any weapon destroys it immediately, so they are better used as base concealments.
Plot
The game is set in the year 2117, two years after a cataclysmic Antimatter War. The player leads a military force whose main unit is the Metal Marine: a 16-meter (50ft) high, 93-plus ton mecha.
The PC and SNES versions of the game feature a number of minor gameplay differences, namely the plot. In the PC version the player controls a commander of the "United Earth Empire" ("Empire" in short) a futuristic version of United Nations. The adversarial Zorguef's force is a dictatorial government. After conquering all space colonies, Zorguef sets his eyes on Earth and the player must take up arms to protect the planet. In the SNES version the player controls a commander of the "Space Colonies Allied Forces" ("SCAF" in short), an alliance formed by the independent space colonies. The primary mission is to take the battle to the Earth, which is currently in the grip of Zorguef's empire. The goal is to save the humans living on Earth who are being oppressed by Zorguef while securing the future of Space Colonies.[citation needed]
A special "Master Edition" of the PC version was released by Mindscape in 1996. In the Master Edition the characters were given voices, the overall look of the GUI changed, and the game featured better sound and warning effects.
In both versions, the game consists of 20 missions where the player will slowly regain the conquered territories of the Earth until the enemy force is defeated. The game is played in an isometric style when building and in an aerial grid style when planning an attack on the enemy territory. In the PC version both players can attack at the same time, while the SNES version only permits one attack at a time from one of the factions.
Reception
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Damien McFerran of Nintendo Life gave the Wii Virtual Console version a 7/10 score, noting the outdated gameplay to be too basic but nevertheless commended the game for its presentation and fun gameplay.[3] In contrast, Lee Meyer of Nintendo Life also gave the Wii U Virtual Console a 7/10 score, criticizing its bland presentation and confusing gameplay but still praised its fun nature and challenge.[4]
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