Thoughts by Tapuak (19 Feb 2001) – PC (DOS)
Is it just a cheap Command & Conquer clone or a game with new ideas? Both are correct because %Z% is obviously a part of the past wave of real-time strategy games but it is also far better than similar games.
The basic game concept should be clear: you control battle units which – unlike to turn-based strategy games – are moved across the battlefield simultaneously by both players. You get a little help by the computer as units are defending themselves when enemies enter their firing range. The most obvious difference (luckily) between %Z% and similar games is the not so strict seriousness and the absence of the otherwise regular feature of ‘mining resources’. There’s also no background story.
In %Z%, your goal in every mission is of course to defeat your opponent which means to conquer his fort or to destroy it. The road to success, on the other hand, is somewhat different: the battlefield is divided into several sectors which are conquered by touching a flag. Control over a sector will mostly also give you possession of a factory which is in that sector and which will let you produce new units, whereas the production speed depends on the number of sectors you’re in charge of. And keep in mind that whenever the enemy touches a flag just once the whole sector is back in his hands. So imperialistic expansionism (occupying sectors) and capitalism (control over production facilities) is required to win.
The units system is quite simplified: basically there are just robots, vehicles and guns, but of course various types of each. Vehicles are getting better straightforward; from the jeep to the mobile rocket launcher, their destruction power is ever increasing but they’re getting ever slower. The robots, on the other hand, have their special abilities (look into the manual for further details). Because of the longer production time of ‘better’ units, the player always has to find a compromise between quality and quantity. The unit-producing factories are sorted by units (vehicle-/robot-factory) and by levels (of production capabilities) which slowly improve during the game and thus make new models available.
The 20 levels are divided into 5 landscapes (planets) with 4 levels each which apart from other graphics only bear minimal differences.
In which way these hard facts affect the entertainment value is highly subjective. For my part, the relatively small number of units is – concerning the hectic gameplay – surely advantageous. Basically, speed is more important than tactics. Luck is also a major factor in this game.
But you can’t deny that %Z% is well suited for beginners, because you can start instantly without having to work your way into it. Unlike in other games of this genre, the player has to deal with some kind of ‘artificial intelligence’ which tries to react adaptively to different situations and not to fall into certain routines of placing units always the same way. Besides that, the graphics and also the interface are very convincing. Saving is possible at any time.
A negative aspect is the lack of options. Instead of just a gamma setup, other options would have been desirable. Also, the concept of sectors has one downside: it’s almost impossible to turn the tides when one side owns a majority of them for some time because of the doubled advantage – more facilities and faster production speed – will make one’s superiority unsurmountable.
All in all a puristic game without unnecessary gimmicks – very well made indeed!
Thoughts by Underdogs (11 Mar 2010) – PC (DOS)
A Command & Conquer clone that was much less successful than it deserved, %Z% is as notable for being the only real-time strategy game from action game masters at Bitmap Brothers as being a very innovative title – and very funny to boot.
%Z% was advertised as “the first game in the combat strategy genre to feature an advanced artificial intelligence system that reacts to the player’s moves in real-time, not to a pre-set mission strategy”. This means that the computer supposedly actually responds to the player’s moves and changes its strategy accordingly. In reality, unfortunately, the game’s AI is not that advanced, and often even makes silly mistakes. The game also contains some bugs, although none of which is game-stopping.
What sets %Z% apart from other C&C clones, though, is the great sense of humor that adds a lot of personality to the game. Featuring an army of crude cyborg soldiers, led by the order-barking Commander Zod, %Z% puts players on the front lines of a futuristic battle with an army of undisciplined, beer drinking robots with attitudes. You will dodge earth-shattering explosions, complete with shrapnel and flying debris, and forge through 20 levels of gameplay on five deadly planets while capturing the arms, factories and radar installations of your enemies.
%Z% includes a good number of multiplayer options, including serial or modem link, or with up to four players using the network-play feature. The single-player campaign is excellent, and features a lot of hilarious cutscenes and voices. Although the robots do not have distinct personalities as the mercenaries in Jagged Alliance do, they nevertheless are well-caricatured and always funny to watch in action. Overall, if you enjoy Cannon Fodder 2 or want a not-so-serious version of Command & Conquer, %Z% is a must-have. The game may not be the best real-time strategy game on the market, or the most challenging in terms of AI, but it’s got more than enough personality and charm to keep you entertained. Recommended!
This review has been taken from the original Home of the Underdogs (http://www.the-underdogs.info) 
Archived Thoughts
Thoughts by campbell (07 Oct 2017) – PC (DOS)
In Z% the player manages an army of red robots which have to destroy blue robots. Our soldiers spend their time drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, listening to loud music and never miss an opportunity to do as little as possible. You’d understand that one of the Z% game strength is its humor.
The gameplay is very simple to take in hand and is very complete. The 2D view from above is pretty with funny details, like small animals that our soldiers will shoot when they get bored for example.
Each map is squared into territories with a flag in the middle. You only have to order one of your units to seize it to claim the territory.
Each player has a fort to protect and there are three ways to win: put a unit into the opponent’s fort, destroy it with guns or destroy all opposing units. The construction of the robots and vehicles is done by factories located in an area which is under your control.
In this game there are no resources needed to build. All is about strategy and time management. The more area you control, the faster you build. We will be able to capture increasingly high technology factories to access specialized or more powerful units. We will also be able to destroy bridges to forbid accesses to the enemy or to explode rocks that block the passages we want to use.
The game difficulty is progressive and the AI is very good. If the first levels take place without too much pain, the sequence is easily corrected. With five planets to conquer (each is divided into four levels), there’s a lot of hours of fun and strategy to spend playing this game. The game allows to play LAN games (up to 4 players) too.
This is one of my favorites The Bitmap Brothers game.
