A new version of Battlezone Gold Edition. The shooter published by Rebellion is the remake of the classic game born in the 80s on behalf of the historian Atari. The title drops us aboard a very powerful and technologically advanced tank, the Cobra. The aim of the game is to face hordes of increasingly fierce enemies and advance towards the volcano that is the headquarters for our opponents. There Gold Edition comes as an updated and complete version of all the DLCs and additional packages (skins, horn types and puppets to decorate the dashboard) that in the previous one were only obtainable by purchasing them separately, and we tested it on PlayStation 4. How to do it will the game be revealed?
The singular FPS it catches the eye first of all for the graphic realization: recalling the style of the original game, the design is deliberately essential by reducing the drawings of the environment and of the enemies to well-defined but not very detailed polygons. The greatest strength of the title is in fact in its sincerity and fidelity to the old school, imitating the primitive vector graphics. We do not have a campaign accompanied by a story that sets us in the colorful world of Battlezone, but rather, after a quick initial briefing we will find ourselves catapulted into the heart of the battle, forced to defend ourselves tooth and nail from the cannon fire of the enemy tanks, which will not give us respite even for a moment.
Battle after battle we will have to decide how to manage our advance through a board with hexagonal sections. Each box of this reserve surprises: we could find various types of missions (escort to the convoy, defense of the base, assaults, etc.), run into rare supply areas to spend the points accumulated on new armaments, find ourselves in front of very powerful (and almost unbeatable) bosses, or in events that will determine the advantage of one of the two factions in play. The involvement is immediate: Battlezone it will not give us a breather and will represent a real race against time, in order to reach our goal before the opposing army becomes too strong.
The gaming experience is undeniably immersive. The title offers the best of itself using VR, which before the publication of the Gold version was essential to be able to play (the new edition instead allows you to simply use the support of the screen only). The PlayStation helmet gives us a wide view, making it easier to aim and allowing us to keep an eye on the action even in areas not directly in the sights of our guns. Thanks to virtual reality we can in fact observe the interior of the cockpit of our Cobra, noting a pleasant realization of the details. 
Unfortunately, the VR experience could tire the player in the long run, especially if he is not used to wearing the headset. The battles, as mentioned, are really hectic and the light pulses and fast animations make it difficult to endure long gaming sessions, which is why longer games are played comfortably without VR. To remedy this defect, we have the possibility to choose the duration of the campaign we are going to face, choosing between short, medium or long. During the test, we appreciated the short one more since Battlezone it is extremely punitive.
The game is really challenging even on the lowest difficulties, especially in single player. Furthermore, whenever we run out of the few lives at our disposal, we will be forced to start over, starting a new game and thus losing any progress made. On balance, the title is more suitable for playing in the company of other people: the multiplayer in fact supports up to 4 co-op participants, however, the PVP mode is not provided.
The real Achilles heel of the title is precisely the little variety of the gameplay and the poor diversification of the contents. Adding to this the high difficulty and the low probability of winning, it is not surprising that there is growing boredom after a few hours of play. However, it is an excellent pastime both for the casual player and for those who want to have fun online with friends. In fact, in company, everything becomes more engaging especially because it is slightly easier to get the better of your opponents.
In any case, if you are not afraid of having to always start all over again, it is worth trying your hand at the challenge offered by Battlezone. The controls are intuitive and a close-knit team of players will quickly find ways to exploit their strengths. The game responds well to controller inputs and, difficulty aside, has no obstacles such as bugs or slowdowns. It is really impossible to run into dead moments given the enormous size of the enemy ranks, both land and air. By banning lone wolves in search of personal glory, team play and the ability to use their equipment in the right way will be rewarded.
Sold on PlayStation Store at a cost of € 34,99, Battlezone however, it does not have an excellent quality-price ratio. The offer in terms of content is scarce and, even if with the Gold Edition the possibility of playing the classic mode has been introduced, but this does not stand up to the comparison with the original game, at least in the tested version. In short, a good game, but not suitable for overly demanding players.
