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Game #4294
Hall of Belated Fame Inductee  Second Age    View all Top Dogs in this genre
Action   Giant robot action

Rating: 7.42 (19 votes)

Second Age box cover

Second Age screenshot
Second Age is an excellent 3D giant robot ('mechas' in Japanese) action game set in space. The game offers excellent mech designs, fun gameplay, and a variety of modes including Story, Practice, and two-player. You can choose from eight mechs, each with its own weapons, strengths and weaknesses. The Story mode takes you through a series of missions set in four environments, ranging from deep space to planetside. You view the action from a third-person perspective, as if you were hovering behind your mech.

The mechs are definitely the highlight of Second Age. I particularly like "Silver Bullet", one that can transform into Hunter, a jet fighter (more or less like the mechs in the Macross and Gundam animes). Another fun mech to play is Deseed that can launch its own arms and head as weapons at enemies. The interface is well-designed and informative without being intrusive: you see all the important information including your health bar, primary and secondary energy level (needed to use shields and weapons), shield level, and a small radar that shows the enemies' positions relative to you. The controls are easy to learn, but it will take some time before you master the moves of all the mechs, because not all of them are easy to remember.

Although Second Age is a lot of fun, it has some weak points. The two-player mode is awkward, because you cannot reassign the keys. The game is also very difficult in Story mode – it took me many tries to pass the second mission, and there is no option to change the difficulty level. If you are not an expert in this kind of games, you will definitely be frustrated with having to face 6-7 tough enemies at the same time. The last gripe I have is that contrary to most freeware games from Japan, there is no background music. As the author is still actively improving the game, here's hoping we will see a version with a soundtrack in the future.

If you enjoy the likes of Mechwarrior, you will likely enjoy this fun freeware underdog. The game is in Japanese, but you won't need to read anything to finish the game as the goal of all the missions is the same: kill everything that moves :) Interesting mech designs and smooth gameplay makes this underdog a Top one – but watch out for the high difficulty of Story Mode.

Reviewed by: Underdogs
Designer: Anno Room
Developer: Freeware
Publisher: Freeware
Year: 2002
Software Copyright: Anno Room
Theme: Anime
Multiplayer:  
System Requirements: Windows XP
Where to get it:
Related Links: Official site (archived)
Links:    
If you like this game, try: Gigantic Gear, Battledrome, Giants of Steel

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