[Fenris]

As it seems that this game was not mention yet i had to correct that.

It really is a shame that this game never got the fame it deserved as it is beside Wolfenstein 3D and Doom the most innovative FPS released yet. When it was released it was criticlly acclaimed in every review nevertheless it remained quite unkown like many other games of the famous Looking Glass Studios, which went bankrupt because many of their games where far ahead of its time.

And that's the exactley what happened to Terra Nova: SCF, it was far ahead of its time.

The story of TN takes place in a distant future of mankind. The settlers of Jupiter where claimed as dissidents of the earth Haegemonia. After several years with smaller incidents, a treatment was signed, so the settlers of jupiter were allowed to leave the solar system for Alpha Centauri. 150 later the first planet 'New Hope' was colonized and in the following years Alpha Centauri flurished and first trade routes to earth where established.
In the recent past many transports and small settlements have been raided by strange pirates never seen before. The peace in Alpha Centauri seems to be threatened so the council has chosen to promote you, Nikola Ap Io, to STF Sqaud leader of the new formed Strike Force Centauri special unit.

Your equipment is a more than men high battle armor (similar to those of the Brotherhood of steel, for those who know Fallout) the PBA. Together with a team of up to 3 mates you will be sent to on many very different missions.

Now that's the story so far as you might already have guessed TNSTF is a highly tactical squad based FirstPerson Shooter. Unlike many of todays shooters the AI of both your troops and your enemies is very good. The stories between the missions is told by E-Mails you may read or not and Full Motion Videos and the Missions are also ofen Script based. You can choose your team mates, and may configure every PBA seperatley. In the first few missions you don't have to look at your configuration but later a lot of equipment will become availabe such a personal shields or land mines new PBA suits (recon and heavy) and of course better weapons.

Every missions brings some new stuff and you will never have the feeling that you have seen something before.

Within every mission there are plenty of ways to play but one allways remains the same: a good reconaissance is everything so unless you don't have an assault mission always take a recon suit or at least a recon specialist with. Yes thats right, every team mate brings some skills along, so if you want to blow something up don't forget a demolition specialist, but lets return to reconaissance. Every PBA has a Probe built in, so you may deside to launich it and control it over you mainscreen or one of your PBA.
Your team mates are very independent but you can also give them a lot of orders.
At the end of every mission you have to return to a certain pickup point to wait for the DropShip. Is the Pickup point unsafe the drop ship will not come.

I could write lots of more about this great game but I am running out of time so I will finish this shortly.

Many of the aspects of this game are used in games now, but none of them could cover the whole bandwith of intense story clever missions and units and great action as good as Looking Glass' Terra Nova.

It is shame that this gem has been overlooked back in 1995.