I have been playing Heavy Gear the RPG for about 6 years and find it to be a great game with a vast setting. I own many of the books, plus I have played the two video games that were released for Heavy Gear. I have never been disappointed by a product released for the Heavy Gear setting until now.
?Heavy Gear : Battle for the Badlands? (HG: BftB) is a computer animated TV show based on the Heavy Gear world. Set in the world of Terra Nova the show focuses on two Gear Duelist teams: The Northern Vanguard of Justice, and the Southern Shadow Dragons. Each episode revolves around these two teams beating the hell out of each other in a WWF wrestling, monster truck rally atmosphere complete with a screaming commentator.
All the animation in HG: BftB is 3D computer animation as seen in other cartoons such as Transformers: Beast Wars. Though the animation seemed consistant it also felt static and hard. The gears were nicely done and actually look like the Heavy Gears from the RPG. A couple times rendering was off as items would disappear for a second or dimensions would feel off. Also certain items such as a dam breaking in the final episode looked really bad.
The character animation was the biggest problem as I can accept the hard lines and low detail for gears and background but the characters looked silly. A special feature on the DVD has character sketches which were hand drawn and looked much nicer than the final computer animated versions of the characters.
Episode review (There aren?t any episodes on the DVD but you can get a general idea where a new story begins. There are SPOILERS below.)
Episode 1 ? The Northern Vanguards decide to sabotage the maglev line (glorified train) that the Shadow Dragons are traveling on. The two teams encounter each other and fight until the maglev shuts down. They realize they have to work together to get the maglev working again. Once it is working the commentator declares a match to see who can get the arena first.
Episode 2 ? A new tournament begins this time underground. The teams go racing off but the Northern Vanguard has a secret stealth Gear that is messing with the Shadow Dragon team.
Episode 3 ? The final dual for the championship takes place. This time located in Trash City the two teams duke it out but once again the Northern Vanguards have cheated this time disabling their opponents? weapons. In round two one member of each team is chosen to try and capture the tournament trophy from a giant dinosaur gear?s head.
Episode 4 ? The Northern Vanguards, jealous of losing the championship, create footage of the star member of the Shadow Dragons cheating. This results in a new championship dual fight. With the Shadow Dragons star member disqualified and some more tricks the Northern Vanguards try to capture the trophy.
Episode 5 ? After losing again a Northern Colonel who represents the Vanguards decides to capture the uncle of the ace of the Shadow Dragons. The ace can get his uncle back if he fights for the Vanguards in another dual.
HG:BitB has been the biggest insult to a gaming license since Kindred: The Embraced. I realize that this animation was targeted for a younger crowd. However, it does have a PG-13 rating and you would think that the producers would have put a little thought into it. The characters are cliché and the plots are repetitive. The only thing done well was some of the technical designs and landscapes. I sat there waiting for it to get better and to move away from the cheesy dueling. It never does. I recommend that you save your money and buy a Heavy Gear supplement, or check out the video games.
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