to hull"). The player is assisted by yet another voiced computer situated in its starship in orbit around the planet. The AINIC(Artificial Intelligence Network Interface Coupler) Mark 3, as it calls itself, provides all mission summaries, briefings and mid-mission updates with a full voiced backing, and is presented as a self-aware computer entity. The game also includes multiplayer and a mission editor. Multiplayer can support up to 16 players, and a "single player anarchy" mode also includes options for co-op play, custom missions, bots, and playing single player missions with multiple humans, either with the aliens or against them. Release Before the game release, a playable "Interactive Preview" was sold in stores. This preview came with a cloudy-red "Interactive Preview" CD-Rom (DOS version) in a standard jewel case, a red manual with, on its front, a small Interplay advertisement "6$ OFF mail-in rebate..." and a promotional "coming this fall" Shattered Steel advertising the full version at $15.95, and a "Get Shattered" back cover with the game plot and screenshots. This demo was not rated at its release (Rating Pending "RP"). Some Interactive Preview discs were defective, rendering working copies very scarce for collectors and fans. Reception According to BioWare, sales of Shattered Steel had surpassed 170,000 units by late 2002. The game held an aggregate review score of 73% on GameRankings. Reviewing the MS-DOS version, Tim Soete of GameSpot said that while the plot is interesting, Shattered Steel is more of a mindless action game than MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat and does not have the same sense of immersion, though it is still enjoyable. Next Generation similarly described it as "along the lines of Earthsiege II or MechWarrior 2, but without the complexity. It settles for pure action from the minute players climb into their giant robots ..." He too found it enjoyable in spite of its lack of depth or innovation, noting the numerous missions, selection of weapons, and options for networked multiplayer. Macworlds Michael Gowan wrote that Shattered Steels "visuals are solid (although a few years old at this point), and the play is engaging." While he recommended it to fans of science-fiction simulation games, he argued that the "scope of the game's missions could be more varied". References External links BioWare's Shattered Steel page Shattered Steel at MobyGames 1996 video games BioWare games DOS games Games commercially released with DOSBox Interplay Entertainment games Classic Mac OS