Activision's Battlezone II is quickly heading toward its summer release, and Pandemic Studios' CEO Andrew Goldman stopped by the GameSpot offices to show off the latest build. Currently in pre-alpha, the final game will feature eight worlds to battle and two campaigns, where players can take on the role of either the humans or aliens (no more Russian vs. American battles). The alien race is probably the most interesting because of their morphing ships. Rather than running out of your vehicle and occupying another, alien units actually morph into other vehicles.

　　Pandemic, this time around, has put a great deal of time into making sure that the feel of each of the more than 30 units has its own unique feel. Those units include tanks, infantry, air support, and mobile turrets. Weapons in the sequel will also expand into a large arsenal of 25 weapons with guided missiles, mortars, mines, and bazookas.

　　The game still has a similar feel, but it now has a more powerful graphics engine - everything moves smoothly across the screen, and the team has added even greater level complexity to BZ II. Worlds in the game will take place on lush alien worlds with bizarre looking plants and misty fog, or snow-covered lands with small Aztec-looking cities, or a world completely dominated by buildings.

　　During a demo, Goldman showed off several levels. The lush green landscapes, with wild fantastical trees and drooping vines, will make for a much more engaging and visually pleasing experience. And unlike the dead dust land of the moon, BZ II will feature wildlife running about. While the graphics make the game look better, the team is also ironing out the game with more detail, such as the motion of a tank with a suspension system as it climbed over a small hill.

　　For those players without 3D-accelerator cards, BZ II will no longer support the stellar software renderer featured in the original

　　For the multiplayer gamer, BZ II offers even more than it did with its first game, with teamplay modes beyond the first game's deathmatch and strategy modes. The interface of BZII will be refreshed from with a new look by one of the game's newest features - squad commands. The look will make it easier to select groups of units from an iconic UI with active squads at the top left corner of the screen. And for the single player, the team has added Instant Action - something missing from the first game. Battlezone fans loved the unique feel of the game, but it wanted the Instant Action option to let them play quick games if they wanted to - Pandemic listened.

　　While the game's overall look is easier to navigate, the AI has been ramped up a bit. Your units will gain knowledge after several kills and learn quickly as you progress through levels. At the same time, enemies will also gain added intelligence as they take out your units.

　　Users can customize their own levels in an easy-to-understand interface so more creative gamers can show off their artistic skills to others. The editor resides in a singular interface with toolbars to the left and right of the screen. All you need to do is tap an option and drag objects to screen - the process looked amazingly simple.

　　How does Pandemic Studios feel their company has changed since the team left Activision's internal team only to sign a publishing deal with the company to produce BZII? Goldman says that the team has been able to focus "more time to focus on the things we could have done ." And in less than a year, Pandemic has blossomed from a small startup with big Activision backing, to an able-bodied team of 26. Besides BZII, the company is currently working on Dark Reign II.