A sudden climatic change brought on by centuries of atmospheric pollution triggers a global warming crisis and rising water levels and pits ancient enemies against each other in an epic battle for survival. The BEA world consists of several strings of islands that are all the land that is left above sea level. With land becoming rare than rocking horse poop, tensions have reached breaking point between the surviving nations, as each one tries to claim what little remaining dry land is left…

   

Aquila is a sleek insect-like mech capable of walking around blasting and sniping with various weapon sets, or taking to the air and attacking from there. One-on-one Aquila is powerful enough to destroy most individual enemy units, but they are so numerous that you can't take them all out single-handed. You support friendly forces both (land and air) and they support you in truly epic battles.

After completing a simple training level, each subsequent mission takes place upon an island battlefield, varying in size and shape, but one thing is constant: The war raging between the two sides - the Forseti and the Muspell. This is obviously a major war, with thousands of units engaged on each side, ranging from infantry to tanks, planes, battleships and artillery - and the impression of being in the middle of something huge has seldom been done better. There is a heck of a lot going on on-screen, and the amount of explosions, collapsing buildings, missile trails and sheer dogged, violent confrontation between the two armies is highly impressive. You even get to do some basic tactical strategy before missions by choosing which one of three commanders you want in charge of your friendly forces - they each have different specialities and priorities and this simple choice really can make a difference to how the battles play out.

The visual style and design ethos of the game is carried throughout the game, with a stylish and elegant look rather than mechanical and rugged. Aquila is one of the most beautiful machines you'll ever see, but some of the buildings and vehicles look a bit too clean and clinical. The landscapes look good (if a little too brightly coloured) and the high contours and ridges add plenty of variety to the battles.

   

Despite being a visually pleasing game that allows you to wreak some of the most violent destruction this side of Mechassault or Red Faction 2, BEA annoyed me occasionally with its sudden ends to a mission (often missions seem to be over in a flash, or just when you were starting to enjoy yourself and don't allow you to totally decimate the enemy) and the basic fact that sometimes there's so much going on that objectives aren't always clear. A crowded and muddled radar screen doesn't help this any. There are some control issues and basic design flaws as well. The very fact that Aquila is a non-waterproof prototype battle engine on a water-filled planet may be a clever way of both confining you within a level and of adding some tension to the ship-based missions, but in my opinion it's beyond belief, and plain stupid. Aquila's flight is made unnecessarily clumsy and unsatisfying by its limited boost time and its inability to hover. You can replay levels to improve your ratings and unlock evolved, tougher missions, character bios, concept art and in-game movies.

Some multiplayer modes including opposing forces, one-on-one deathmatches or a split screen co-op mode that pushed the PS2 slightly past its limits add to the already decent lifespan of this impressive game. The sameness of the battles might mean that you tire of it before the lengthy war is won though.