Playing B.A.T. 2: The Koshan Conspiracy means managing a cybernetic arm, buying property, and flying space fighters all within your first hour on planet Shedishan.
Stepping into Roma II with B.O.B. on your arm
You step onto the cyber-punk streets of Roma II as Jehan Menais, a B.A.T. agent sent to investigate the murder of colleague Sylvia Hatford. Sylvia got too close to the Koshan corporation's monopoly on Echiatone 21, the raw material powering space transit, and your job is to pull that thread until the whole conspiracy unravels. Developed by Computer's Dream and published by Ubi Soft, this title expanded its universe to five times the scale of its predecessor.
The first thing you will notice is B.O.B., the Biodirectional Organic Bioputer implanted directly into your arm. Far from a static menu screen, it acts as a programmable assistant that accepts custom micro-code. You can write loops, conditional statements, and automated triggers to monitor your vitals, administer medical aid, or regulate weapon systems during combat.
How B.A.T. 2: The Koshan Conspiracy combines a flight sim with urban exploration
Instead of sticking to standard point-and-click logic, the game throw multiple genres together. You walk through local shops, hire extra party members, buy property deeds from citizens like Bogli Izae, and handle local finances. When it is time to travel, you jump into transit vehicles like the Via-Express or take to the skies in space combat simulators that play like a stripped-down Elite.
The space flight covers several craft, including the Mosquito, Katatruck, Raeda V6, and Sershoyer. If dogfights are not your style, you can toggle between tactical modes or direct action skills across various minigames like Quatiro, Chidam, and Tubular. There is even a gladiator arena for ground battles. It offers a level of freedom that makes Roma II feel wide open, even when the scope threatens to overwhelm you.
Where the mystery gets messy for digital detectives
For all its ambition, this game features design choices that will make you tear your hair out. The city layout does not stick to simple cardinal directions, making navigation disorienting from the start. You collect dozens of objects across endless shops, but you use less than a fifth of them to solve actual puzzles, leaving your inventory cluttered with junk.
The real issue is the strict timer on specific plot points. If you do not buy certain property deeds on your very first day in town, they vanish permanently, soft-locking your progression hours later. Combined with an interface that feels like it was put together by a drunk robot, the puzzle logic relies heavily on exhaustive trial and error. In fact, the official CD-ROM manual famously included a complete step-by-step walkthrough just to help players finish it.
Why this MS-DOS sci-fi experiment is worth a run today
Despite the sprawling mess of mechanics, designers here were willing to throw every system into one box. The box art by painter Luis Royo sets a dark tone that the artwork inside manages to keep up, especially in the updated CD-ROM release with full voice lines. That makes it a strange, fascinating entry among adventure games from 1992.
If you want to experience this classic MS-DOS game, you can play B.A.T. 2: The Koshan Conspiracy free in your browser right here. Fire up your arm bioputer, jump into the pilot seat, and see if you can crack the Koshan conspiracy without a walkthrough.