Battlezone, released by Activision in 1998, is set up as a revival of the earlier games. It is a hybrid vehicle combat, FPS, and RTS. The Space Race was a lie. After a meteor shower hits the Arctic circle in 1952, American and Soviet scientists simultaneously discover an amazing new metallic compound capable of being molded into vehicles and equipment at fantastic speeds and possessed of unique organic properties. Just as quickly, both sides begin to think about how this new material could further their efforts in the Cold War. The US forms the National Space Defense Force. The Soviet Union in turn forms the Cosmo Colonist Army. Both nations sneak their armies into space under the guise of the "Space Race".