Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
Basically, this game feels like it started with great ideas, but they weren’t followed through on properly. Console players may find it more forgiving, though.
It has been some time since I played a game that showed so much promise, but fell so flat. The introductory movie is better than most I have seen: it actually introduces a story, setting the scene, rather than merely showing “sneak preview” action sequences of in-game action. According to this intro, some time in the future, scientists develop and implement a global shield that envelops the Earth, in order to contain a waning atmosphere, and to keep out harmful radiation. However, tampering with such forces leads to “The Event” – global weather patterns are affected, resulting in violent firestorms that scour the planet’s surface. There is some warning, so an elite few are able to build underground shelters to take refuge in while the storms rage, leaving the rest of humanity to face the brutal conditions. The lucky few emerge, once “the weather clears,” as The Echelon, still wielding high technology.
The survivors on the surface, however, have mutated into virtually a new race, possessed of psionic powers, and having tapped genetic engineering to create a variety of serving creatures and beasts. So far, not particularly original, but good enough. We are introduced to a few key characters, and a promising interpersonal dynamic between several of them. And the graphics, so far, are very pretty, if rather ridiculously demanding of the PC. However, we soon run into problems. Most notably, the control interface is extremely unwieldy. It’s actually quite slick while you are controlling, say, three units or so. But not long into the game, it becomes possible to field quite large armies, and the control scheme becomes exceptionally cumbersome, requiring each unit, or groupings of up to three units, to be directed individually on a battlefield with limited visibility.
The control system (which is hard to explain without demonstrating it on screen) is probably not terrible on a console, but porting it directly to PC is, quite frankly, very silly. I found myself having to really work in order to do something as simple as adjusting my army’s position and formation. And as for attacking enemy positions, this required me to start with the rearmost units and working my way forward, so that I wouldn’t have some units arriving at the target before others have even been ordered to move.
I must at this point mention that I did not get to finish this game – in fact, I seriously doubt I got so much as halfway through it. It just became too much tedious hard work! Which is a pity, as there are some elements within it that look promising: some of the higher-tier units look quite interesting, and the game’s much-hyped “verticality” aspect (higher ground supposedly granting a very real advantage) could have been great if the game were not so clumsy to play. In fact, this unfortunate control scheme manages to sink every aspect of what could have been a good, or even very good, game. Basically, this game feels like it started with great ideas, but they weren’t followed through on properly. Console players may find it more forgiving, though.
It has been some time since I played a game that showed so much promise, but fell so flat. The introductory movie is better than most I have seen: it actually introduces a story, setting the scene, rather than merely showing “sneak preview” action sequences of in-game action. According to this intro, some time in the future, scientists develop and implement a global shield that envelops the Earth, in order to contain a waning atmosphere, and to keep out harmful radiation. However, tampering with such forces leads to “The Event” – global weather patterns are affected, resulting in violent firestorms that scour the planet’s surface. There is some warning, so an elite few are able to build underground shelters to take refuge in while the storms rage, leaving the rest of humanity to face the brutal conditions. The lucky few emerge, once “the weather clears,” as The Echelon, still wielding high technology.
The survivors on the surface, however, have mutated into virtually a new race, possessed of psionic powers, and having tapped genetic engineering to create a variety of serving creatures and beasts. So far, not particularly original, but good enough. We are introduced to a few key characters, and a promising interpersonal dynamic between several of them. And the graphics, so far, are very pretty, if rather ridiculously demanding of the PC. However, we soon run into problems. Most notably, the control interface is extremely unwieldy. It’s actually quite slick while you are controlling, say, three units or so. But not long into the game, it becomes possible to field quite large armies, and the control scheme becomes exceptionally cumbersome, requiring each unit, or groupings of up to three units, to be directed individually on a battlefield with limited visibility.
The control system (which is hard to explain without demonstrating it on screen) is probably not terrible on a console, but porting it directly to PC is, quite frankly, very silly. I found myself having to really work in order to do something as simple as adjusting my army’s position and formation. And as for attacking enemy positions, this required me to start with the rearmost units and working my way forward, so that I wouldn’t have some units arriving at the target before others have even been ordered to move.
I must at this point mention that I did not get to finish this game – in fact, I seriously doubt I got so much as halfway through it. It just became too much tedious hard work! Which is a pity, as there are some elements within it that look promising: some of the higher-tier units look quite interesting, and the game’s much-hyped “verticality” aspect (higher ground supposedly granting a very real advantage) could have been great if the game were not so clumsy to play. In fact, this unfortunate control scheme manages to sink every aspect of what could have been a good, or even very good, game. Basically, this game feels like it started with great ideas, but they weren’t followed through on properly. Console players may find it more forgiving, though.