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Another VU Games review! Woo! No seriously, I received a ton of mail asking why I reviewed VU Games’ Crash Purple and Spyro Orange instead of something like Chronicles of Riddick and I can’t really explain that but I will say that things are certainly looking good for VU Games fans, in terms of PGNx Media coverage at least. The game in question here, Ground Control II, is an extremely solid RTS game with fancy production values and long replay value.
As with any RTS, the basic plot is that you control a team (North Star Alliance, led by Captain Jacob Angelus) against the technological Terran Empire which force the Virons to fight for them. There is more to it but it will only attract the most die-hard of fans or those that played the first game since Ground Control II does go to lengths to explain what happened between that game and this one. Of course, the more detailed version plot is far more interesting (for an RTS) and is told efficiently thanks to the game’s production values.
I was a bit apprehensive of the game’s gameplay style. I have years of training with the Age of (Empires, Kings, Mythology) series and other RTS games, and they all follow a basic formula: pick the character class that you think is best, have peasants collect various types of resources and build a huge army to wipe out your enemy. Right away, the game throws out two of these by not including a technology tree and having only one resource and even that isn’t something you collect. As I played it more, I grew more accustomed to it though.
The whole point of the game, as implied by the title, is to stay in control of your area and then take control of another. When you reach another area, a victory location, and take control of it, you will earn Acquisition Points. You can use these points to buy even more troops, so you can take control of another location and earn more and more points. It isn’t particularly easy to get a hold of these locations since they are heavily guarded, though. If you have the required points, you can buy troops which are transported to a location you already hold. Also, each location you hold gives you a certain amount of points. The troops you have at that location, protecting it, use a percentage of these points. This makes it impossible to wield an unbeatable army, since you’ll eventually be using all of a location’s points and be forced to keep moving. All in all, though the gameplay is different than I expected, it works very well with enough check and balances to keep the game fun.
In the story mode, you’ll control both NSA and Viron troops. The NSA has a variety of troops, ground units and air vehicles. These units have a main function but they also have an alternate function to give them some flexibility. The Virons also have an assortment of units which can merge together to make more powerful.
Once you’re tired of playing by yourself, you can go online in a GameSpy Arcade-powered online multiplayer mode. Though there aren’t thousands playing online at any given time, it is easy enough to find a nice game to play. You can be part of a group of three and play through the single-player missions or join seven others in a frantic competitive mode. The multiplayer maps are varied enough and of adequate size. It is possible to get inhumanely large armies since the host can set a huge number of acquisition points to start with and then make the points per victory location enormous. All of this adds up to frantic action with surprisingly very little to no lag.
Ground Control II excels in the visuals. Both the environments and units are scrupulously rendered, full of excellent detail and wonderful textures. The camera system is totally flexible and allows you to zoom in so you can see just how pretty the game is. Furthermore, the particle effects for the various attacks are nothing short of exceptional. The audio is equally as solid. The music is appropriate in a game like this and the sound effects really bring to life all of the action. The voice acting is exceptional and really helps push the story along.
Ground Control II is a recommended purchase to any decent RTS fan. The game is different yet fun and the multiplayer matches are very frenzied. Add to this first-rate production values thanks to excellent visuals and a compelling soundtrack and you have a winner.
Minimum System Requirements:
800Mhz Processor (Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon or above), 256MB RAM (128MB if not running Windows XP or 2000), 32MB video card (Geforce, Radeon or above), Direct X compatible sound card, 1.5GB free HD space, keyboard and mouse, 56K internet modem
Recommended System Requirements:
1.5 Ghz Processor (Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon XP or above), 256MB RAM or above, 128MB video card, Direct X compatible sound card, 1.5GB free HD space, keyboard and mouse, broadband-speed internet (cable, DSL) or LAN -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Jul 9, 2004
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