Real-time strategy games dates back to 1992 and the release of Dune II. It was that game that set the standard and the formula for RTS gaming. Very little has changed over the past 8 years, most real-time strategy games have been 2D and were played from a top down or ¾ perspective. Bungie attempted to change all that with Myth, turning the game 3D with a moveable camera. While the attempt was certainly admirable the execution was somewhat flawed and the game met with limited success. Sierra though has found a formula for a real-time 3D-strategy game that works.
It's all been done before...
The story of Ground Control is hardly ground breaking. 2 factions, one a corporate entity, The Crayven Corporation, the other a group of religious zealots, Order of the New Dawn, are fighting for control of a distant world. This world has the rather appropriate name of " KRIEG", which happens to hail from the German language and means: WAR! The story won't win a Pulitzer but it does suffice. Rhetorical question time: Why won't anyone spend the time, effort and money to develop a truly great story for action games? The cut-scenes and mission briefings do a good job of moving the story along with strong voice acting.
Pretty as a picture...
The first thing you'll notice about Ground Control are the graphics. Purdy, purdy, purdy! The pictures in this game are just too sweet. The game is also filled with little graphical flourishes, from the way dust flies up behind your arty units when they move, to the tracks that they leave in the dirt that combine to leave other games wanting. Clouds move across the skies and produce shadows on the ground as they cross the sun. The landscape, with its hills and valleys, displays shadows in a very realistic manner. Then there are the individual units themselves. The level of detail on a single soldier is astounding. Strangely, the cut-scenes are not rendered nearly as well as the actual in-game sequences, while they are passable they certainly are not anything to write home about. When was the last time you saw that? While this is the best looking game to come down the pike in ages the good things don't stop there.
What's that sound?
I touched on the voice acting earlier and it needs to be said once again: the voice acting is strong. I was expecting some rather cheesy dialogue delivered with the quality of a public school play (as is the norm with most games). The voice acting in Ground Control will not win an Academy Award it is still very strong.
