Summary
Wickedly Good fun...
The Good
I bought this package for 20 bucks, not knowing how much fun I'd get out of a bargain. It was the first RTS I ever played. Wow! It was easy to learn but hard to master. I really liked the beginning video sequence even if it didn't make much sense at first. The battle chest edition included strategy guides that proved quite helpful for a newbie like me.
The tutorial was easy to follow and not tedious like other built in tutorials. The game designers took special care to introduce and maintain an interesting group of characters to interact and help build the story. The controls were relatively simple and easy to master.
Sound effects were top notch and the music was only slightly annoying after hearing SO many times. Voice work was well done as well.
Balancing between the races proved to add a lot of challenge and fun to the game. When you completed one race, you were issued a new set of parameters as you adapt to the races particular strength. This adds a measure of playability as you explore open ended options to resolving game goals.
This isn't a simple game of sheer numbers. If you send 20 marines after a force, you'll probably lose. If you balance it out with different forces, you'll stand a better chance of winning. It forces you to think about how to get the best results with the resources you have available.
You get several weeks of gaming out of 20 bucks, and it runs great on older really low end machines.
The Bad
Ok, You're stuck at 640x480 resolution for the whole game. The figures in the game look like ants, and path finding is a chore since your soldiers are limited to walking on a very restricted map tile set.
The limited technology tree can get pretty silly as you build starships that can be shot down by rifle baring marines.
The Bottom Line
Its a lot of fun, and can be frequently found in your bargain bin. If you have an ancient PC, you'll be in for a treat.
