Ground Control II: Operation Exodus

"Best RTS ever with a new new twists!"

I love downloading demos. And I love RTS so naturally I downloaded this demo. I'm glad I did. I liked it so much I bought it 1 hour later!

The new concept and the basic game play:
Basically anyone that's played RTS's knows you always build a base, get money, upgrade.....etc. Well in this there is no base building. You control armies. And there all available, no waiting to upgrade a unit or to unlock one. You start with troops and you simply take over certain spots and gain AP which lets you buy more units. And those units get delivered by Drop ships in drop zones.

It's pretty simple but you have to decide what you want and what works best. Now this game has allot of thing that most RTS's never have had. For one the graphics are amazing, when you zoom down to ground level (actual ground level not above them) they units are amazingly detailed unlike most RTS's where units are flat and boring. The biggest thing about this game though (like all RTS'S) is strategy. Go in buildings, hide in woods...etc.

There are a few things you'll notice that you don't see in any RTS'S. For one thing when you send troops to a bunker four arrows pop up and you tell the units what side you want them to be on. So if you want them to shoot from the left window you tell them to go left. Pretty simple. And to top it off the bad guys that you can control MELD to form new units.

Story 10 out of 10
Awesome story.

Graphics 10 out of 10
I have never seen a more beautiful RTS in my life. The small details like units are so detailed they almost look better then most FPS characters! Not to mention the effects. If you shoot explosive units blow up and gore flies into the air which when I first seen it I was stunned at how cool that was! Like if you have artillery and you shoot something far away you actually see the shots go VERY HIGH into the sky (past clouds) and come back down. It's awesome!

There's also allot of small details that you might over look like troops leave foot steps as do vehicles. There's rubble on the ground that you would see in real life. This game is very detailed.

Music & Audio 10 out of 10
I love this music, you really feel "In the moment" when your playing. And the sound is great too. Its really fun having a bunch of troops suddenly fighting and having my speakers blast away with the sounds of gunfire!

Replay ability & MP 10 out of 10
You can definitely play this game over and over. And while there doesn't seem to be allot of people online it's really fun especially if you can find a host that allows infinite troops!

Learning curve/Difficulty
Well this game is a challenge. It's not too hard but no to easy either. It will take awhile to learn the game because there is allot of information to learn and the one thing you'll need to get use to is moving the camera with the mouse.

I would say most people that have never played RTS's might have some problems for awhile but it's pretty easy after awhile.

Pros & Cons
Pros:
-Stunning Graphics
-Good sound and music
-Repayable
-Online rocks
-No base building
-Lots and lots of ways to do something

Cons:
-Um....it's....um..... most people don't know about the game.

Overall 10 out of 10
For RTS players get this you won be disappointed. For new people same! At least try the demo. This game has zero flaws that I can see and I have never seen anyone really point out anything major. Get this NOW!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/04