PC - Blizzard
The game has an intro sequence which introduces the setting, it looks good but is not quite convincing, it felt slightly contrived which spoilt the atmosphere a bit. Once in game the menu is smooth and easy to navigate, quickly letting you get into the campaigns. When you start one there is quite a long intro sequence starting the story off which works well but still feel a little unrealistic.
There is a tutorial campaign for when first start which is good as it runs you through all the basic controls; they are intuitive enough but its good to have some of the advanced features explained. Although the tutorial is spoilt by a completely out of character voice over which does not even attempt to fit in with the rest of the atmosphere created this far.
All the campaigns seem well written and you are always aware of your objectives, which were all worked into the story line well.
Fun comes from the strategy; planning your base, your army and then your attack on your opponent. There is also a lot of extra sub plots scripted into the campaigns which make exploring the maps and enhancing your units more fun. While the initial missions are quite easy it becomes challenging and offers diverse objectives so you do not feel like you are repeating yourself. The small amount of character customisation you can perform as well helps make it a bit more involving and adds something new to the genre.
The visuals are fully 3d even though normal game play does not really take advantage of it as the camera is fixed. However it makes everything seem more real and solid which adds something to the game. It is also sued cleverly in cut scenes as the camera can move and pan around the battlefield to show scripted cut scenes.
The game is not easy but neither does it display any great tactical genius, your opponent uses standard predictable tactics unless there is something specifically scripted into the mission to make it do otherwise. Given the range of available units and possible tactics, some tactical awareness would really improve the gameplay.
The game does try hard to get you immersed in the experience and it does succeed in places; particularly the campaign missions have good story lines and frequent cut-scenes to move the story along. However there are moments when it ruins the atmosphere like the poor voice over for the tutorial and the intro movies which just fail to convince you of the story.
Although the game world is in 3D the camera is fixed in an isometric style position, this works well as a free moving camera is not really necessary in an RTS game like this and would probably just distract from the gameplay. Although the ability to see more of the map would be a nice addition as sometimes it does feel a little close.
The controls were intuitive but nothing special, they worked well and they could not really be blamed for any mistakes that you made. There were not any major problems but neither was there anything which stood out.
This game was better than most RTS games as it allowed you to directly control the protagonists of the story rather than having them invisible background figures. It also incorporated some minor RPG elements for these characters to make it a bit more involving and customisable which worked well.
The game does make you want to play more, more so than other RTS games because of its well balanced resource management and combat systems. You have to think about both to win but not in so much detail that it becomes a huge distraction from the action. The high point that this game offers is the ability to not only to control armies in battle but also to customise your own heroic figure to lead them.
Even though the storylines do seem a little contrived at times, the actual gameplay is a lot more involving than other RTS games, this is particularly apparent in multiplayer games which never get old.