Ground Control 2: Operation Exodus Preview

Ground Control should be familiar to anyone out there who's been following the development of strategy games in the past few years. Created by Massive Entertainment, the Sweden-based development team, Ground Control established itself high among top-notch RTS titles of its time. (Ed. - I myself prefer the Swedish-based Bikini Team.) Soon after that, High Voltage Software whipped up a worthy expansion pack named Ground Control: Dark Conspiracy, which continued the game's tradition of excellent 3D graphics, brilliant sound, and solid RTS gameplay. More than two and a half years had passed, until Sierra unveiled that the talented blokes at Massive Entertainment have reassembled to make a nice follow-up to the game, entitled Ground Control 2: Operation Exodus.

Lucky shot!

It’s chucking out time! All the pubs are closed.

The game takes place roughly 300 years after the original, in the year 2741 AD. The Northern Star Alliance (or NSA) a colony originally founded by the Crayven Corporation, is facing a long and hard struggle against the newly founded Terran Empire. Our story follows the campaigns of a character called Captain Jacob Angelus. The planet Morningstar Prime, the once proud and prosperous epicenter of the NSA's civilization, now lies on the brink of ruin due to persistent orbital bombardment from the powerful forces of the Terran Empire. A few cities have managed to survive the massive onslaught though. Now, the Terran Empire is moving in for the kill, by launching a huge land assault against the few existing cities on the planet's surface. Leading the existing remnants of the Northern Star Alliance, Captain Jacob Angelus is sent to the capitol city of Morningstar Prime, where the situation is becoming increasingly critical. His only hope lies in an ancient legend... Well, I guess we won't spoil that one for ya. Anyways, gamers can choose which side to support in this epic battle. You may play alongside the Terran Empire or you can choose to support the Northern Star Alliance. To make things even more complicated, the game will also feature a third faction, which will, unfortunately, be CPU-controlled. (Ed. - Can you say Burning Legion? Sure, I knew you could.)

In Ground Control 2, players get to choose from two sides, each relying on different technologies and fighting styles. The forces of the Northern Star Alliance consist of valiant war veterans who have seen many battles and should be considered serious opponents on the battlefield. They prefer the use of conventional weapons, like chemically propelled guns and artillery. (Since when are freaking chemically propelled guns considered as "conventional weapons?" - 2Lions) The Terran Empire, on the other hand, utilizes a great deal of highly advanced energy based weapon systems.

Much like the original game, Ground Control 2 doesn't involve stuff like base building and conventional resource gathering. So, it all basically focuses on combat and controlling your team and individual units. Manipulating units was slightly improved thanks to the new squad system that will allow players to send in a squad with mixed units. Each side has sixteen different units, which range from infantry, tanks, various artillery units, etc. Players may engage in diverse formations as they head into battle with their units. As your units assemble the appropriate formation their behavior will change in order to accommodate the particular configuration. Also, their movement will be coordinated so they can all arrive to the rallying point at the same time. The dynamic squad system won't take you away from controlling individual units though. In fact, from what we were told controlling individual units will sometimes be crucial to the success of certain missions. For example, there are many assignments where players must put their drop ships to good use. For those of you unfamiliar, a drop ship is essential to most of your attacks; it speedily delivers units and then flies away. (Ed. - For more information, watch the movie Aliens. Aliens rocks....) This time around, the drop ship is a controllable and configurable unit. This means that you have the opportunity to fly it and modify the engine, enlarge the cargo space, or add more firepower to its hull. Naturally, in order to carry more troops, you'll have to sacrifice additional firepower, so it's up to you to determine which ship improvement gets the priority over other. As you may have gathered, tactics play a vital role throughout each and every mission.

Since you'll be heading off into action with a relatively small number of units, you'll often have to look after each and every one of them. Every unit has its own powers and weaknesses. This means that you're required to combine their skills so as to arrange an effective attack. Individual unit abilities can be used according to the setting. If your troops are fighting in an urban zone, they will be able to take cover in buildings and organize efficient ambushes. Of course, when you're roaming around wide open areas, it would be wise to send tanks into the fray. Another excellent addition to the gameplay is the possibility of adjusting armor thickness of your tank units. Basically, players can bulk up the front rear or side armor depending on where they expect the main enemy strike force to come from. Your tanks and infantry units can cooperate and engage the enemy in many different ways. For instance, if a single tank unit gets surrounded and cut off from reinforcements, you may deploy its extendable armor plates and provide cover for your infantry - a perfect choice for a last standoff. This option, however, has its downsides, since their mobility will be decreased. Another characteristic that concerns all of your units is the way they react to the environment. There are many things that can influence unit performance during combat; you know things like wind direction, rain, sandstorms, and so on. It all sounds pretty darn cool, don't you think?

Troops! Prepare for immediate dust-off!

She can’t take anymore!

Almost every aspect of the game centers on pure RTS action. The AI was greatly improved over the original and well-optimized for different battle situations. No matter where you are, opposing forces will be laying in wait, setting traps and ambushes with each available opportunity. We were pleased to hear about this step up, since most of the enemy AI routines in the original game were scripted and somewhat unchallenging.

That was just one of the glimpses at what you can expect to experience throughout the single-player campaigns. Luckily for us the multiplayer should be equally entertaining. Veteran Ground Control players will be happy to witness the return of the drop-in feature, which offers you a chance to join an existing game and begin on a remote location. (Gives you a little breather and enough time to prepare your strategy before the shit hits the fan. - 2Lions) This particular mode, for those you unfamiliar, also gives you a fair opportunity over opposing players, by awarding you with a solid starting force. Another commendable addition here is the option to play the single-player mode in co-op. And, if all of that is not enough for you, the lads at Massive Development have promised to throw in some additional MOD tools for the GC community.

Massive Development gave the game a decent makeover since its earlier incarnations, rendering highly detailed individual units and supplementing the surroundings with extra details. For example, in one particular mission players have to move their troops across acres of swampland, a great deal of which is flooded by sporadic patches of water. An obvious effort was invested into making this type of landscape look realistic and highly immersive. So, as your units march through the swamp, they'll encounter dense and abundant wildlife, such as great trees and plants, as well as flocks of birds that often get anxious during gunfire.

By the look of it, everything seems to be falling into place. Ground Control 2 promises to be a fitting sequel to an excellent strategy game. You can expect the game to hit stores next spring. Until then keep an eye out for more updates and media as it becomes available.