Perimeter Review

Although Perimeter doesn't have the slickness of C&C: Generals, the depth of Rise of Nations and the visual splendor of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, it's still an enjoyable game. One of the most commendable aspects is the intuitive method of controlling units in combat. All you have to do is rig up as many basic units as possible - these include Nano-soldiers, Nano-officers and Technicians.

I'll zap you straight to hell!

Morphing your units is an awesome option.

All three can be transformed into any type of flying or ground unit, if you've researched the proper technology. For example, if you wish to salvage a group of ground units enclosed by the enemy, you can transform them into Strafers (flying units) and get 'em the hell out of there.

The graphics in Perimeter are beautiful. The game's visuals are nothing ground-breaking of course, but definitely worth your attention. With all the real-time lighting and shadow effects, you should be in for some solid eye candy. The landscape is not exceptionally detailed, but that's understandable since most of the terrain is destructible. On the other hand, it's a shame that players will need an extremely powerful rig to see the game in its full glory. Significantly reducing effects such as real-time shadows and reflections does help, but it ruins the whole visual experience. The frequently choppy frame-rate clearly shows that the developers didn't invest enough time into optimizing the 3D code.

Perimeter's online multiplayer mode kept us occupied for only a few hours. It's interesting to see how gamers use terraforming to fight against each other. Sadly, we doubt the average gamer will be able to enjoy the game properly given its steep hardware requirements.

In conclusion, I have to admit that playing Perimeter left just the kind of impression I hoped it would. It makes a nice change from the traditional RTS model; therefore I'd definitely recommend you give it a try regardless of your taste in strategy games. Perimeter hasn't exactly revolutionized the genre, but it probably threaded some new ground for the countless RTS games to come.