Maybe my favorite RTS ever, right up there with Red Alert. It's all here. Great combat, great story, all the modes. Everything.
What's special about this one? Start with the soundtrack. The game was accompanied by a CD soundtrack where music would be queued from your disc during gameplay to suit the mood, with an original orchestral score by Jeremy Soule. I still listen to it on its own merit. Honestly good classical music.
The story is totally woven into gameplay. It's a simple tale with an atmosphere that puts its among gaming's greats. In short, the galaxy has been ravaged by two armies with an ideological disagreement. Each side is ruled by a Commander, a giant mech powered by a fusion reactor. Each commander can build a whole army out of nanomachines by recycling planetary resources. Yes, that does mean you can at any time reclaim old units to get the resources back, meaning you can change battle strategies on the fly. Each side has unique units, which are well balanced while offering some unique options. Units also gain automatic upgrades with their kill count, meaning you may hobble a broken take home trying to repair it and use it to get an advantage. Short cinematics between missions establish the story and really set the mood.
The gameplay has tons of possibilities. For instance, one strategy is to use mobile builder units to create a network of small bases that grow like a pox across the land- a fairly unique concept thanks to the resource system. Want to go all air, all ground, or all sea? The game has options. Want to turtle and use giant artillery to shell the enemy? That's an option. Want to rush the enemy base with your Commander and duke it out mano-a-mano? The commander has a cloak and the most powerful (but short-range) gun in the game- sneak up and let 'em have it. Such great music, so many options, honestly one of the greatest games of all time. If you love RTS, get this today.
