Then you and I have vastly different perceptions of what constitutes satisfaction, lol. Of course I suck at this game. Would I really be complaining if it were too easy? Only elitists and obsessives complain when something is too easy. I suck at lots of games, just like everyone else, whether they are mature enough to admit it or not. But I keep playing many of those games because they are good games and its fun to learn and get better. Ground Control was not one of those games. The difficulty is too ingrained with the game's technical problems and general shortcomings for me to regard it as anything more than a chore. At no point did I have that cathartic gamer moment where I paused the game, leaned back, and marveled at how much fun I was having. At no point did I think, "boy this is challenging, I sure am failing a lot, but that story sure is a doozy and I sure am having fun clicking things around, let's give this another shot," it was always more like "how is this game going to troll me next? well, everyone says it's great so I must be missing something." Do you see what I'm getting at? I suck at games like Aquaria and COD: Black Ops multiplayer, but I still play them because they are fun and addictive.

Funny that you would mention Homeworld, one of the all-time greats. Difficult? If you say so. Maybe I've played it too many times (it's a classic) but I don't really see how it is comparable to Ground Control. In fact Homeworld works better as an example of how to actually make something challenging and fun at the same time. Epic storyline, strong writing, dramatic music and suspenseful, prolonged combat, plus those lovely hand-drawn cutscenes that are the staple of Relic games. Oh, and it feels like an actual finished product with real production values and not a bargain bin contender with a fevered cult following. Some of the best moments weren't even about the battles, like the long stretches before and after combat, when you could just sit back and collect ore while admiring the scenery. I preferred the sequel, Cataclysm, both for its increased difficulty and the versatility of the units (mothership especially) that made you care about your tiny army all the more. Homeworld is quaint and leisurely, but I prefer Cataclysm's challenge better. I love the way those games constantly throw you into overwhelming, unwinnable situations, forcing you to make quick decisions that essentially come down to damage control. Even when it seems broken and unfair, there is some new twist on the horizon, some tiny light at the end of the tunnel.

As opposed to, say, forcing the player to pick from a unit pool even though there really is only one or two combinations of units that will suffice, forcing the player to cross and recross the same ugly maps over and over, punishing the player with gameplay that boils down to a series of "gotcha!" moments and hellish escort missions, forcing the player to endure a muted future world where everybody is a cardboard cutout who talks in cliches, etc.

But hey, thanks for the nostalgia.