Tooth and Tail

If you like RTS games but bore easily of the tedium of base building, constant clicking, and unit ques, give this game a shot. Your commander is your cursor. You rally your troops to advance or retreat or hold position. This game hits a good mix of depth and strategy though at first glance it seems shallow, but it's right up there (better if you're not a click freak) with Starcraft in terms of Strategy. It's very addicting blowing up enemy warrens. Even clicking buttons in the menu is satisfying. At the start of each match you'll pick your army, your choice is limited though so it requires thought, and you'll battle it out with flame throwing skunks, drunken squirrels holding machine guns, and sniper foxes. Did I mention owls? Each match is played on a randomly generated map, which is pretty fuckin' awesome. Soon a map editor will be released, too. The matches are short so if you're a parent you can hop on, play a match, go back to screaming baby. The campaign is a pretty addicting set of story missions. Typically I only play RTS games for skirmish with bots (this game has, by the way—they put up a much better challenge than allot of other RTS bots) but I enjoy the story missions in this. They're entertaining to boot. If you're in the mood for an RTS game without all the bullshit, give this a go.

When I fist saw that this game was coming to GOG I was overjoyed, there have been plenty of games that I wanted to play but they will most likely never be sold here. After playin it however I can't help but feel disappointed. This game's AI needs to be reworked badly, instead of gradually evolving in the campaign mode the game "cheats" by stacking the deck against you. For example the game forces you to play aggressively but will punish you for not building bases by overrunning you with cheap enemy units. Trying to build defenses to halt the constant enemy zerging? Well all of your farms have gone fallow and you lose. Trying to zerg your enemy? Your opponent builds units and collects resources faster than you do. Game forces a resource cap for your mission? The AI doesn't have that handicap. A lack of player controls also screws you over. You can't pause unit construction, so your resources are constantly draining preventing you form building new unit spawning bunkers or resource fields. All of this added together results in a clunky irritating game.

Not a strategy game for those who are not into fast, frantic RTS experiences. While this may not demand the micro that Starcraft does, it's still a mess if you prefer time to think. Procedural map can mean you can be set in losing position at the start of a mission. Dev's have swore up and down the AI does not cheat, but I dunno. Control scheme is interesting, using your leader as a mouse cursor; it's obviously designed with a control in mind, and I can dig that. Wouldn't know about multiplayer, I have no interest in it in any game. I REALLY want to like this game, I do. I love the art style, I love the music, I love the unit designs. But it does nothing but frustrate me every time I try to get into it.

Well, its an RTS but make no mistake. Its supposed to be controlled with a controller, not mouse + keyboard. And the gameplay feels like it.