Ground Control II: Operation Exodus review

"Generally, management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organisation. And to control many is the same as to control few”. So said General Sun Tzu. Clearly Sun Tzu had not played a real-time strategy game. Had the master strategist not died a couple of thousand years before their emergence, quotes from The Art of the Real-Time Strategy would have probably read; “Foolish is the one who puts his trust in path-finding and artificial intelligence” or “They captured my base? I was trying to capture their base. I can’t do two things at once. Bastards.”

A real-time strategy player must by nature be a fast and accurate clicker. A practised opponent can simultaneously create a foolproof defensive backline, an aggressive assault force and a reserve of cunning counter-attackers (probably wile sparing a few minutes to buy some rare memorabilia off eBay); proceeding to march on your poorly constructed hovel in less time than you can say “unit under construction”. Much of the skill in real-time strategy depends on your mastery of the mouse - just how quickly can you organise, implement and manage your grand strategic designs?

It’s a skill you will need for Ground Control II, a game that scrimps on neither action nor strategy. Like its esteemed predecessor, Operation Exodus has thrown off the shackles of resource management and runs free in the valley of strategic possibility, choosing instead to concentrate on immediate action and combat tactics.

Ground Control to Captain Angelus

You assume the role of Captain Jacob Angelus, who speaks in something approximating a cockney accent, tasked with the job of saving the world. Ultimately that boils down to completing two twelve mission campaigns, one with the human Northern Star Alliance (NSA), the other with an alien race called the Virons. Save for the cut scenes that bookend each campaign, the bulk of the tale is relayed within the missions themselves, offering plenty of hooks to keep the player interested, without being intrusive. It’s certainly not going to win any awards, but it complements the game well enough. But enough with this story lark - let us delve into the game proper.

Charge of the Light Brigade

It’s hard not to gawp at the sheer graphical beauty that appears on the monitor upon first starting a campaign. If the first bite is with eye, then what a bite this is. Ground Control II’s battlefields are amazing creations - the landscapes are expansive, the units intricate and detailed, the lighting spectacular. A versatile camera allows you to swoop down into the midst of the action at grunt eye level, allowing you to follow a charging squad as they tear into the enemies’ flank. The resulting exchange of gunfire is akin to an explosion in a fireworks factory.

To be honest though, being able to get this close to the action is a rare privilege. With so much going on there’s always something to be seen to, meaning that most of your time will be spent watching the unfolding action on high from a more traditional, but still visually pleasing, perspective. The fact that the game defaults to a standard overhead view over the classic free-moving Ground Control camera is indicative of a change in pace and design from the original game.

I need reinforcements!

Ground Control II allows you to use an Aliens style dropship to call down additional units to bolster your ranks. Doing so requires acquisition points (AP), which are gained by capturing objective locations and landing zones from your enemy. Like a frantic real-time version of Risk, it is essential to secure these locations to ensure you receive sufficient reinforcements. Capture an opponent’s landing zone and you also have a new base of operations in which to drop off your new recruits.

Tactically a standard mission becomes about capturing and securing these locations, using the geography of the landscape to try and bottleneck your opposition into a cul-de-sac where the final assault will take place. Of course the computer has other ideas and the AI makes an admirable job of exploiting your weaknesses, probing for poorly defended areas in an attempt to get behind your front line, or launching pods to capture a vacant landing zone.

Mission control

Having said that, a fair few of the single player missions deviate from this objective/base capturing template. There’s nothing you won’t have seen before; tasks such as escorting a VIP vehicle through enemy territory or defending an under-siege base being staples of the genre. There are also some shorter story based missions that direct you in a linear fashion to set objectives.

Although these missions aren’t as strategically nourishing as the more open designs of the standard missions, they add some spice to the regular tactical recipe, whilst providing the impetus that drives the overarching storyline. Only the ‘stealth’ mission really disappoints, made slightly redundant by virtue of the fact that the AI clearly isn’t able to handle the shift in style. This section suffers from the same problem that slighted many a mid-90s first person shooter, namely enemies not reacting to their neighbour’s bonce being taken off by a high calibre sniper round - thereby allowing you to pick them off one by one without encountering any resistance.

Balancing the scales

Although the selection of units is relatively small, each is well balanced and useful throughout the game, rather than being superseded by a succession of increasingly powerful units. This is helped by the fact that each unit has a secondary fire mode. Your basic NSA infantry, who should by rights be bottom of the food chain, are able to switch to a stationary rocket-propelled grenade mode, letting lose a volley of missiles that, as long as you have sufficient numbers, can take a vehicle out in no time at all.

Each unit has its own strength/weakness dichotomy. Heavy tanks have great firepower, making them excellent for assaulting enemy positions but are slow moving and defenceless against airborne assaults. Meanwhile the aircraft themselves are good against most vehicles but are unable to target enemy troops and stand no chance against anti-aircraft weaponry. It therefore becomes essential to employ scout vehicles to assess the defences ahead, organising your forces accordingly, all the while using the terrain to your advantage.

Don’t expect a radical change in style playing as the alien Virons. The main difference is the ability to ‘meld’ two units together into a single more advanced one. However this is rendered strategically superficial in comparison to the myriad of tactical permutations Perimeter allowed by employing a similar concept; the new units gaining more in the way of firepower than new tactical ability. Once you get used to the new Viron units - which are roughly equivalent to their human counterparts but with the added bonus of regenerative capabilities – it’s business as usual, but they remain a welcome, if mainly aesthetic, addition nonetheless.

Critical hit?

Despite the quality and polish of many of Ground Controll II’s features I still have some reservations. Although the use of objective points and reinforcements makes for a fast paced game that requires its own unique strategies to succeed, it lacks the economy of design that made the original so deliciously distinctive. Calling down reinforcements makes the game play far more like its resource reliant contemporaries than the original – in which you made do with what you were given - resulting in pauses when it’s necessary to amass and consolidate your force before proceeding.

Having to constantly rearrange your army, combined with transporting reinforcements up from landing zones to the front lines, becomes a bit of burden, especially whilst under constant attack. Further fiddly frustration is caused by some niggling control issues. Having to constantly toggle between the two unit modes manually being a particular annoyance and is something that could have done with some degree of automation.

Think me a feeble minded, un-coordinated cretin, but I found this need to nanny multiple situations overwhelming at times. Many of the missions even start with you on the back foot - under attack and with little time to organize – requiring a few restarts to get your bearings. Things would also be made easier if your units displayed a bit more autonomy whilst you’re preoccupied elsewhere on the map; leave anyone alone for too long and they’re usually mincemeat. Such criticism isn’t enough to seriously diminish my opinion of the game, but it certainly had me teeming with frustration at points.

Mission complete

Thankfully the addictive nature of Ground Control II makes for compelling gaming, despite such foibles. It’s easy to get caught up in the sheer momentum of perpetual battle, the balance of power slowly swinging in your favour until that last Landing Zone turns your colour below the wrecked carcasses of your defeated enemy (cue maniacal laughter).

Regardless of the often frantic pace, there’s bountiful strategic potential here, which should keep potential Sun Tzu’s happy. Ground Control II may not be the breath of fresh air the genre has been waiting for, but real-time strategy gamers are still in for a real treat - this is slickly produced strategic gaming – and comes thoroughly recommended.