Ground Control

by Sierra

Product Features

• In this game, The Order Of The New Dawn have laid claim to a bare planetoid. Their rivals, the Crayven Corporation, want to know why
• Start out playing for the side of the Crayven Corp., running espionage missions to find out what secrets the planet holds
• With incredible graphics, intense real-time strategy, and over 30 single-player missions, you'll be amazed at this game
• Play with up to 8 people, or play against them in a deathmatch
• Choose and arm your troops, arrange battles, and fight to win --- and uncover the strange and terrifying secret

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004KD64
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8 x 2 inches ; 2 pounds
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: June 8, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,914 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Ground Control ignites the stagnant real-time strategy genre with magnificent 3-D visuals, dazzling special effects, and enthralling gameplay. The game eschews typical real-time strategy conventions by forgoing resource collection completely. Instead, you're provided with a handful of troops--which you can custom-select before each single-player mission or multiplayer game--and dropped on maps filled with rolling terrain and tight chokepoints.

Strategic unit placement takes priority over the size of an attacking force. Placing units on elevations improves accuracy; concealing units in shadows make them harder to hit; and flanking heavily armored units is vital, since armor is usually weaker in the rear than in the front.

Dozens of units are available, including different models of armored personnel carriers, infantry, tanks, artillery, and aircraft. Most feature special weapons, such as mortars or grenade launchers, designed to take out specific units or structures. Despite the impressive visual and sound effects, Ground Control's arsenal of units tends to blend together, lacking distinction and personality. This is a minor gripe, though, against a game with such impressive visuals and gameplay.

Ground Control's intuitive control system complements its flashy 3-D engine. Players can rotate and tilt the camera at any angle, from a bird's-eye viewpoint far above the action to a trooper's-eye view in the middle of a firefight. Important battle commands, such as unit formations and aggression levels, are seamlessly presented onscreen and are easily available for use.

Robust multiplayer features enable players to test their tactics over the Internet or local area network against human opponents. Gamers can participate in deathmatch, free-for-all, and team play as well as unique games such as flagzones (gain control of particular territories) and--a first for the strategy genre--"drop-in" games where players can enter and leave active games at any time.

Massive Entertainment has created an impressive package. Ground Control's excellent single-player missions, accessible multiplayer modes, and topnotch gameplay make it one of the best strategy games of the year. --Doug Radcliffe

Pros:

• Engaging spin on the real-time strategy genre
• Breathtaking 3-D accelerated visuals; both terrain and units are crisp and detailed
• Intuitive camera system and control interface
• Eschews resource gathering, a staple of real-time strategy, and emphasizes action and tactics
• Excellent multiplayer support

Cons:

• The heavily mechanized units lack personality

Product Description

This software is BRAND NEW. Packaging may differ slightly from the stock photo above. Please click on our logo above to see over 15,000 titles in stock.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible real-time tactics, May 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ground Control (CD-ROM)

Rather than the following the standard RTS formula of 80% resource management mixed with 20% battle tactics, this game follows the precedent set by the Myth series. You choose from a selection of units before the mission, along with a number of different configurations and equipment packs. You may choose to equip your infantry squads as stealthy, far-sighted Jaegers, or you might decide to outfit them as slow, powerful grunts. Special equipment including deployable sentry guns, explosive or armor-piercing ammunition, and vision-enhancers is also available. You must also choose which squads are necessary for a mission, since space on the dropships is limited. Control is at the squad level, with sizes ranging from 1 heavy artillery cannon to 8 marines. Proper coordination of different units is necessary for success. Your artillery might have enough firepower to turn the enemy into a smoking crater, but without proper scouting it becomes useless. This game also does what few other RTS games has ever accomplished; it successfully implements chain of command. Keep your Command APC safe, or your troops will be completely ineffective.

The graphics are good but not particularly distinguished, and the controls are reasonably simple, including all the standard elements of RTS (hotkeyed groups, formations, etc.) and adding a few nice touches, such as the ability to set a squad's movement and firing styles (rush blindly ahead firing at anyone who shows his face, or advance cautiously and sneakily to the enemy rear). The effects of high ground, rear and flank attacks, and suppressive fire are also well implemented.

I'd recommend this game to Myth fans, as well as to anyone who enjoys the strategy elements of RTS more than the resource management aspects.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite ready for prime time., June 7, 2000

By 

Matthew Dunphy (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ground Control (CD-ROM)

Like many of the other previous reviewers, I bought the game because the demo was outstanding. I'm finding in practice that the game really doesn't measure up, however.

To Ground Control's credit, this is probably the best 3D land-based RTS game to come out yet. However, it still doesn't manage to escape from a lot of the shortcomings of its fellow 3D RTS's.

The nature of 3D RTS, at least so far, seems to be that units are more 'realistically' proportional to the terrain. While that may be nice on paper, in gameplay what it translates to is that you spend hours moving your units from one place on the map to the other, because they're so small in proportion to the terrain. In fighting battles, you're obligated to zoom out to such an extent that each unit is only a blip of a few pixels on your screen--not much fun to watch or look at while directing the troops.

I don't find the elimination of resource management to be a plus for Ground Control. What that ends up meaning is that there is no reinforcement available for you to build or buy; you can't simply play and have fun if you want to try different things in a mission. You have to carefully and tediously position your units so as to incur as few losses as possible. Add to this the fact that there is NO in-game saving in Ground Control, and you find yourself playing very carefully and tediously indeed.

Topping this off, there just isn't a good story happening here to keep you interested. It's mostly told through the thoughts of the two side commanders rather than through good character and dialog. The cutscenes are hands-down the worst I've ever seen--they are videos of the game engine, it looks like, and they're so badly compressed that they look like they're being streamed over the web--blocky, blurry, and awful to watch.

On the positive side, the game does look great, especially when you zoom in close to the units fighting. It plays better on lower-end systems than other games of its type, but you'll still need a blistering machine if you want to see it in its full glory.

Be warned also that it's not entirely stable. A patch was released the day after it hit retail, but not all of the bugs are out of it. One of the worst is that it will crash on completion of a mission, and you don't get credited with the mission. I've spent more hours replaying because of this than I'd care to admit.

As a former Army officer, I think there are some cool tactical things happening in Ground Control that haven't been modeled well in other games--friendly fire, fire support, formations--but in the end, when all is said and done, I have to say that the game just isn't that much fun to play.

You're getting 90% of the experience in the demo. If it really floats your boat after seeing it, then maybe you should try it. Other than that, buyer beware.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Focus on tactics, instead of resource management, June 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ground Control (CD-ROM)

Ground Control is all about tactics and strategy, realized in a beautiful 3-D landscape. Units increase effectiveness as they gain experience and earn kills. The game appeals to those who enjoy Chess, real-world tactics and military history, and movies such as Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day, etc. It is not a traditional RTS.

Traditional real-time strategy games are all about base building and figuring out how to churn out disposable units faster than your opponent. They appeal to those who enjoy Axis & Allies, Starship Troopers (the movie), fast-paced action, and who don't care about patience / intricate plans.

The best thing about Ground Control is that you can rename and customize your squads. I say squads because unlike traditional RTS games and like real-world militaries, all your units in the game are squads of 3-10 individual soldiers/tanks/planes. In the first mission you get 1 squad of marines, and you can customize them to be Offensive (more firepower), Defensive (more armour), Recon (more speed), or Balanced. If they survive the mission, they may earn a medal of commendation, and will gain experience. The next mission, they'll fight a little harder and live a little longer than an inexperienced squad. Half the fun of the game is grooming units into elite squads, or feeling sorrow when you have to leave a n experienced squad behind to fight a suicide delaying action while the rest of your force escapes.

Customization goes further than experience, names, and general focus. You can also choose to add special equipment or weapons. This lets you tailor your forces to your unique strategic style. For example, you can give one unit of tanks indirect-fire mortars, and your other unit of tanks a loadout of armour piercing cannon shells. You put the mortar unit behind the anti-armour unit, then have some Recon-focused marines scout out the enemy. Shell the enemy with the mortars while retreating the marines, then decimate the enemy with the anti-armour tanks when they get close. Other commanders may wish to load all the tanks with the armour-piercing rounds and simply charge the enemy. Whatever your style, Ground Control delivers.

The fact that your forces are limited makes each of your soldiers that more precious. You have to PLAN your attack, using your squads' special abilities and unique equipment to their best advantage. Use terrain to give a better field of fire, use fast units to lure the enemy into an ambush, conceal your troops in the shadow of a ridge to protect them from return fire. Tactical finesse is needed if you are to avoid friendly fire casualties, efficiently destroy the enemy, and prevent the loss of key units.

Most missions have a time limit, adding even more excitement. All the missions are tied together with a pretty typical plot of Mega Corp vs. Techno-mystics, all fighting over something powerful that niether truly understands. There are a few recurring characters (like in StarCraft), but they pale in comparison to that game's memorable heroes. That's fine. While Ground Control won't win awards for story or writing, it deserves recognition as one of the more innovative, strategicaly satisfying, and FUN games of the year.