Game: Greed Corp
Publisher/Developer: W! Games
Platform: XBLA, PSN, PC
Price: $9.99 (PSN Store, PC), 800 Spacebucks (XBLA)
Pros: Deep RTS with glimpses of what a console can do for the genre
Cons: AI punishingly difficult
Verdict: For RTS junkies, but casuals need not apply.
Review copy provided by publisher
Themes emphasizing the evils of industrialization have long been the focus of numerous works of literature and obese, Michigan-based documentary filmmakers. It would take a special vision to attempt to tackle the issue in an interactive media. Greed Corp manages to do just that, without forcing players to tolerate the doldrums of a history textbook or the obnoxious screech of narration that can only be produced from years of Napoleonic syndrome and one too many blunt shots to the head. A work of art this is not, but it might be competent enough to earn Michael Moore’s celebrity endorsement.
Since the dawn of warfare there has always been a delicate balance between the opposing armies and a finite amount of resources. Now imagine that you could forgo trying to find abandoned gold and/or gas mines, because the resource was the very ground you are standing on. That’s right, in Greed Corp mining minerals actually erodes at the land under your feet. To make matters worse, after mining your own land for any extended length of time, the platform crumbles to pieces, leaving any poor bastards marooned there to plummet to their utter demise.
While it is not necessarily required to mine your own land, there are numerous advantages to doing so. First off, though eventually rendering the territory more worthless than breast implants on a nun, the extra minerals that this nets can help make early strikes at the opposition. Much like other RTS titles, there is a calculated risk/reward that can come from the “zerg rush” tactic. A second option is to use this as a way to create an artificial chasm between the opposition. This is a strategy that more often than not will come back to bite players in the ass, but for those that have a sadistic streak, it could prove to be a powerful method of self-preservation. The problem with said marooning can be the possibility of amassing large amounts of troops, with no possibilities to transporting them into an attacking position.
Eventually players can buy small planes, used to airdrop your mechanical minions onto the computers players like manna from heaven… if you worship bombs aimed at your face. Early on the minerals necessary to perform such acts are few and far between. Fortunately, as any war monger knows, there is no better way to drive an hole into your enemy’s frontline than the use of heavy artillery. All you need to do is build a turret and players will be tearing through adversaries faster than you can say, “boom goes the dynamite.”
The thing that the game has going for it most is the unique sense of style and flair that it brings to an otherwise tired genre. Everything from the music to the creaks and squeaks of aged servos helps reinforce that this is meant to take place in a day that has long since past, yet has more modern technologies. It is an odd, steampunk juxtaposition that balances itself out well, as long as the repetitive soundtrack doesn’t drive you mad. Each faction, though possessing the same unit “types” have a slightly different look and feel that will show through differently with each playthrough.
One thing that will never differ is the sphincter-punishingly-difficult AI. Time after time, match after match, players can expect to have their ass handed to them in a paper sack like a mother packing their lunch. A little challenge would never hurt anybody, but when it is hard to tell if you are actually getting better at a game or just getting lucky, it might be time to take a step back and re-prioritize what your focus should be. Nobody likes a gameplay experience that involves the distinct desire to forcibly extract enough follicles from your scalp that you could pass as Captain Jean-Luc Picard stand-in.
Bottom line for Greed Corp is that there is a very enjoyable experience to be had. The music, art direction, color scheme and even animations prove that an immense amount of thought has went into making the experience both unique, while at the same time rooted in plausibility. Factions are designed to be well balanced, and shows a maturity in the game’s structure that is the signature of a solid RTS title. When you consider that it is being done on a console, it appears even more remarkable. As long as you are not opposed to crying yourself to sleep after wasting a half hour on a match, only to be annihilated in the closing minutes, then this might be just the game for you. Tread softly solder, because there be gold in them there hills!
Popularity: unranked [?]
No comments