Rating: 
Summary: only played demo but still 6 stars!
Review: Ive only played the demo version of this game but ive already become addicted! My parents say I buy too many games and I cant get any more(Oh man!)but if I could I would for sure buy GC. This game in a word ROCKS! Its well worth your money. And if u cant get it right away(like me) find someway to get the demo! Awsome units and the best graphics, a chalenge but still fun! Buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite ready for prime time.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Revolutionary
Review: I have played the demo of this game for a couple hours. This is great because I would usually finish a demo in about one hour. This game revolutionizes the RTS by giving the player almost full 3D 360 degree control of his/her view. You can watch your siege on an enemy outpost from any view. You can watch your men fire upon others. The surroundings that appear around your men are stunning. You can take full advantage of the territory by hiding in the shadows of hills or behind trees. The missions are simple in this demo but I am sure that will change in the full version. The controls are not difficult and the learning curve is almost 0. But incredibly (usually games this good would have steep learning curves) it is a very interesting game. Sierra did a great job with this game.
Rating:
Summary: This Game is Great!
Review: This game is the greatest game I have ever played since Half-Life. Sierra Studios has done it again! They have produced the best game in along time...The game has Excellent graphics and the Gameplay is very intelligent with all different camera angles. You can even move up to your army and see them under attack or can sit back and watch the battle. I think this game was a very smart idea because it allows the player to believe that he actually is in the battle or he is watching it.. the game difficulty is good... I have the demo.. This game is really good and I personally will tell everybody that reads this message to buy it. If you do buy it you will be very pleased with your decision.
Rating:
Summary: The Game that Force Commander Wanted to Be
Review: Like the other early reviewers here, I've become addicted to the Ground Control demo. What first got my attention about this game was the unbelievable similarities between it and Star Wars: Force Commander, but the game improves over its predecessor in just about every aspect. The game movements are very fluid-I've seen no awkwardness in rendering or in graphic detail as I move all over the map (on a PIII/500/Voodoo3). Nice touches to the graphics include phosphorescent explosions, multiple missile trailings, and shadowed map areas that don't automatically illuminate because of line-of-sight. Only ground explosions look somewhat more assembled than natural. The controls are mostly mouse oriented, very much like Myth, and the interface is inventive, easy to grasp, and takes up very little of the screen. The voice acknowledgments are informative without being repetitive. Truthfully, I don't know how the overall variety of units compares to Force Commander, or if the storyline will be as interesting, but at this point, I don't much care. Force Commander got me to explore the realm of real-time strategy games, but I have no doubt that Ground Control, with its smoother controls, more intuitive interface, and great attention to detail, is going to be the one that really keeps me playing.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible real-time tactics
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Ground Control is the best 3D RTS game of all time!
Review: Last week I purchased the PC Gamer magazine (June '00) issue and in it it brought a CD with demos and it had a world exclusive of Ground Control! I was all hyped up and immediately left the bookstore after purchasing it and went home to play it! Once I got home, I played the demo for 2 hours straight! I still haven't beaten the demo because the third real mission is pretty tough. Anyway, I recommend that anyone who likes action purchase this game. It comes out on June 2! Don't be lead out onto not liking it because it's a 3d real-time-strategy(3D RTS). I don't care much about RTS but once I played this one, it blew me away! This is the incredible action-packed sci-fi 3D RTS game I have ever played and believe me, I have played hundreds of PC games and own alot of them too. You can bet that I'll buy it once it comes out! You definitely should too! You can see what you're missing by downloading the demo in massiveentertainment.com, or much easier, buy the PC Gamer June '00 issue in your local newstand and/or bookstore.
Rating:
Summary: Ground Control: Awesome
Review: This game is a great game that does NOT burden the player with the boring and typical resource collecting and technology trees of other games. In each scenario you have a certain number of units at a certain strength; you have some ability to repair damage, but once your men die, they are gone for the scenario, and in campaigns, have to be replaced by less experienced (effective) new units. This game was easy to learn, but hard to get really good at, which is another good point about it.
Rating:
Summary: Adequate Opposition
Review: Ground control was a truly amazing game.
Overview:
Two groups, the government millitairy and religious cult that saved a large part of the population of the world during a nuclear war. Alien artifacts are later discovered and you must fight the religious group to reclaim them. The religious group talks about them as some sort of "god's cleansing". The plot is very interesting, although involving the overused 'alien artifacts on earth'. Here is a rating of this game on five characteristics. Mechanics and Physics: 4/5
Graphics: 5/5
Sound and Music: 5/5
Difficulty: 5/5
Multi-Play: 5/5
Customation: 4/5 The mechanics are near perfect. Sometimes, you will see some terrain that seems to be of passable but really isn't. Also, a large part of the game is positioning your units so the artillery or weak units don't get attacked or hiding spies where they can't be seen. Scouts/spies are often hard to hide, even when you hide them in a forest on top of a hill. The easiest way to position them is below eye level in a valley or behind a hill. The graphics are astounding. From the blasts of the infantry to the beams of the hovercraft, you will find yourself completely lost in it. Bombers have nice fuzzy plasma bombs and the artillery makes great blasts. Also, you can heal units and even the healing 'beam' looks great. Sounds and music are average, nothing special... but none of them are even partially annoying. The game is relatively difficult. The easiest missions consist of seeking and destroying. Protecting units and defending areas are often harder, providing that you can't step back and recoup from the battles. No problems in this section. The multi player is great fun. The objective is to destroy the enemy APC or commanding unit. Reinforcements are delivered every so often. There are also maps that have plots and pre-configured scripts for variations on play. Lastly, the game is greatly configureable. You can make maps, which account for much of the customization. If you are expecting customization on Unreal Tournament's level, don't look here. The editor is above average and is a great feature. Hopefully this review helps you lean favorably towards buying this game.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, if uncomplicated
Review: Just bought the game, and have to say I like it. It isn't a traditional RTS, as you have no economy, gather no resources, and build no buildings or units. Instead, you just start with some units, and go kill stuff. It's pretty straightforward. Before each mission, you can customise your squads and dropships however you like. You have several basic types of unit:
infantry
tank ("terradyne")
floaty tank ("hoverdyne")
flying thing ("aerodyne")
and heavy weapon ("rocket terradyne", Anti-Air, Artillery) Each of these units comes in several flavors, such as "scout" "medium" "heavy." You can further customise each squad as "Offensive" "Speed" "Defensive" or "Balanced." Defensive means the squad is equipped with additional armor, etc. The in game controls are simple. The camera is easy to control (arrow keys to move, mouse to look around, pgup and pgdown do zoom in/out.) You kill stuff. Simple, relatively fast gameplay. You can find it cheap, and with the settings cranked up, it still looks good. All you could ask for from ten dollars worth of game.
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