I'm not exactly sure where to put this, but I submitted my lengthy review to GamersGate tonight and I believe it is pending a read-through by the admin as it wasn't posted immediately. It was extremely difficult to put into words just how incredible and epic this game is and it would take a week to write about all the features and things you will find along the way. Hopefully my review was OK and conveyed at least the basics of the game and touched on interesting facets here and there.
AI War - Fleet Command: GamersGate Customer Review
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Once in a great while, a game silently comes along that exceeds all expectations in execution and substance and does it with grace and style; AI War is such a game. There is way more to this game than I could ever convey in a mere collection of words in this review and it would be pointless in trying to touch on all the intricacies and facets this title has to offer. AI War is a real time strategy set within a space setting that pits you against two AI players in a campaign to dominate the map in any way you possibly can. You can also have multiplayer games via direct IP to fight against the AI together and other players may even join the game at a later time in the battle allowable by the robust options the game offers.
AI War features the most ruthless, cunning and dynamic AI in any game I have ever seen (and I have played hundreds over the years) and there are a plethora of options, AI types, and personalities to choose from to last any player a lifetime of game play. There is a random map generator with several different styles to choose from which uses a seed variation that is even easily recalled with its unique seed number in case you wish to share the map you created with friends. The amount of variations you can enable before even starting a game are staggering and well reach into the billions of possibilities for a different game every time you start a new one.
The amount of units, functions and options presented within the game itself are amazing and paves the way for some really strategic thought within the course of the game. This isn't the classic "pump out a ton of units and flood the AI with Unit X" type of game; you will have to use your brain and devise strategies to try to survive because the AI can be set from clever to brutally ingenious and will have your tactics in a knot right when you think you had the ideal game plan. I have had matches where I formulated my strategy after studying the overall map and then the AI formed blockades on either side of me forcing me to either fight or fall back; a strategy I often use in such games and was astounded to see this occur in logic. You have a good number of basic units that are upgradable and unlocked by gaining knowledge from each planet and spending the relative resources to produce them. This number being in the hundreds as it is, you may also capture certain AI structures to gain additional technology to build yet even more different types of units and there are quite a few opportunities in the game to form very unique and purposeful fleets to try to outwit the AI.
The actual art in the game is in the vein of the old Tyrian game in the form of 2D sprites with very colorful spacial backgrounds for each planet and nice (and useful) effects that match very well with the theme. It's not impossible to see a fleet of 60,000 ships on the screen at one time and this is what the lower overhead of 2D graphics can afford us with as opposed to seeing much less in 3D games. As most people I have heard, you won't be staring at the graphics for very long as you are quickly thrust into action from minute one and making decisions immediately to secure your survival. This game is extremely addicting and it's very difficult to put it down as you want to take over just one more planet to plan your next move in the conquest. AI War has many qualities of great RTS games before it and then adds to it tenfold in complexity with two separate (but united) AI foes that will stop at nothing to foil your progress and stunt your actions. It must be played to see how this actually unfolds and is merely impossible to express with words just how dynamic this intelligence can be at times.
Given the amazing scope of this game, it is without doubt one of the best RTS games ever produced and is a must for any hard core gamer who loves epic campaigns and massive fleets of ships coupled with a requirement of tactics and intelligence to prevail. The game itself takes about one hour to learn with an interactive tutorial which introduces you to the basics, and then you are cut loose with a galaxy of options to start that "perfect storm" custom scenario that can last for hours, days or weeks to complete in full.
To top all this off, the interaction of Arcen games and the community is immense and helps keep the game features coming along and the ideas fresh and in check. There is constant free DLC and support for the core game and the expansion pack, Zenith Remnant (released today - my review pending), and the overall goal is to keep building on AI War to create a massive game system rather than have several sequels over time. To purchase the core AI War game today is an investment that will continue to grow even larger over the years and will provide endless game play with a plethora of options to keep even the most picky gamer happy for a long time to come. I also very highly suggest to pick up the newly released Zenith Remnant expansion released today that virtually adds a second game to AI War in terms of content and options.
For the retail price of AI War - or even double the amount - it is definitely more than worth the money ten times over with all the action and game play you will get between you and your friends. The best advice I can give you is to just try the demo and see for yourself just how lost in space you can truly get!
