Ground Control was originally released 4 years-ago. Now four years later Vivendi and Massive have launched the sequel to the game, Ground Control II: Operation Exodus. GC2 continues on the tradition of excellent tactical gameplay but also adds a new state of the art 3D engine. It's the first RTS game to really utilize a powerful 3D graphics engine allowing you to zoom right in on the fight and view individual troops in action. Check out the screenshots to see what I mean. The storyline is excellent and there's loads of action to appease even the most demanding RTS player. As the game starts you're, Captain Jacob Angelus (Northern Star Alliance), defending your home planet (Morning Star Prime) from those dastardly and evil Terrans. There is a twist to this game, the first several campaigns it's just you and the terrans slugging it out, then a particular nasty alien race called the Viron's enters the picture. Turns out these blokes don't care for either you or the Terrans and would be just happy wiping you both out. The visual feast really impressed me; battles take place over a wide variety of terrains and environments. You can be fighting in a forest or jungle in one scenario then the next will take place in a frozen wasteland. Each terrain exceptionally rendered and designed, birds, geysers and other ambient visuals are part of the game.All of this adds a realism and ambiance unmatched in any RTS game. GC1 was mainly a tactical game, meaning the troops you had were the only ones you could work with, creating a more deliberate and slower paced game. GC2 includes reinforcements which can be called into battle at any time. This allows you to be more aggressive in your strategy, creating a more fluid and evolving battlefield. GC1 could be slow at times because of the lack of reinforcements which created a more cautious and dogmatic approach to battlefield tactics. Troops are delivered to the battlefield via drop ships. In the first game they were only available at the beginning and end of a mission. Drop ships can now be called down to deliver reinforcements during anytime of a mission. These ships can also be upgraded during the game, armor, fuel, weapons, carrying capacity etc… can all be improved upon. In addition to their ability to bring in fresh troops the drop ships also carry some excellent firepower and are a valuable asset in any battle. I was continually using my drop ships, after upgrades, to pound the enemy and weaken their defenses before I sent in my ground forces. Be careful though if you should lose your drop ship to enemy fire you won't get another so use them wisely but use them. Battlefield tactics play a significant role in this game. You can actually choose what side of a building to defend from and are given the choice before and after you enter a building. For instance if attacked from the north and your men are situated in the southern part of the building you can actual move them to the north end of the building for more effective suppression fire. When engaging enemy armor, flanking maneuvers are your best choice, as armor is the weakest on the sides and back. Never take enemy armor head on. The AI is pretty good in the game, you still have some of the path finding problems that are present in most RTS games and the strategy can be a little difficult to understand but overall the AI is good. If you're really into RTS games, and I would imagine you do this with all your games, play the game on the difficult level. The aliens, bad guys, are the Viron's. Most of their units are similar to the NSA's, they have the usual ground troops, light armor vehicles, artillery etc… What makes the unique is their ability to "meld". Meaning 2 units if called upon could join together and transform into a completely different unit. I.e. Two regular ground troops could turn into an artillery unit. This gives them a tactical advantage on the battlefield and you must react quickly as well or else dire consequences will occur. Muliplayer is where the real fun begins; Massgate is used as the player matching service. All your scores and stats are tracked for ladder play as well there's a friends list. The nice thing about multiplayer is that there is no resource building or harvesting involved. Thank-you very much, let me concentrate on military tactics and strategy forget the whole building barracks and finding gold routine.This feature alone gets a huge nod of approval from me. The one thing that bothered me the most about the game was the free form camera. I found it to be a little cumbersome and hard to use at times. Especially when the bullets are flying and you have to be quick on your feet. It took me a while before I could use it properly and I would highly recommend that you spend time getting used to it. Overall if found the game to be extremely visually appealing and mentally stimulating. Not having to build allows you to concentrate on battlefield tactics and strategy, something a true RTS game needs. The multiplayer aspect is excellent and in your face, no hanging around and waiting for things to happen here, once you step into he battlefield your in it knee deep.