![]() ![]() ![]() Second are the survivor vaults which are littered around the maps, these house humans who are sealed away from the nuclear apocolypse which claimed the world. Resources in Maelstrom are straight forward, all factions will need access to water which is a critical resource and even more so, as explained earlier, for the Hai-Genti. ![]() ![]() They've learnt from that and built it into MaelStrom, so expect to see more than just rising water as you can really bring some hurt to the earth itself. KDV also brought us, the gaming public, Perimeter which is well known for its environment manipulations. It's much better to caste terrain busting powers on some AI enemies at least, than just empty land. Of course it can't compare to the action you'll be missing. This can give real freedom to explore your tech trees but also the maps available. I decided to get acquainted with each faction and see how they like to operate, fortunately you can choose to fire up a skirmish battle with no enemies. Though it would be best if you didn't place all your faith into the AI, after-all it can't compete with human creativity and exploitation. This means the computer will expand and build units for you, letting you concentrate more on the actual action. If you really want to take control and utilize hero units to their full, then you are going to want to set your base to AI control. While not exactley an original idea, it can be twinned with another option in Maelstrom. These can range from a healing microwave to stealth etc, they've tried to present this in a FPS style. To match games like SpellForce, you can also take direct control of the heros and use their special abilities. So many RTS titles now have their RPG elements, KDV not wanting to miss out, included a number of hero units for each side. It's simple enough and you'll learn basic controls through a nice and easy tutorial phase. The campaign now comes in full for me to sink into, you first start off the storyline as the Remnant as you're introduced to the Maelstrom universe. The tactics really vary from each side and its exciting to switch over and get a taste of new strategies. The water they use to flood areas of a map can really hinder the humans, while the aliens simply swim and can also heal themselves when semi-submerged. Of all the factions, the Hai-Genti are certainly the most obscure and 'scary', watching their base spores evolve into giant bio-monstrosities. They are pure organic and so rely heavily on both water and biomass for their war machine. Instead they also use it to flood and expand their building influence, much like the old Starcraft game. The fact that they're linked with marine species is very significant, they don't utlize water in the same way as the two human counterparts. The Hai-Genti are the invading aquatic based aliens who want Earth as a new territory. Very sleek and futuristic, their entire base can transform back into mobile trucks for relocating. They eliminate natural selection and breed superior agents to further their desires. The Acsension are all about gene-therapy and tweaking DNA with technology, they see themselves as the true step forward for the human race. Tanks, jeeps and marine grunts are the main force of the Remnant, they're not as advanced as the other factions but can pack some serious punch. They are the closest you can feel to a modern human faction and they favour bunkers and barbed wire. The Remnant faction are the rag tag bunch looking to free Earth and save what shreds of humanity they can. It's not going to break any major barriers or drop thousands of jaws like Company of Heroes for instance, but it leaves a nice after taste. I was able to whack up the settings to full and enjoy what KDV had to offer, and it was well worth it. The water, which is a main feature of the games mechanic, is very impressive and organic units can swim about. In fact the graphics are one of the best features Maelstrom has to offer especially with its terrain manipulations and the unique quirk of the alien faction. A nice little touch and it gives the game a chance to show off some of its graphical features. Much has been polished even from just the menu, as you select a different option the camera will shift focus onto a different part of the scenary. I had the pleasure of tasting KDV's Maelstrom as a preview release, but now I get the whole end product experience. A freedom band of mercenaries battling an unethical mega corporation for supremacy of the world, what could be worse for Earth? Oh yeah, the invading aquatic based alien species looking to turn the whole planet into a paddling pool. ![]()
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