60 Second Preview of…
The Moon Project
The Specs
Although Earth 2150 was one of last year's better RTSes, its sales
were probably hurt by all of last year's other RTSes. GAMES Studios
hopes that by releasing this follow-up during a slower season with
few RTSes in sight, it will fare better. The Moon Project is a stand
alone game that basically brings a new campaign and a few new units
to the Earth 2150 engine. For instance, the United Civilized States
get a stealth sub to wreak havoc on naval units; the Eurasian Dynasty's
transports can carry off enemy units and drop them to their death;
and the Lunar Corporation's flighty hovercraft get more teeth: the
Fat Girl chassis can hold four heavy weapons, the Super Fighter
is a good all-purpose combat unit, and Crystal Armor and Magnetic
Shields make their vehicles more durable. The Moon Project also
upgrades the camera controls so you can zoom out further for a better
view of the battlefield or zoom in tighter to admire the detailed
3D models.
The Speculation
Tom's Comments: When I visited GAMES Studios, I was
given a brief demo of The Moon Project by someone who only knew
the basics of the game. Then I was sent packing with a beta that
turned out to be broken and unplayable. So I learned most of what
I know about the details of Moon Project from a mock-up of the manual.
Unfortunately, this expansion looks like it's homogenizing the three
sides. Everyone gets Earthquake Generators and Anti-Rocket Systems
(look, it's George Bush's missile shield!). The UCS is given the
ED's heavy 105mm Cannons while the ED gets the equivalent of the
UCS's Shadow Generator to cloak its base. Also generously doled
out are heavy artillery placements (the equivalent of Total Annihilation's
Big Bertha?), "Building Grabbers" (Red Alert 2's engineers?),
and "Recyclers" (sell your obsolete units for money).
The Lunar Corporation, which almost shattered the balance in Earth
2150, seems more powerful than ever before with stronger units,
stronger defense, and no more tunneling restrictions. While The
Moon Project might be a great way to introduce Earth 2150 to new
players, I'm worried it might also be more weight than the game's
already delicate balance can bear.
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Publisher: GAMES Studios
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Developer: Topware Interactive
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Genre: Real time strategy
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Release Date: Q1 2001
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