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O.R.B.

The Specs

O.R.B. is a 3D real-time strategy game that cannot avoid being compared to Homeworld. O.R.B. pits the distinct races of two planets against one another in a war for control of a solar system. The planets are located in an orbiting asteroid belt. Players mine the asteroids for resources, research new technologies, and build and upgrade units. While all this is going on, the asteroids they fight over and mine orbit from one side to the other. As asteroids are mined, craters are created that players can convert into covert military installations, allowing players to launch guerilla operations from these bases as they orbit behind enemy lines. O.R.B. will consist of two single-player campaigns as well as multiplayer games of up to eight players, some of which can be AI players.

The Speculation

Tom's Comments: Asteroid belts don't make good playing fields. When you're talking about a game set in an asteroid belt and one of your selling points is that everything moves around at different speeds and so the mining base you've just built might soon be in enemy territory, an unpleasant memory is tickled awake in the back of my mind. That memory has a name: Malkari. Malkari was an Interactive Magic strategy game set in an asteroid belt where everything moved around at different speeds and so the mining base you've just built might soon be in enemy territory. It was confusing and frustrating. It's the enemy's job to put my mining base in his territory; I don't need the actual map doing it for him. Of course, Strategy First is a strange and surprising company. I guessed Disciples was going to be awful and I was wrong — it was great. I guessed Submarine Titans was going to be great and I was wrong — it was awful. Perhaps O.R.B. will make asteroid belts fun again.

Mark's Comments: There's always a fine line dividing fun and frustration in a real-time game where players are asked to control multiple units. Players hate to lose because they can't manage their forces in a timely fashion, but they also don't want to be idle. O.R.B. needs to find that middle ground — just enough for players to do, but not too much so as to be overwhelming. Tom's point is well taken about it being the opponent's job to wrest control of a mining base rather than have it switch hands simply by orbiting — controlling resources is the key to victory in most RTS games. But grabbing resources and digging in is also something that's been done dozens of times before in previous games. O.R.B. may just offer a fresh take on the RTS experience, which is why I'm excited about it. O.R.B. also gives us an element that I felt was missing in Homeworld — terrain. I thought Homeworld was more a game about mastering the interface rather than tactics. O.R.B. will allow players to place mines, build orbiting cannons that will rotate into enemy territory, and allow players to hide and use asteroids as shields. The asteroids will also serve as landmarks and allow players to orient themselves as well. Plus, O.R.B. is just darn cool looking — check the screenshots.

Publisher: Strategy First
Developer: Strategy First
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Release Date: Q! 2001