A fun RTS that earns it's budget price. You're not getting Starcraft 2, but you might be getting something better than Iron Harvest. You get the gimmick quickly, and it threatens to become rote and samey, but that all changes when you get access to the literal shock troopers. I feel like the developers felt like the pacing at that point was enough to get people comfortable with the line formation fighting.

That's really it, though. Effective unit placement is required as they refuse to fire into another line of troops. This feels like a callback to the mid point of the original movie as friendly fire was a big part of Rico's development.

Oh yeah, and about the story. Original characters from what I can tell (I only watched the first movie) with movie characters only mentioned in passing here and there. This is it's own story that takes heavy reference from the movies in the spectacle department. While it does seem to try and get across some satire and social commentary with the starting few levels, it quickly resorts to just B-movie action to justify the set-pieces.

I'm very happy they released this as a budget title. It earns the cheaper price point. A few glitchy things would happen here and there, maybe crashed to desktop once? I think? And one time I closed the program before the end sequence finished and I was taken back to the previous autosave the next time I booted up the game. Retaking a hive like that wasn't easy, but I managed it okay without much frustration.

So yeah, grab it. Especially on a sale. You could do worse than supporting these devs and enjoying a title that doesn't strain the wallet.

Though it requires much more of a rig to run than it's predecessor, Sandstorm provides a much more enjoyable experience in look and feel. Without the restraints of the previous engine, you have improved AI, more enjoyable weapons in feel and application, and more options for tactics with off-map assistance that can be called in by the commander. I especially like the newest updates addition of hardcore co-op which gives more weight to your actions and seems to force people to communicate more rather than trying to play solo. This is great for a guy like me with few friends who enjoys playing with randoms here and there.

After a bit of practice and perserverence, this game rewards players with a smooth and adrenaline packed ride.